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Round One to the Evil Empire

June 30, 2004 by

What is there to say? That was dreadful last night. There won’t be much commentary on the links today, because the players frankly deserve anything bad that is written about them today. Game stories from the house of horrors are served up by Bob Hohler…Jeff Horrigan…Steven Krasner…David Heuschkel…Don Amore (From the Yankees perspective) and David Borges. The defense once again was atrocious. Tony Massarotti takes a look at the struggles of Nomar Garciaparra, a key culprit last night with two errors. Sean McAdam says that it is time for the players to step up and start earning their paychecks. Dan Shaughnessy says the season is over. Steve Buckley (subscription only) concurs, putting blame on the manager, who won’t criticize his players. Gordon Edes says a major difference between the clubs was how aggressive the Yankees were last night. Nick Cafardo and Michael Silverman look at the bad outing by Derek Lowe.

Massarotti also takes a look at Tom Gordon, who is healthy again, and wants to be a closer once again. Christopher Price says there is no excuse for the Sox shoddy defense. Buckley looks at Tim Wakefield’s return to Yankee Stadium. Silverman says the Sox got a close up and personal look at the Yankees murderer’s row, which wasn’t in evidence back in April. Hohler’s notebook looks at Francona’s decision to “stand behind” the struggling Kevin Millar. Horrigan’s notebook looks at David Ortiz not worrying about his All Star status. The ProJo notebook also looks at Ortiz. Heuschkel’s notebook looks at the return of Pokey. Amore’s notebook looks at a parasite eating Jason Giambi. Borges’ notebook also looks at Pokey.

From the NY Papers:

J.P.Pelzman says the Sox let down Derek Lowe with shoddy defense. Dave Caldwell agrees that the defense was not worth a darn for the Sox. (get it?) Joe Gergan looks at an infield of slop for the Sox. Mike Lupica looks at the Boston “E” Party. Kevin Kernan says the Sox are more built for a beer league than the American League. George King looks at the Yankees roughing up the Sox. Tyler Kepner says the Sox basically handed this one to the Yankees.

Roger Rubin notes that the Sox remain upbeat despite the drubbing last night. Michael Morrissey says that Nomar has been help for the Red Flops. (how original) he also looks at the “putrid” defense behind Derek Lowe. Jon Heyman says it was just more of the same in this one-sided “rivalry’. Bill Madden takes a little more objective look at things. Mike Vaccaro says the Sox always do their best work in April. They weren’t a match for the Yankees of June. Peter Botte and Lenn Robbins note that George Steinbrenner isn’t counting the Sox out yet. Gergen’s notebook says Manny isn’t going to lose any sleep over this series.

Dave Anderson has a nice piece on the peaceful resolution to the Don Zimmer/Pedro Martinez fiasco from the playoffs last year. Included is this excerpt from Zimmer’s new book:

The next day, Zimmer apologized to the world, and in his book, he tells how Mart

View from NY

June 29, 2004 by

I don’t think I can do this each day of the series, but here’s the links from the NY Papers on the Sox:

Free registration may be required to read some of these stories, or you can use bugmenot.com.

Mike Vaccaro says the time is now for the Yankees to put away the Red Sox in the AL East race. Mike Lupica hopes ARod does a little better against the Red Sox this time around. Murray Chass says there is no possible way that the Red Sox can catch the Yankees. Bob Klapisch looks at the possibility of an early knockout for the Yankees, and how George Steinbrenner was pressuring Brian Cashman to add a big piece to his team in time for this series. George King has Steinbrenner saying that it is payback time. Shaun Powell says the two series in April are long forgotten. Anthony McCarron looks at the struggles of the Red Sox. Joel Magaraci lists out 10 things wrong with the Red Sox. Does he get a cut from Shaughnessy for listing number 10? Ken Davidoff says the Red Sox have lacked intensity since the April series. Mike Celizic looks at how the Yankees reversed a 5 game deficit in two months, and tells us how the Red Sox cannot do the same in three months.

Steve Serby gets some sampling of talk around New York about the series. McCarron also looks at how the Yankees have taken off since being swept in April. Brian Costello has members of the Red Sox saying that tonight is just another game. Pete Iorizzo has a look at Keith Foulke. Bill Finley looks at the impact of David Ortiz on the Red Sox. Ken Davidoff looks at Manny Ramirez, taking everything stride after what happened in the offseason. Locally, Win Bates looks at how important this series is for the Red Sox.

Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post looks at the flirting between Mark Blount and the Miami Heat. The Heat and the Sixers (because of Jim O’Brien) seem to be the most likely candidates for Blount to leave the Celtics for, unless Doc Rivers can talk him into staying here.

Bill Simmons explains his vision for his new Page2 website. He plans to incorporate a lot of the features that made his old BSG site such a rousing success. He also manages to squeeze another column out of Hoosiers. The big news here is the upcoming release of a special edition DVD of the movie.

Yes, I enjoyed Mark Cuban’s rant on his blog yesterday about “Sports Gossip Columnists”, like Sam Smith and Peter Vecsey. He also had some kind words to say about Antoine Walker.

Sox/Yankees Round 3

June 29, 2004 by

The calm before the storm.

The Red Sox and Yankees renew acquaintances tonight at Yankee Stadium. Steve Buckley puts together a lengthy look at how the Yankees have rebounded from their early season struggles. Gordon Edes looks at the Yankees, who have been on an incredible hot streak since getting cuffed around by the Sox in April. Michael Silverman also has a look at how things have changed since the last meeting between the teams. David Heuschkel looks at the Sox trying to rise above the 27-26 record they’ve posted since May 1st. David Borges says the Sox should make up some ground this week. Nick Cafardo has the Sox hoping this series gives them the boost they need, and looks at Kevin Youkilis as he prepares for his first Red Sox/Yankees experience. Jon Couture also has a bit on Youkilis. Don Amore writes about the Yankees looking to settle a score with this series. Gerry Callahan (subscription only) looks at the non-production of Kevin Millar, pretty much making the point that it is put up or shut up time for Millar. Art Martone looks at the frustrations of Theo Epstein as he looks over his club’s performance. Lenny Megliola checks in with Aaron Boone, now with the Indians. John Tomase compares Curt Schilling to Roger Clemens. Michael Gee (subscription only) says that being behind the Yankees puts the Sox in a dangerous position. He says they need to win the division. Period. For those who say that making the playoffs is the most important things, Gee has some words for you:

This notion is a pernicious rationalization by and for born losers. Forget the fact it hasn't worked for the past three Red Sox wild card teams. Teams can't be built for the postseason. They can only be built to play well all the time.

Tomase also has a look at what the return of Trot Nixon has meant to the Sox. Silverman’s notebook looks at some Red Sox charitable work for the victims of the floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Cafardo’s notebook says that Sox bullpen coach Euky Rojas can empathize with what Jose Contreras recently went through.

James Murphy looks at the Bruins search for the next Patrice Bergeron. Steve Conroy says that the Bruins are confident in the abilities of their scouts.

John Molori talks with the Score’s Scott Cordischi, who has some fightin’ words for WEEI.

NESN has Red Sox/Yankees at 7:00. FSN will have Michael Holley on the 6:30 show and Alan Greenberg at 10:00. CN8’s SportsPulse will have a 1on1 with Patriots Linebacker Rosevelt Colvin tonight at 10:00.

Yee-Yah?

June 28, 2004 by

Bob Stern looks at the Red Sox preparing for their upcoming series with the Yankees. Gary Fitz looks at Curt Schilling going 10-4 on the season. Mike Fine says that winning a three game series from the Phillies may not sound all that impressive, but it’s a start for this maddeningly inconsistent Red Sox team. Bill Finley of the NY Times says the Sox are hoping they’ve built a little momentum heading into New York. From the somebody shoot me please department, Pete Iorizzo says that the Red Sox have come up with their replacement slogan for “Cowboy Up”…the winner? “Yee-Yah”, yes, Kevin Millar is prominently featured in this article. Fine’s notebook looks at Schilling’s outing. Fitz’s notebook has a look at what Theo might have planned for club improvements.

Mike Loftus looks at local product John Ryan getting drafted by the Rangers. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun looks at the Bruins’ selection of Ashton Rome in the fourth round. Loftus’ notebook looks at the forward thinking of the Bruins.

Jim Brady looks at the ethics of Ron Borges in regards to his relationship with Don King. He says:

But what nobody is asking is: what is Borges doing get paid by King, ostensibly for his work as a TV analyst, while he's supposed to be an objective, unbiased reporter for the Globe?

Meanwhile, independent reports about Borges’ possible suspension from the Globe continue to pour into BSMW. One puts the “suspension” length at a week. No one, except Borges himself, has come forward and refuted the allegation that Borges was if not suspended, at least disciplined by the Globe. The silence, as they say, is deafening.

The latest edition of Boston Radio Watch tells us that Bob Neumeier is headed to Athens:

Sports talker WEEI-AM 850 will have one of its own staffers covering the Olympic Games in Greece for the sports station. Midday co-host of "Dale and Neumy' program will actually work for the NBC-TV making his Olympic debut as part of the network coverage of Summer Games in August. Neumeier has won acclaim for his work on the Peacock's horse racing telecasts will contribute interviews and reports from the tracks and field venue. During his 19 years with Boston's WBZ-TV, Neumeier has covered and reported from site of all major sporting events(Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, Kentucky Derby, World Series and NBA Finals) but never the Olympic Games.

Up and Down, Up and Down

June 28, 2004 by

The bipolar Sox continue their up and down ways with a 12-3 thumping of the Phillies, managing to take two out three heading into a midweek series with the Yankees. Jeff Horrigan says that this one was big for the confidence of the team and that perhaps the Sox can take a little momentum into the Bronx. Steven Krasner looks at Curt Schilling, settling down after a rocky start and getting his 10th win of the season. David Heuschkel says a sense of urgency helped the Red Sox out yesterday. Nick Cafardo says the win gave the Sox some much needed confidence. David Borges looks at a sorely needed series win for this club. Bob Ryan says some regular season baseball wins really are more important than others, and this was one of them. Lenny Megliola looks at the Sox bats finally doing some serious damage. Sean McAdam looks at how Manny, Ortiz and Schilling have really carried the team thus far this season.

Michael O’Connor and Marvin Pave take a look at Curt Schilling overcoming his slow start to post his 10th win of the season. Jon Couture looks at a big day with the bats getting the Sox a series win. Michael Silverman looks at Theo Epstein, willing to make changes on his roster in order to get this team where it needs to be. John Habib reports on a Theo sighting in Manchester’s Gill Stadium, where he was checking out his AA pitcher Chris Smith of the Portland Sea Dogs. Jeff Sullivan says that Bill Mueller may begin his rehab with the PawSox as early as tonight. Joe Haggerty looks at the big 3-4 of Ortiz and Manny. Mike Shalin looks at Nomar trying to get his swing back into form. Borges’ notebook looks at the “Dominican Dandies” of Manny and Ortiz. Cafardo’s notebook looks at the Sox missing out on Freddy Garcia, who went to the White Sox yesterday. Heuschkel’s notebook says Theo isn’t going to be sitting back during the trading period. Krasner’s notebook has more on Theo’s expectations for the team, and reports that Ellis Burks may play for Pawtucket tonight as well. Horrigan’s notebook looks at Mueller’s rehab progress.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell and Steve Conroy look at the Bruins drafting UMass-Lowell’s Ben Walter, son of former Canadiens’ player Ryan Walter. Conroy’s notebook looks at the Bruins selecting six forwards during the weekend’s NHL draft.

Gabe Kahn looks back at the NBA draft, matching the picks from his mock draft with the actual selections.

George Kimball likely didn’t win any friends in the Andelman household with his article tearing into Eddie’s “Bash for Cash” boxing card scheduled for August 6th at Lynn’s Fraser Field. Kimball basically ridicules some of the ideas put forth by Andelman for the event.

As for the Ron Borges information posted in this space on Friday, and subsequently denied by Borges, my source, who is a fairly prominent, and reliable member of the Boston sports media, insists that some form of discipline was handed out to Borges recently. Whether the paper played semantics and didn’t officially call it a “suspension” is a matter of debate. This person talked to two different people from two different newspapers in town, who both said the same thing regarding Borges. It’s noteworthy that nothing from Borges appears in the Globe archives from June 15th until June 26th. A neat 10 day period. During that time, Nick Cafardo, who has been doing pretty much exclusively baseball this year, was pressed into doing the NFL Sunday notes on the 20th. Request for a comment via email from Sports Editor Joe Sullivan via email went unanswered. Draw your own conclusions on this one. Of course, Bill Griffith hasn’t written for a little while either, and no one is suggesting that he’s been suspended. (He’s on vacation in Italy.)

Dave Scott actually touches on this matter, he also reviews the Sunday night shows, including a nice retort from Doc Rivers to an inane question from Steve Burton (does he ask any other kind?) and a few other items in the Monday edition of Scott’s Shots.

NESN has Seadogs/Navigators at 6:00. Too bad they couldn’t they have shown the PawSox tonight, with possibly both Bill Mueller and Ellis Burks in the lineup. ESPN2 has Rangers/Mariners at 10:00. CN8’s Sports Pulse will have Shira Springer in to talk Celtics, Michael Parente to talk Patriots, and Steve Zipay of NY Newsday to talk sports media, all on the 10:00 show. FSN will have John Tomase and Jon Meterparel on the 6:30 show and Sean McAdam on the 10:00 show.

Two Runs, Fourteen Hits, and 4 Errors

June 27, 2004 by

The Red Sox reached another low point yesterday afternoon. But yesterday’s 9-2 loss was a microcosm of the Red Sox season. They played a sloppy game and could not buy clutch hits. If you must read game stories, the ugliness is explained by Bob Hohler, Jeff Horrigan, and Steven Krasner. But Nick Cafardo has the must-read article of the day because he actually breaks it down by the numbers and shows that these Red Sox are terrible situational hitters. It’s one thing to assemble a team by the numbers. It is quite another to build a team that wins baseball games. I guess the Red Sox may want to consider a page from the book of philosophy of Bill Belichick. Belichick reminds us that the Patriots don’t work at collecting talent as much as they do in building a team.

Sean McAdam is very unimpressed with this version of the Red Sox while Art Davidson laments the Sox terrible defense. Michael Silverman explains that now, even the coaches and players are starting to get frustrated.

In his notebook, Jeff Horrigan has looks at the recovering Pokey Reese, today’s starter Curt Schilling going up against his prot

Bye Bye Boston?

June 25, 2004 by

Boston Radio Watch has an interesting piece dealing with the departure of Christopher Brennen from Sporting News Radio. They say this is likely the death knell for 1510 the Zone in Boston. They conclude the piece by talking about the desire on the part of SNR to sell the Celtics radio rights and then wash their hands of the station:

Since the end of the C's season in April, the Zone's owner, SNR, has been trying to opt out of the last year(2005/06) of the Celtics 5-year deal which has been strangling the station and complicating any potential sale. It was expected that The Zone was going to carry the team's games for one more year(2004/05 season) and that would be it. But, now, with Brennan's unexpected departure, radio insiders say SNR will now push hard to expedite its divorce process from the original Celtics deal which was done by Brennan himself. SNR will likely seek to either sub-license the upcoming season's broadcasts to another station in the market or simply buy broadcast time on any station that will take cash.

If SNR is successful in its attempt to free the Zone from C's rights in the upcoming days, it will finally allow the company to do what it's been trying to do for all these months -- find a buyer for AM 1510, close its shop in Boston and cut its losses as it gets out of town...

Len linked this article on Sunday, but the meat of the article was something I didn’t get to read until today, and it is a interesting read.

Suspended?

June 25, 2004 by

Word from a very reliable source has told me that Ron Borges has been suspended from the Globe. The terms of the suspension are not exactly clear, but the reason is not for the incident with Michael Katz, but for working for HBO without the permission of the Globe. Efforts to confirm this with Borges or the Globe have not yet been successful.

Update: Borges, via email to BSMW has denied that he has been suspended. He says his Boxing column will run this weekend as usual, and that all his HBO work has received Globe approval.

A quick search of the Globe archives reveals no articles written by Borges since June 15th. Just throwing that out there.

Rob Bradford looks at the Celtics selection of Al Jefferson. Jim Fenton also has a look at the Jefferson Proclamation by the Celtics. Mike Fine has Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers lavishing praise on their draft picks, but wonders if they will even see much action this coming season. Gary Fitz says that the Celtics are pinning their hopes for the future on potential. For a good look at Jefferson, you might be interested in this feature article written about him by Rick Cleveland back in February. Bill Simmons has his annual NBA draft diary.

Alan Greenwood looks at the struggling Sox offense. Bob Stern says the Bill James theories of the Sox came up short against the small ball Twins. Del N. Jones says that Nomar is still limited by his injury. Greenwood’s notebook says there is no rush in getting Pokey Reese back. Jones’ notebook looks at the struggling Kevin Millar.

Mike Freeman of Jacksonville says that Boston certainly is a racist city. He has the examples to prove it….from the 1980’s. The most recent example he has is the Dee Brown incident in 1990.

Mike Loftus says that even without a first round pick, the Bruins are doing their homework for this weekend’s NHL draft.

Bob Gretz of the Kansas City Chiefs website takes an offseason look at the Patriots.

Jim Baker looks at WMUR-TV’s decision to promote Jamie Staton into the sports director role at the station He has quotes from former director Charlie Sherman, who resigned in March, and later tried to get his job back.

Jefferson – Movin’ on up to Boston

June 25, 2004 by

The Sox scuffle again at Fenway. Bob Hohler looks at the 4-3 loss to the Twins, noting the need for this team to put all aspects of the game together. Jeff Horrigan says defensive lapses cost the Sox this one. Steven Krasner looks at the Red Sox slide continuing on. David Heuschkel ponders the irony of Jose Offerman executing a sacrifice bunt in the 10th to move the winning run closer to home for the Twins. David Borges looks at the Sox inability to get any sort of hot streak going. Tony Massarotti says the Sox need to snap out of whatever funk they are in and get things going…soon. Kevin Gray says that Nomar is not 100% yet, and says the play in the 10th inning is evidence of that. Rich Thompson has Nomar taking blame for the error, though he feels it should’ve been ruled a hit and an error, not a two-base error. Joe Haggerty looks at the errors just killing the Sox. Steve Britt says maybe Nomar is just trying too hard.

Carlos Beltran was traded to the Astros last night, and Nick Cafardo takes a look at what the Sox might target now that he is off the market. Mike Shalin looks at David Ortiz, who had another big day against his old team yesterday, but couldn’t put the Sox over the top. Michael Vega looks at Tim Wakefield, who was encouraged by his outing yesterday. Shalin also has a look at Wakefield, who decided to stop thinking so much, and just pitch. Joe Sullivan looks at New Hampshire day at Fenway. James Murphy looked at Sox fans at Coors field last week. Hohler’s notebook has Pokey Reese encouraged by how his thumb felt yesterday after a night of rest. Horrigan’s notebook has Pokey hoping to play on Sunday, while Heuschkel’s notebook says Reese is not likely to play this weekend. Krasner’s notebook has still more on Pokey. Borges’ notebook looks at the Twins Joe Mauer.

If Ron Borges was writing about the Celtics draft, he’d be sure to say that that selection of Al Jefferson was a makeup pick and that Kendrick Perkins is a bust. However, Peter May appears to actually like the Celtics selection of high school star Jefferson at pick number 15 overall. He says there’s no reason that Jefferson shouldn’t be able to come in and start right away for the green. That might be pushing things, but the kid seems to have some game. Mark Murphy says the Celtics are happy to get Jefferson, and he fills a need for them. Jeff Goodman in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (subscription only) has a piece on Jefferson, and even has a couple quotes from the 6-9 forward.

Asked what he knew about the Celtics, Jefferson said: