I admit that I missed Heidi Watney a little at the beginning of the season, but young Ms. Dell has grown on me as the season has gone on. I also like the idea of having someone from Massachusetts as the Red Sox sideline reporter.
Category: Sports
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Rory Wins the Deutsche Bank
Remember a few weeks ago when people were worried about whether Rory was traveling around the world too much and not paying enough attention to his golf game? That *might* have been an overreaction.
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Give Adam Greenberg One At Bat
> Of the almost 17,500 people to play in Major League baseball, Adam Greenberg is the only player to have his career end on the very first pitch. In fact, according to Major League rules, Adam’s debut only counts as a plate appearance, not an official at bat.
> Our goal…to get Adam Greenberg the official at bat he deserves.
I am rooting for the Cubs to give him his at bat.
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UNC Did not Break any NCAA Rules
> The NCAA has told University of North Carolina officials that the university apparently did not break NCAA rules in the scandal surrounding the school’s Afro and African-American Studies Department, according to a statement released by the school Friday.
Though the “scandal” was framed as a football issue, I was worried it might leak over into the basketball program. Therefore, this is good news for people who are Carolina basketball fans[^me].
[^me]: Like the one I am currently engaged to.
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Hunter as a Red Sox OF in 2013
I would not mind this, *if* the Red Sox made it clear to Torii Hunter that he would end up with limited playing time and be expected to serve as a mentor to some of the younger Red Sox outfielders.
I still cannot believe this trade got made. [Over the Monster](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/8/29/3275699/the-incredible-improbability-of-the-red-sox-mega-deal) has the complete list of every thing that needed to happen for the trade to get done.
Dr. B with a rundown.
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Bard Called Back up to the Red Sox
I am really rooting for him. Not just in the “he is on the Red Sox so I cheer for him” way either.
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Bringing John Farrell back to Boston
One option people have been mentioning is trading Daniel Bard to the Blue Jays for him. [Over the Monster](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/8/28/3274436/john-farrell-and-the-insanity-of-player-manager-trades) explains why that is ridiculous:
> The idea of trading a player who has been very good in the past and could well be very good again in the near future when all the team needs to do is find someone competent seems like an overreaction. You will find few scenarios where trading a player for a manager is worthwhile, and none of them involving a player who has the ability to be as good as Daniel Bard.
Agreed. Instead, the Red Sox should just fire Bobby Valentine and promote Tim Bogar for next year. If that doesn’t work, John Farrell’s contract with the Blue Jays is up next year anyway.
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Welcome Back Aceves
Always fun to wake up to another blown save.
> If there’s any positive to this, it’s that the Bobby Valentine coffin which seemed to be pried open a few inches by the blockbuster trade and the Aceves suspension has hopefully been nailed back down. But that seemed shut for good a week ago, so who can even say?
I could not have been more wrong with my pre-season thoughts on how Bobby Valentine would do in Boston. He has been a disaster,
The top of my list includes:
> **Can Ryan Lavarnway Catch:** Ryan Lavarnway has been a favorite of ours here at Over the Monster. The Yale product did not start catching until he was in college and has been dogged by questions about his ability to stick at the position since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 draft. This season he made enormous strides behind the plate, being named the best defensive catcher in the International League by AAA coaches. Even with that honor on his resume, Red Sox fans have gotten a look at some of the challenges he faces as he transitions to the role of a big league catcher since his call up at the start of August
and one of my favorite players to watch:
> Che-Hsuan Lin is a 23 year old from Twain prospect who brings elite defensive ability, excellent speed and a very patient approach at the plate to the table. All of that would make Lin an extremely intriguing player if he had some ability to drive the ball. Lin has struggled to produce reasonable batting averages at the AAA level thus far. In two seasons at that level and almost 800 plate appearances Lin has just a .241/.325/.304 line. He does square the ball up well and he has virtually no power in his swing. However, he makes a great deal of sense for the 2013 as the fifth outfielder and top pinch running and defensive replacement option. Even with his poor hitting skills, his strike zone judgment helps him get on base and once there, he is an excellent runner stealing 145 bases in six minor league seasons while getting caught just 45 times. For a team that has gotten away from the grinding, patient approach that brought the Red Sox their greatest successes, Lin is certainly worth a look and deserves some consideration for the final bench spot.
Seeing Lin live is incredible. He gets to balls that you would think no one has a prayer of reaching. I hope he can prove he has enough of a bat to get him in the lineup.
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Beckett Loses First Dodgers Start
Josh Beckett losing his first Dodgers start *might* have made me smile.
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Isom Fails to Make LSU Football Team
Unfortunately, it appears Mo Isom, the [former LSU women’s soccer player I mentioned last week](https://johnkiv.us/2012/08/21/a-former-lsu-womens-soccer-player-tries-to-make-the-football-team/), did not make the LSU football team.
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Red Sox Want Ross and Ortiz Back
I like this plan. Bring back Big Papi and Cody Ross to provide some veteran leadership and overall stability to a very young team.
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The Argument for Signing Jacoby Ellsbury
> So we’re talking about a player with exceptional speed, who is capable of hitting for power, as well as for average, and, although lacking a powerful arm, is an outstanding outfielder.
Pretty good argument. Of course, with Scott Boras as his agent, he will probably try to cash in on a mega-deal somewhere.
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Bill Simmons on The Trade
> I thought the Red Sox were like that once upon a time. We won twice in four years. Somewhere along the line, we lost our way. I don’t know if we found it. Time will tell. I just know that I’m interested again.
Same here.
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Cherington puts his mark on the Red Sox
> The Sox want young, enthusiastic, hungry players who run out ground balls, hustle offensively and defensively, and give you a good day’s work for the money.
That is a team I look forward to rooting for.
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15 year old wins LPGA Tournament
The most exciting, young players in golf are on the LPGA Touer.
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An Early Look at the 2013 Red Sox
*Fangraphs* gives an early preview:
> Now, the question is, is the above a good team or a bad team? I would submit that it’s actually a pretty good team. Even during the worst offensive season of his career, Pedroia is still a top-10 second baseman, and both Aviles and Middlebrooks rank in the upper half of the league at their position this season. Ellsbury has shown that he can be a top-10 player in baseball, let alone a top-10 center fielder. When healthy, Ortiz has shown no signs of slowing down, and despite the best (or is it worst?) efforts of Melancon and Matt Albers this season, the Red Sox bullpen still sports an 88 FIP-, good for eighth-best in baseball entering Sunday. Catcher remains a concern, as does the starting rotation, but the structure of a good team still remains.
I will be fine going into next year with Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and a bunch of young, unproven guys who play hard and always hustle[^stuff]. I would prefer watching that kind of team fight for a wild card spot over watching a team like the Sox had this year just collapse while they collect paychecks.
[^stuff]: I think I can consider Will Middlebrooks as “unproven” because his sample size is so small. Also, I think I would prefer to see the Red Sox give the starting shortstop position to Pedro Ciriaco instead of Aviles.
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Big Papi back on the DL
Shut him down for the year. Re-sign him for the next two. It really should not be this hard.