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Saturday, August 16, 2003

ARSENAL WINS 2-1

I know no-one cares but I don't care that you don't care. Why? Cuz I care about Arsenal so much!

Match Report

Arsenal FC 2-1 Everton FC

Arsenal Goals: Thierry Henry 35' (pen), Robert Pires 58'

Arsenal Cards: Sol Cambell (red), Patrick Viera (yellow)

So Sol will probably be suspended for what he did in the Community Shield. I beleive if he gets another red, it's a 3 match suspension. So he has to avoid red for 37 games, pretty tough when the refs hate you and you play centre-defender.

Man. United beat Bolton 4-0. tottenham lost 0-1 to Birmingham City. More action tomorrow

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SOX BEAT A'S, LOSE TO M'S.

The alphabet soup road trip hit seattle last night and the Red Sox defense was exposed, big time.

It was a battle of 1996 Red Sox pitchers as Moyer took on Suppan.

Boston Red Sox 5
Seattle Mariners 10
W: Mateo (4-0)
L: Timlin (4-4)
S: Hasegawa (12)

Wrapup & Box Score
Divisional Magic #: 46
Wild Card Magic #: 40

Suppan dissapointed. The defense fell apart. "Timid" Timlin gave up a huge Grand Slam. Millar and Kapler choked late against Hasegawa. Todd Jones gave up 2 in 2 innings.

The good news is that Ramirez continues to hit as does Garciaparra. We also have Pedro "undefeated against the Mariners" Maritnez going this afternoon.

The Man of the Game is Ichiro who went 3 for 5 with a single, double and Grand Slam. He scored twice and knocked in 4.

The Bitch-Goat point will be divided thusly: Garciaparra, Walker, and Mueller will all get 0.1 for their poor defense in the 6th inning. Walker made an error that made Nomar come off the second base bag, Nomar couldn't handle a tough hop and Bill Mueller bobbled what should have been a foul out. Suppan and Jones will each get 0.2 for their less than spectacular performances. Timlin will get 0.3 for relenting a Grand Slam to Ichiro. Yes, he did have poor defense behind him, but he threw the pitch. here are the B-G standings:

1. Manny, Lyon - 1.0
3. Timlin, Walker, Kim - 0.9
5. Burkett - 0.7
6. Jones, Millar, Lowe - 0.6
9. Mueller, Mendoza, Jones - 0.5
11. Nomar, Grady, Rupe - 0.4
15. Varitek, Ortiz, Fossum, Pedro, Fox - 0.3
21. Suppan, Damon - 0.2
22. Nixon, Seanez, Shiell, Jackson - 0.1

Todd Walker has really been climbing the B-G standings. Jones is very high as well. Not as high as his 7.82 ERA. Once again, rest assured Red Sox nation, we do not have the best bullpen in baseball.

New York won, Oakland lost.

Now for the good news, we split with Oakland. Manny came up huge with a solo HR in the 9th to force the game into extra innings.

Boston Red Sox 4
Oakland Athletics 2
10 INNINGS
W: Kim (6-8)
L: Mecir (2-2)
BS: Foulke (5)
H: Bradford, Rincon (16, 8)

Recap
Box Score

A solid start by Wakefeld, who has become a rock in the rotation for us, and a clutch HR by Manny combine for a win.

The Man of the Game goes to Manny who went 3 for 4 with a pair of singles and that huge HR. Manny is on the verge of passing Garciaparra and Mueller for the top BA on the team. Here are the MOTG standings after 51 awarded. Manny technically got MOTG #50, truly a great milestone:

1. Nomar - 6
2. Manny, PEDRO - 5
3. Varitek - 4
4. Mueller, Nixon, Millar - 3
8. R. Halladay (TOR) - 2
9. Ortiz, Burkett, Lowe, Walker, Kapler, Burkett, Sanchez, Rupe, Lyon, Ichiro (SEA), K. Foulke (OAK), T. Hudson (OAK) D. Rolls (TB) M. Mussina (NYY), A. Pettitte (NYY) J. Crede (CWS), E. Loiza (CWS), JD Drew (StL), B. Myers (PHI), J. Pierre (FLA) - 1

Pedro takes on Joel Pineiro today at 4:05 on Fox. Pedro is 10-0 vs. Seattle with an 0.94 ERA which is amazing considering how good Seattle has been in recent years.

We need a good long outing from Pedro. Speaking of which, the Boston Herald had an interesting article the other day. After going 8 or more innings, which has happened thrice this season, Pedro is 0-3 in his next start with an ERA over 10. Perhaps Grady should consider this the next time he has Pedro go 9 against Anaheim when his next start is against Oakland.

Jeremey Giambi's season is done. (story) So what are the Sox gonna do without Giambi? Probably win a World Series. Or they'll just give his at-bats, which were far too numerous, too David McCarty.

Next sunday's game against Seattle has been rescheduled to start at 8:05 and will be on ESPN outside of New England.

So Sox-M's today at 4. Arsenal-Everton today at 10 am, broadcast on tape delay at 12 noon on Fox Sports World.

Predictions:
Boston 3, Seattle 1
Arsenal 2, Everton 0

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Thursday, August 14, 2003

Just got a link to this in my E-mail. (rawbeezeitz@yahoo.com). It's Nomar answering fan's E-mail questions. Good stuff.

Here it is.

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Just found this interview with Suppan. Enjoy!

Here it is.

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SOX WIN MUST WIN GAME

D-LOWE!
There's only one D-Lowe!
There's only one D-Lowe!
There's only one D-Lowe!


Before we get to last night's game, we gotta deal with Tuesday night's.

Boston RS 3
Oakland A's 5
W: Zito (9-10)
L: Burkett: (906)
S: Foulke (29)
H: Bradford (15)

Recap
Box Score

No way Sox were gonna win after Burkett allowed 5 in the first. Otherwise he pitched well, but 5 ER in the first inning is a tough pill to swallow.

Trot should not have gotten ejected. It is against the rules to argue balls and strikes, but most players get away with talking while walking back to the dugout. The ump usually tosses players when they delay the game or do something demonstrative. Total bullshit.

This game and the game before were proof that good pitching almost always beats good hitting.

The Man of the Game is Keith Foulke. Normally closers don't win the MOTG but Foulke went 2 innings and got out of a tough situation that Bradford left for him. He didn't allow any baserunners and got a strikeout for good measure.

The Bitch-Goat point shall be distributed thusly. Burkett will get 0.5 for his 5 ER performance. Mueller, Manny, Millar, and Nomar each left multiple runners on base and so each will get 0.1 Grady will get 0.1 for starting David McCarty at first base. What the fuck? Here are the B-G standings:

1. Manny, Lyon - 1.0
3. Kim - 0.9
4. Walker - 0.8
5. Burkett - 0.7
6. Millar, Timlin, Lowe - 0.6
9. Mendoza, Jones - 0.5
11. Grady, Mueller, Rupe, Jones - 0.4
15. Nomar, Varitek, Ortiz, Fossum, Pedro, Fox - 0.3
21. Damon - 0.2
22. Nixon, Seanez, Shiell, Jackson - 0.1

Okay, last night's game. We needed to win and we won.

Boston Red Sox 7
Oakland Athletics 3
W: D-Lowe (12-6)
L: Mulder (15-9)
H: Williamson (3)

Wrapup & Box Score

Could someone tell me what the FUCK McCarty was doing starting again. And why was he batting 6th??????? More retardedness from Grady.

Good hitting by Ramirez and Millar and a solid outing from D-Lowe combined to give us a key win. We're back to being tied with Oakland for the Wild Card and New York lost so we gain a game on then. New York is really choking and it's a shame we haven't been able to take advantage of it. We need to win tonight or sweep Seattle in order to salvage this brutal road trip.

Picking a Man of the Game is impossible for this one. both went 2 for 4 with a homer and a single. Each had a Run scored and 3 RBI. Each walked once, K'ed once and left one man on base. I gotta give the nod to Ramirez who worked a bases loaded walk. He also played the field, Millar didn't. Here are the MOTG standings after 49 awarded:

1. Nomar - 6
2. PEDRO - 5
3. Manny, Varitek - 4
4. Mueller, Nixon, Millar - 3
8. R. Halladay (TOR) - 2
9. Ortiz, Burkett, Lowe, Walker, Kapler, Burkett, Sanchez, Rupe, Lyon, K. Foulke (OAK), T. Hudson (OAK) D. Rolls (TB) M. Mussina (NYY), A. Pettitte (NYY) J. Crede (CWS), E. Loiza (CWS), JD Drew (StL), B. Myers (PHI), J. Pierre (FLA) - 1

Cuba won the Pan-Am baseball gold medal over the US. We need Castro to die so Cuba opens up and MLB scouts can sign all the talent. The Dominican Republic went 0-3 in hockey, losing to the US 22-0, then to Argentina 30-0, and finally Chile 25-0. All in all they got 2 shots on net.

In New York, Mike Piazza returned and hit his 344th HR as a catcher, only 7 behind Carlton Fisk. Why won't the shitty catcher play first base? Cuz he could be remembered as the best hitting catcher of all-time. 344 HR as a first baseman would be behind McGwire, Foxx, Palmero, Murray, Gehrig, McGriff, and Bagwell. Selfish bastard.

BRUINS NOTES

This blog is gonna be a Bruins, Pats, and occasionally Celtics blog once their seasons start so stay tuned during the offseason. Of course, there'll be comprehensive Arsenal coverage, whether you like it or not.

The Bruins to get CuJo? AP Story on ESPN. If the B's get Cujo, all will be forgiven. Allison? Guerin? Carter? We need a goalie and this would be the biggest trade for as long as I can remember. However, CuJo has a no-trade clause and thinkign the Bruins will pick up his $16 million over 2 years remaining is wishful thinking.

Thornton sentenced to community service. That's good news. But how leniant would the Canadian courts have been if an American hockey player fought with cops? Or if marty McCsorly hit a guy's eye with a hockey stick. And where were all the Free Joe web-sites?

Berard possibly gone, Rolston staying, 4th liner signs. So the Bruins lose their most offensive defender but keep the versatile Roltson. We got Sandy McCarthy though. Do we need another guy like this? His stats for last season with the Rangers: 3 goals, 6 asissts and 81 penalty minutes. Good players don't have 9 times more penalty minutes than points, Mike O'Connell.

SOCCER NOTES

Arsenal could be starting the season the way they ended last season, with central defender Sol Cambell suspended. He kicked out at Cameroonian Djemba Djemba in the Community Shield match on Sunday. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he will challenge any suspension.

Arsenal rival Tottenham Hotspurs, champions of nothing, and the best of the mediocre teams in England, have purchased DC United midfielder Bobby Convey. Story. Convey is yet another American going to the most famous league in all of soccer. He joins team USA teammate Kasey Keller at Tottenham.

Team USA captain Claudio Reyna may be sold from now 1st Division Sunderland to Fulham who are in the Premeireship (European soccer leagues are divided into levels. Teams rise and fall from levels at the end of the season based on standings. Something like if the bottom team in each baseball division went down to AAA) Story

Finally, The Dallas Stars look to name a country club after their team. Perhaps the Bruins should do something like this. After all, they do quite a bit of golfing in April and May.

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Tuesday, August 12, 2003

THIS IS THE END

Cue The Doors, season is all but over. Am I being a tad melodramatic? Yes. But you lose 3 of 4 to Baltimore and then get dominated by Hudson with your ace on the mound, you don't deserve to win.

Boston Red Sox 0
OAKLAND A's 4
W: Hudson (11-4)
L: PEDRO (8-3)

Wrapup & Box Score
Divisional Magic #: 49
Wild Card Magic #: 45

New York lost to the Royals. They're opening the door for us to walk in and take the division lead, but we seem to be afraid of what lies ahead...succes.

The A's did everything right, the Sox did everything wrong. Oakland worked Pedro down to the ground. He threw 101 pitches in 5 innings 4 days after he threw 128 against Anaheim. Oakland forced him to throw 33 pitches in the 5th. 33! Billy Bean must be cackling maniacally as his "system" of working counts worked out again. But really the victor last night was Tim Hudson and Tim Hudson alone. He allowed 3 baserunners (Garciaparra twice, Ramirez once) and faced only 28 batters, one over the minimum. He threw a mere 93 pitches in 9 innings. He got 15 ground outs, 7 strike outs and only 5 fly outs. I wasn't watching Hudson that intently as I was playing poker, but I could tell his pitch count was low throughout the game. The Sox would step up to the plate and just as quickly sit down. Pitiful and embarrassing excuse for offense.

Pedro went 5 innings, allowed 5 hits, walked 2 and struck out 7. Not a great start, and not a good start by his standards. He pitched well, but was worn early. Perhaps Grady shouldn't have let him throw 128 pitches in his last start and perhaps Pedro should have tried to get more gorund outs as opposed to strike outs. Jose Guillen's walk was a prime example of this. Instead of challenging Guillen with a fastball or fooling him with a changeup near the plate, Pedro tried to get him to bite on na outside fastball. It didn't work and the inning continued. He will pitch again on national TV against the Mariners this Saturday. I'll be busting come Saturday as Arsenal begin their season against Everton at 10 am EST then Boston takes on Seattle at 4 pm EST. Good shit. Pedro is undefeated against Seattle and is now 31-4 against the AL West.

The Man of the Game is obviously Tim Hudson. I went over his nubmers earlier. Here are the MOTG standings after 47 awarded:

1. Nomar - 6
2. PEDRO - 5
3. Varitek - 4
4. Manny, Mueller, Nixon, Millar - 3
8. R. Halladay (TOR) - 2
9. Ortiz, Burkett, Lowe, Walker, Kapler, Burkett, Sanchez, Rupe, Lyon, T. Hudson (OAK) D. Rolls (TB) M. Mussina (NYY), A. Pettitte (NYY) J. Crede (CWS), E. Loiza (CWS), JD Drew (StL), B. Myers (PHI), J. Pierre (FLA) - 1

The good news is that I won $4 in poker. Pretty good when you consider that we were playing for quarters.

Now for the dreaded Bitch-Goat. So many people deserved points. I'm gonna give 0.1 to every Sox player who went hitless (Damon, Mueller, Ortiz, Millar, Nixon, Walker, and Varitek), and then I'm gonna give 0.2 to Fossum for his 2 runs allowed in an inning and 0.1 to my beloved Pedro. Here are the B-G standings:

1. Lyon - 1.0
2. Kim, Manny - 0.9
4. Walker - 0.8
5. Timlin, Lowe - 0.6
7. Millar, Mendoza, Jones - 0.5
10. Grady, Millar, Rupe, Jones - 0.4
14. Varitek, Ortiz, Fossum, Pedro, Fox, Varitek - 0.3
20. Damon, Nomar, Burkett - 0.2
23. Nixon, Seanez, Shiell, Jackson - 0.1

Walker is making a move to be on top. He has been in a real funk lately and needs to step it up. Nomar continues to hit very well and we need him to step up on this road trip. Hit a clutch homerun.

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Monday, August 11, 2003

JUST SOME SHIZZLE

Bronson Arroyo threw the 4th 9 inning perfect game in International League history yesterday as the Pawtucket Red Sox beat the Buffalo Bisons 7-0. so we got that going for us.

Another historical thing happened yesterday. Rafeal Furcal recorded an unassisted triple play, the 12th since 1900, the 2nd in Braves history (but the first in Atlanta) and the second against the Cardinals. It was your typical unassisted triple play, hit-and-run is on and a liner to a middle infielder. The last unassisted triple play was in 2000 when Oakland's Randy Velarde turned one against the Y*nkees the day after Pedro beat cl*mens in a classic battle.

My faith in Arsenal has been reassured by this picture. The only thing that turns me on more than hot girls who love sports is hot girls who drive fast. I remember I was in a daze driving along I-90 in western Mass when a cute brunette in a beat up POS passed me going about 85. I was so envigorated I elevated my velocity to match, then to pass, and then to pull away. Maybe I'll get arrested for driving to endanger while racing soem girl, and then we'll get married.

PEDRO tonight against the A-Holes at 10 to kick off the dreaded west coast swing. Should be a good raucus croud at the Coloseum. We need to win tonight. My sentences have no connecting thought. This shouldn't be a paragraph.

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THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

Suppan dissapoints, offense makes Jason Johnson look like Randy Johnson, all this before THE West coast trip.

Baltimore Orioles 5
Boston Choke Sox 2
W: Johnson (10-5)
L: Suppan (10-8)
S: Julio (29)
H: Groom, Lightenburg, Ryan (16, 11, 14)

Wrapup & Box Score
Divisional Magic #: 50
Wild Card Magic #: 45

Oakland and New York lost. We could have been 2 up on Oakland in the Wild Card going into the Colloseum and 2 behind New York, but NO! Also, a car sponsored by the New York Y*nkees crashed into a wall at NASCAR's Winston Cup race in central New York. That's a good omen. Losing 3 of 4 to Baltimore is a bad omen.

Didn't see this game so no Bitch-Goat or Man of the Game.

ARSENAL LOSES TO MANURE ON PENALTY KICKS

US keeper Tim Howard proved he was worth the $2 million Manchester United payed the MetroStars for his contract. Jens Lehmann who was bought for more but is older and less talented did not perform as well as Howard in the shoot-out, allowing all 4 shots on net to go into the net. French defender Mikael Silvestre scored at the 15th minute for Man U, a goal that was quickly answered by fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry five minutes later. The deadlock remained until the full-time whistle was blown and the shoot-out began. Arsena;'s Giovanni van Bronckhurst and Ruud Van Nistelrooj failed to hit the target and Howard made a diving save on Robert Pires' shot to win the match and the FA Community Shield for United. Sadly, for Arsenal, sometimes promising English forward Francis Jeffers was sent off (ejected) for kicking Phil Neville. In my opinion, Arsenal should have bought a striker like Patrick Kluivert over the off-season, but the club doesn't exactly have money to spend with the gargantuan project of building a new $1.2 billion stadium in North London. It could be a long season. REAL season opener is Saturday against Everton FC. I can't wait!

Germany and France have each begun their seasons in the midst of a "heat wave." Sorry Europe, but 80 degrees doesn't constitute a heat wave. The MLS boys play in America's summer, so toughen up! Bayer Leverkusen leads the 1. Bundesliga with 2 wins (6 points) and is the only undefeated team in Deutschland's top league.

FORGOT TO MENTION THE PATS

The Patriots beat the NY Giants in a preseason game. The Pats looked solid, but the Giants' shitty play made us look like gods. The seemingly endless NFL preseason continues for New England Saturday night at Washington.

LLWS SUCKS

I hate the Little League World Series. Every year I'm bombarded by ESPN's commercialization of children playing "baseball." It's sick! I hate how ESPN glorifies some kids (like Almonte, or the New York showboats last year) cuz they've already gone thru puberty and are currently DESTROYING their undeveloped arms by throwing breaking pitches. Tim Wakefield can't move his right elbow properly and can't throw with any velocity because he ruined it as a kid, THROWING CURVEBALLS! And now ESPN is broadcasting the Little League softball World Series. Are there no other sports? Why not have an English soccer match, or some preseason NFL action, or even some Major League Lacrosse? Or REAL baseball?!?

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Sunday, August 10, 2003

IMPORTANT WIN FOR SOX

After dumping a double header, the Sox needed to win last night's game.

Baltimore Orioles 4
Boston Red Sox 6
W: Embree (4-1)
L: Driskill (3-5)
S: Kim (9)

Wrapup & Box Score
Divisional Magic #: 51
Wild Card Magic #: 46

Oakland won, New York lost.

A few interesting things about this game. Manny Ramirez became the fastest Red Soxer to hit 100 HRs in a Red Sox uniform, passing Jimmie Foxx. Also, Kevin Millar hit the 10,000th homerun at Fenway Park. Didn't someone last year hit the 10,000th or 9,000th HR in Red Sox history?

The Man of the Game is Manny Ramirez who hit his 100th HR snapping a long drought and also got on base late which allowed Jackson to score in his stead. He went 2 for 4. Here are the MOTG standings after 46 awarded:

1. Nomar - 6
2. PEDRO - 5
3. Varitek - 4
4. Manny, Mueller, Nixon, Millar - 3
8. R. Halladay (TOR) - 2
9. Ortiz, Burkett, Lowe, Walker, Kapler, Burkett, Sanchez, Rupe, Lyon, D. Rolls (TB) M. Mussina (NYY), A. Pettitte (NYY) J. Crede (CWS), E. Loiza (CWS), JD Drew (StL), B. Myers (PHI), J. Pierre (FLA) - 1

I updated my web-site with some Theo Epstein, Natalie Portman, and Kobe Bryant content along with a gratuitous Olsen Twins pic. I also updated my other pages on the site.

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