Sports Then and Now

Junichi Tazawa deserves a spot in the Red Sox bullpen in 2013.

Today the Red Sox fired manager Bobby Valentine. That was a surprise to no one as the team has it’s worst season since 1966. Valentine may have been brought in as just a flashy name and pose as damage control. Well more drama happened this season than an episode of Jersey Shore. Between the players not liking Valentine, the coaches not acknowledging Valentine, and everything in between. Some of the stories that came out, you just could not make up. Between Gary Tuck not answering the phone in the bullpen to Bob McClure not telling Valentine what he said to the pitchers on the mound. Pedroia saying “that’s not how we do it around here.” Alfredo Aceves slamming the office door after not closing a game, in which the night before he gave up five runs. All of these were problems this season the team has to be happy it is finally over.

The Red Sox need to work faster this off season. Last off season they were in recovery mode after the collapse and took their time. With Valentine already fired they need to start interviewing candidates for the managerial position. All this talk about John Farrell I believe is ludicrous but the team seems to be going after him. First off he was here before. I believe the team needs some new blood in there. Get rid of the whole coaching staff and let the manager and Ben Cherrington decide on a staff instead of having Valentine and Francona leftovers. Second, I understand the AL East is not the easiest division to play in but the Blue Jays have not won under Farrell’s lead. Why will the Red Sox win under his lead? I believe the Red Sox need a culture change and that starts with a manager that may not be too familiar with the players in that clubhouse, but knows how to communicate.

Tim Bogar was passed on by the Houston Astros, there must have been a reason. DeMarlo Hale has to be a little upset he was passed on again but maybe he will come in for an interview as well. Terry Francona is projected to get the job with Cleveland so that may lead to an opening for Sandy Alomar Jr. This manager will be hired by Ben Cherrington this time around and not Larry Lucchino. Cherrington needs a manager in place by November 1st, which leaves him plenty of time. This manager will not be a one year stop gap like Valentine, so Cherrington needs to be allowed to make the right choice by ownership.

Now that the manager is gone from the 2012 team, which players will be back for the 2013 season? I break it down by position:

Starting Pitchers

Jon Lester, Clay Buccholz, Felix Doubront, and John Lackey will almost certainly be back next season. Gone will be Aaron Cook and Daisuke Matsuzaka and it won’t be a sad goodbye. To address the need for pitching the Red Sox will need an innings eater who is a number two starter at worst. Lester did not have a good year and Lackey will be an end of the rotation pitcher the rest of his career.

Infielders

Dustin Pedroia and Will Middlebrooks are the only locks are their positions for next season. Shortstop has been the question since the trade of Nomar Garciaparra and it will be no different this off season. Mike Aviles saw almost no playing time this September, as he watched Jose Iglesias make great defensive plays and have some horrible at bats. Iglesias’ bat can be tolerated if the Red Sox acquire a power hitter in the middle of the lineup. Aviles was disrespected by the team so he may want to play elsewhere and maybe they could get a relief pitcher for him. James Loney was in the Dodgers trade as fill in and maybe will be brought back on a short term deal. He wasn’t hitting all that great with the Dodgers and that continued in Boston. I think the Red Sox should look elsewhere. Pedro Ciriaco is not an everyday player but should be on this team next year as utility player who has plus speed.

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Miguel Cabrera is the first player in 45 years to win baseball’s Triple Crown.

With his impressive late season surge, Miguel Cabrera has become the first major league player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown as the league leader in home runs, batting average and RBI. However, it is also likely that Cabrera will join another former Red Sox star on an even more amazing list.

All-time great Ted Williams won the Triple Crown twice, but interestingly, he finished second in the AL MVP Award voting in both of those seasons. In 1942, Williams finished 21 votes behind Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees. In 1947 the Splendid Splinter lost the MVP to Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio by a single vote.

Others who won the Triple Crown without being named MVP of their league include Lou Gehrig in 1934 and Chuck Klein in 1933.

Despite his amazing statistical year and hot final month that helped push the Detroit Tigers into the playoffs, many expect Cabrera to finish second in the MVP voting to Los Angeles Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout.

In both of the seasons when Williams finished second, his team did not make the playoffs. The 1942 Red Sox finished second, nine games behind Gordon and the Yankees. In 1947, the Red Sox placed third in the American League, 14 games behind DiMaggio and the Yankees.

Though the 2012 Tigers actually finished with two fewer wins than Trout and the Angels, because of the current division format, Cabrera will be advancing into the playoffs while Trout starts his offseason.

Given the amazing statistics of Cabrera, .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI, you would think there would be little discussion about the MVP Award. Especially when compared to the numbers of Trout in those same categories (.326 average, 30 home runs and 83 RBI). However, because Trout served as a leadoff hitter, he out-performed Cabrera in several non-power categories that helped illustrate the rookies all-around value including runs scored (129 to 109), on base percentage (.399 to .393) and stolen bases (49 to 4). Read the rest of this entry →

The “Bambino” Was Here

My wife and I first visited the Cranmore Mt. Lodge for the first time back in November 2011. We decided to leave the corporate hotels/motels behind and decided to go with more of a country feel. From the moment, we arrived we felt right at home by Inn keeper, Frederique AKA “Freddie”. Right off the bat (pun intended), we felt more like FRIENDS of hers rather than just guests at her establishment.

We had a great time at the quaint and friendly country inn.

We decided to visit again this past March for a much needed getaway after some tough times. Freddie put us up in the “Babe Ruth” room which one of the bigger and MOST famous of the lodge. The walls are adorned with Babe memorabilia. Of course being a Red Sox fan this made me a bit uneasy having Mr. Ruth stare at me in his Yankees garb (Why Harry Frazee Why!) while we slept.

But I became quite intrigued about “The Bambino” and his history frequenting the Cranmore Mt. Lodge. Freddie was nice enough to send me some pictures and documentation about the inn’s most famous visitor and now here I sit writing this interesting tale. As you know about me by now, nothing gets my writing juices flowing more than local sports history.

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Zack Greinke is among the players who seem likely to be traded before the end of July.

The All-Star game is in the record books, and the second half of the MLB season is about to begin. With that stage of the season about to commence, then it will be time for the question of trades to be asked, especially as teams start falling out of the playoff race; they will begin shopping their assets and looking towards the future.

Less than three weeks remain until the trade deadline, and things will start moving very quickly soon, so let’s take a look at some of the MLB betting tips, and the moves most likely to occur over the next few weeks.

With the Milwaukee Brewers already six games out of the playoff race, there is considerable speculation that Zack Greinke, who is enjoying another solid season (9-3 record and 3.32 ERA) and could be a target for several teams.

The Los Angeles Angels have become the latest team to show interest in him, and the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles could be in the mix to sign him. The veteran right-hander is likely to be a popular target over the next few weeks.
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Al Simmons

The July Sports Then and Now Athlete of the Month hit .462 while starting the first three All-Star Games during a stellar 20-year career that ended with his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

One of the premier outfielders of his generation, Al Simmons was not as well known as Babe Ruth, but he was a steady run producer who helped the Philadelphia Athletics edge the New York Yankees for three straight American League titles from 1929-1931 while claiming two World Series titles. Read the rest of this entry →

(Editor’s Note: This story was originally printed on Boston Sports Then and Now)

The “Miracle Braves” of 1914 shocked the baseball world and made history when they won the franchise’s only World Series title in Boston.

The Atlanta Braves come back to their roots this weekend, as they come to their original home in Boston for a weekend series in Fenway Park with the Red Sox as interleague play continues. It’s been a long time since the Braves graced the sports world of the Hub, having relocated first to Milwaukee in 1953 and then to Atlanta in 1965. The fact the franchise left a baseball-crazed town tells you they never rose above playing second fiddle to the Red Sox. But in one glorious year the Braves gave the city a season to remember, one that still lives in on baseball lore for its miraculous turnaround and shocking World Series upset. With the franchise back visiting this weekend, BST&N looks back on 1914 and the year that belonged to Boston’s “Miracle Braves.”

Boston’s NL team was managed by George Stallings, on his third team in six years and looking for his first pennant. It was Stallings’ second year in Boston and his best player was second baseman Johnny Evers, closely followed by outfielder Joe Connelly. The latter led the team in most key offensive categories, while the former had such an exquisite balance of offensive and defensive prowess, that he won the American League MVP in the award’s fourth year of existence. The pitching staff was top-heavy, as most were in those days. Three pitchers—Dick Rudolph, Bill James and Lefty Tyler—combined to make 107 of the team’s 154 starts, and averaged over 310 innings apiece.

This talent alone wasn’t enough to make Boston a contender coming out of the gate though, and after the season started in mid-April, the Braves promptly lost 18 of their first 22. On June 8, they had fallen 13.5 games back of the pace being set by the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds. Lest you think the turnaround was imminent, the Fourth of July saw the Braves get swept in a doubleheader by the Brooklyn Dodgers, leaving them at 26-40, a good fifteen games back of the Giants and firmly buried in the cellar, with five games separating them from even reaching seventh in the eight-team National League.

It was the offense and winning close games that would key the dramatic turnaround about to start. The Braves would finish second in the National League in runs scored, while the pitching was in the middle of the league. They were third in home runs—back in this era, 62 led the league, so no one was making a living going deep. The Braves, showing they were firmly in line with what would become Boston sports tradition, were slow as molasses—at least relative to the competition. They stole 139 bases, last in the NL. This speed-oriented era saw 239 steals lead the league. There’s nothing in the overall statistical numbers that suggest a pennant-winning team, but one number does stand out. It’s the 33-20 record the Braves posted in one-run games, something that would ultimately give them a huge advantage over the Giants, who languished at 18-25.

Fate was not only smiling on the Braves, but by August, Fenway Park would be too. The old South End Grounds, the team’s regular home had been torn down and it wouldn’t be until the start of the 1915 season that Braves Field would be set to open. So at a time when Boston was closing the gap—they got the margin to nine games by the end of July and moved up to fourth place, and then swept three from the Giants in the Polo Grounds on August 13-15 to move within 3.5—they’d also be sharing space with their American League counterpart, who’d won the World Series just two years prior.

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