Brearley Banter

random musings

haven't blogged since the red sox won the world series...its awesome to be at the top of the mountain. new englanders are so spoiled to have the sox and patriots... they are solid organizations with foundations based on teamwork and a championship caliber of play. its a sports renaissance in new england and we should soak it up!

i am a religious reader of espn.com for all sports. but since baseball is my ultimate sports passion i pay extra attention to the columns written throughout the season. that being said i think espn has made some awful judgements on who they hire and what content they allow to be posted on their site.

heres 2 examples from this past season why i think ESPN.com  has some of the worst baseball analysts.

1) keith law is a former scout (toronto) who knows very little other than some random scouting jargon. he uses  phrases like "plus power" and "sound delivery" to sound intelligent.. hows this for intelligence from an article in may he wrote on 2007 rookies:

• Dustin Pedroia doesn't have the strength or bat speed to hit major-league pitching consistently, and he has no power. If he can continue to hit .260 or so, he'll be useful, and he probably has a future as a backup infielder if he can stop rolling over to third base and shortstop. flash forward and "MR. backup infielder" finished with the highest rookie BA for a 2nd baseman, was a catalyst for a championship team, played gold glove caliber defense, and by the way, won rookie of the year.

2) rob neyer: plain and simple this guy is a yankee lover..i refer you to the article on july 17th titled: "yankees use stats to find a gem." is it jeter, cano, joba???? no its the immortal edwar ramirez!! this guy is a gem?!?! what a crock; apparently ESPN gives the okay to nominate every middle relief pitcher who had 2-3 good outings for the hall of fame...so long as they play for the yankeesflash forward and "Mr gem" finished with an ERA of 8.14 in 21 games. he was left off the playoff roster. suzyn waldman probably sat by his locker and cried. also,  don't bother going onto "rumor central" on espn.com...according to them the yankees are front runners for miguel cabrera with mike lowell as a backup as well as johan santana with jake peavy as a backup, but don't plan to trade phil hughes or joba chamberlain.....WTF!?

here's hoping the red sox and mike lowell agree on a contract. i feel like he's a perfect fit for the team and, in turn, the team (and fenway) is a perfect fit for him

i feel slightly guilty about my newfound celtic passion..am i a bandwagon jumper? i know this; basketball is a sport i enjoy so i won't beat myself up too much. the NBA should videotape kevin garnett every second he is on the court and make rookies watch the tape. here's a guy with hall of fame talent, but his motor is always full throttle. one of the problems in the NBA is the periodic malaise of its superstars.. its lousy to pay for a ticket or watch on TV and see vince carter give 75%.. never happens with garnett.

last nights monday night football game was horrible. but how amazing is it that the patriots have the 49ers 1st round pick this april?!?! its not luck when an organization continuously makes great moves to maintain its teams excellence.

i continuously heard that CC Sabathia should win the cy young because he pitched more innings and started more games than josh beckett.. well that's fine, he can have his award. those 3-4 fewer starts and 40+ fewer innings pitched probably got the sox the world title. individual awards are so hollow when you look at the big picture.

obviously not breaking news, but if coco crisp is on the red sox february 15th i will be totally shocked.

went to the annual GBSCC baseball card show in wilmington, mass. jonathan papelbon was there and i got some photos signed. what a madhouse. anyone who has waited in line at these shows and dealt with promoters knows what a crappy experience it can be. i've come to the conclusion that there can be no expectations at these shows. don't assume the player will smile or even acknowledge you, know that you will be treated like they are doing you a favor & realize this is simply a business transaction. you pay a fee and receive an aoutograph. not to sound like a grumpy old man because i've learned through the years to set the bar VERY low; but i feel really bad when i see a 7-10 year old kid who thinks he is about to have a religious experience and the player looks right through him without a smile or greeting.

this looks bad!

i have sworn off watching the red sox for the past few days and that is a good thing. if i witnessed the past couple games i would have been up all night replaying the horror of what i witnessed on the diamond. do these guys want it?? at a time when a championship team should be gearing up for the playoffs the sox seem to be stuck in a rut and playing with the type of intensity reseved for spring training games. red sox nation is not happy.. no sense blaming gagne, francona, manny etc., it's a team-wide malaise.

my poor little girl ellie is getting her molers and its taking its toll on her. couple that with just starting daycare and sharing germs with all the other 2 year-olds and she is a mess right now. but she is such a trooper; drooling, pooping, not sleeping well & she still has that beautiful smile on her face. it really trivializes my obsession with the red sox. no doubt children put things into perspective. i took her to Target this morning & its right next door to a Petco & she loves animals. due to time restrictions i couldn't take her in and, needless to say, she gave me a run for my money. somehow she can contort her body into a perfectly flat board and refuse to be buckled into her seat. i proceeded to battle her for a good 5 minutes as the entire parking lot looked on. i think some of the mommies had the 9-1 dialed and were ready to hit the other 1 if things got any more heated! proud to say i kept my composure, got her into the carseat and was out of the lot with laurie berkner blaring on the radio.

red sox and spy games

i went to bed after the 8th inning last night convinced the red sox would lose. they had ample opportunities throughout the game & i figured they would squander any chance they had in the 9th like they had for the previous 8 innings. the sox aren't playing well enough to face the yankees right now. last 3 games; lose 1-0, win 16-10 after trailing 8 to 1 and winning 5-4 but lester was ineffective, we still left too many on base and papi got all 5 RBI. i know this sounds like a typical red sox fan's rant-- and it is! its just that i'd like to see them put together a few solid games in a row. by that i mean a quality start from the rotation, some timely hitting and contributions from the bullpen (particuarly gagne). look, we're going to make the playoffs, but at this point it would be nice to see us putting everything together for a championship run. speaking of the playoffs, i really want the AL East crown. obviously both the sox and yankees are getting in, but to capture the division title instead of the wild card would be a great moral victory.

the situation with the patriots is pretty embarrassing from where i'm standing. the most successful orgainization in the NFL for the past decade is resorting to videotaping its opponents coaching staff to gain an unfair advantage; c'mon belichick & Co.!! most teams in the league already have a reason to hate us, but this really puts the bullseye on our back. every win past, present & future is now somewhat clouded. there has to be a harsh penalty for these actions and, as a pats fan, would be very happy if it were just a fine and couple draft picks. it sounds dramatic, but i can really see goodell using this as an example and suspending belichick for a game....none of us are naive enough to think the patriots are the only team out there doing something technically illegal to gain an advantage, it just sucks they got caught.  but its pathetic to hear all the other coaches and players league wide discussing the issue like choir boys when we all know they have their own methods of cheating just like patriots.  if the commishioner suspended everyone who cheated their would be no players or coaches for games. as a player something like a poke to the eye in a pig-pile or greasing your forearms to make yourself hard to grasp. or in coaching, with or without a camera, its easy to assign someone the duty of trying to figure out the other teams signals. 

Back by popular demand?!?!?!

it's been a while since my last post...i could blame it on being insanely busy, but the truth is i was slacking --and lacking writing material. just to catch everyone up to speed; brearley.com softball season is over. we went 13-15 which is our highest win total in our 3 years of existence. also, i am in the process of selling my home and moving to reading where my wife and i both grew up . it will be great to get back there since its such a nice community. however, i wouldn't wish the process of selling, packing etc. on my worst enemy. someone could make a ton of money being a "moving consulatant", but of course nobody is dumb enough to offer such a service. 

In a man's world today might be as close to xanadu as it gets...baseball pennant races and opening day for the NFL. what a great day, my remote control got quite a workout between the red sox (win), and the patriots (win). player of the day is randy moss (no brainer). he owned the field. one thing i notice in sports is that the true greats answer the bell when the spotlight shines brightest. randy moss has been dogged for close to 3 years and some questioned the patriots decision to bring him on board. well, anyone who saw the game was witness to a truly great performance. it should be a fun season with him around.

football does bring the fall so i am a little sad that the end of summer is upon us. i've really started to enjoy the fall in the past couple of years, but i love the sun and warmth of summer.  fall also brings school & with my wife julie being a school teacher i have to adjust to the alarm going off at 6:15 AM. i have a great time with our daughter ellie in the morning. she wakes up with a big smile on her face and its just the best way to start a day (even at 6:30). this is ellie's second year at her day care center and when she started last week i couldn't believe how much of a big girl she has become. i bet every parent thinks their kid is awesome, but i have to believe that ellie is the favorite at school!!!

time to dive into some moving boxes and get packing.

'til next time

lucky leprechaun???

i want the celtics to be relevant in boston again. we need to win this draft lottery tonight & if there is anything fair in this world we will win. a team with such a glorious tradition and the most championships in the NBA is an afterthought to an entire generation of fans and players. kevin durant & greg oden were not even born the last time the celtics won a title. here is an opportunity to fix all that. if we win the right to draft #1 i want the celtics to select oden. the guy is a beast who should provide an immediate defensive presence while developing a nice offensive game over time. in addition this will put the celtics on the map for national exposure and educate the young generation about the amazing tradition of winning the celtics established for a good part of 4 decades. unfortunately if they don't get the 1st or 2nd pick i think its anywhere from 5-10 years before we challenge for anything meaningful in the playoffs. as constituted the c's are a 33-37 win team which isn't good enough to do anything and isn't bad enough to get a stud player. thats the cylce we'll be in until paul pierce retires or gets traded. so at around 8:45 tonight i'm gonna crack a cold sam adams and either drink to the luck of the leprechaun or drink to the passing of one of the greatest organizations in all of professional sports.

quick update on brearley.com softball. we are 4-1 which is our best start ever. defense is solid and we have scored more runs than any other team in the league. last night we won 16-6 with key contributions all over the field. josh driscoll and jeff boucher set the table nicely at the top of the order and our 3-5 hitters got them in every time. the key hit was an opposite field grand slam from andy sanford who has now homered in each of our 1st 5 games. we have a nice 8 day layoff before our next game which is nice since a couple of the guys are banged up a bit. after the long weekend the season really swings into action so this little layoff is a big lift.

and of course the red sox are in yankee stadium to play the bronx bombers. we lost last night and i was a bit frustrated with manny ramirez. he seems to be a little lost at the plate and isn't coming through in the clutch like we need him to ...look, the guy is a hall of famer so the numbers are going to be there at the end of the year. i just hope tonight is the night he blows up and goes on a nice month long tear.

i'm ashamed

i just traded for roger clemens in my fantasy baseball league. it was a knee jerk reaction since i just lost roy halladay to appendicitis. so i swapped halladay for clemens figuring i'd have rocket for 3 weeks before halladay gets back. plus who knows how strong halladay will be upon his return & the blue jays are in disarray right now. honestly i can't say i'm rooting for clemens so i might have just given up on my fantasy season.

i want to finish the 1-year wonders team. i have 5 outfielders & can't seem to whittle it down to 3. plus i feel like i'm missing someone obvious. the first 2 guys are shoe-ins. brady anderson: we all know his ridiculous story by now 50 homers and 110 RBI from a guy who never appraoched those numbers again. he was a nice player, but this is a true 1-year wonder. most of us would bet our house that he was on something illegal that season. second outfielder is big joe charboneau who in 1980 won not only the AL ROY for the indians but also won over the hearts of all cleveland fans. he his .289 with 23 homers and 87 RBI. he was out of baseball 2 years later with a total of 29 dingers. apparently he was quite a character; opening beer bottles with his eyelids and, rumor has it, once pulling out one of his own teeth with a pair of pliers in the indians locker room. i have room for 1 more outfielder & its between darin erstad, cito gaston and jim hickman. erstad is tough because he is a solid player who has appeared in multiple all star games. but his 2000 season with 121 runs scored, 240 hits, 100 RBI & .352 batting average is crazy. he doesn't come anywhere close to those numbers in any other season. that season is one for the ages; something you'd see by greats like pujols, williams, boggs etc. not darin erstad. my only hesitation is the fact that he is a solid player so pooling him with dropo, anderson, fidrych etal seems a bit unfair. cito gaston deserves mention because a lot of people didn't even realize he played, knowing him only as manager of the blue jays. but in 1970 while gaston played with the padres he had a .318 batting average with 29 homers and 93 RBI. he also had 186 hits. this from a guy who hit 91 career homers and had a career BA of .256. he eclipsed his HR career best by 12 and RBI career best by 32. last OF is jim hickman who was with the cubs in 1970 when he went for 32-115-.315, beating his season highs by 13 HR's & 51 RBI. also his career BA is .252.

i'm sure there are other outfielders like hickman and gaston, but for various reasons (including ending this 1-year wonder saga) i am putting them on my squad. for 1 year these guys owned it, holding up and often bettering seasons by legitimate hall of famers and baseball greats. these statistical anomolies are what makes baseball great. you don't get numbers like these in football or basketball.

so once more:

C: todd hundley, 1B:Walt Dropo, 2B:Davey Johnson, SS:Pat Listach, 3B: fernando Tatis, OF: Charboneau, anderson, gaston, erstad, hickman, SP: Mark Fidrych, RP: Mark Davis

suzyn waldmann

what an embarrassing mark on suzyn waldmann's career last week. most of us have heard it, but the gushing and drooling over the arrival of roger clemens during the 7th inning stretch was enough to make even a yankee fans stomach turn. every fan like to have an announcer who is a "homer". a homer clearly roots for the team he/she works for and often their opinions are biased by that homerism. waldmann just took it too far; and her voice is not easy on the ears. it sounded like she was eating McDonald's for the first 6 innings. the last thing i want to say about this is her declaration of clemens arrival as "one of the most dramatic moments she has seen with the yankees." are you kidding me?!?!? the most storied franchise in sports history with great players, great moments etc..jackson 3 HR's on 3 pitches in 1977 series...jeter head's up to nail jeremy giambi in oakland.. chris chambliss, the list goes on and i am only referencing moments from the late 70's to now. even off the field dramatics like the deaths of dimaggio, mantle, munson. surely the drama surrounding those events eclipses a 45 year old hired gun grabbing a microphone in the owners box and mumbling some texas trash.

moving on to things that matter...brearley.com lost last night. we are now 2-1 and have a nice 4 day layoff before our next game. we need some physical and mental rest right now. we got too jacked to beat the maverick's last night and it totally played to their advantage. starting now i'm over it.

i am obsessed with filling out this one year wonder team & i have the left side of the infield. the SS is pat listach. i considered 1965 AL MVP zoilo versalles, but he actually put together a nice career. listach was the ROY in 1992 for the brewers. his biggest asset was his speed and he stole 54 bases that year. it was all downhill from there. he never again stole half that many in a single season. also his 168 hits that year was almost double what he'd accumulate in any of his following seasons. this is what i find fascinating about these 1-year wonders. they own it for a season and then, for whatever reason, not only can't do it again, but they can't even come close to doing it again. third base is fernando tatis, and his 1999 season with the cardinals is quite unique. he blew up for 34 HR's and 107 RBI that season & even managed to score over 100 runs, steal 21 bases and bat .298. in 1999 he also became the only player to hit 2 grand slams in 1 inning. the guy was a stud. well, something here is unexplainable because his high's for the rest of his career was 18 HR's, 64 RBI and a career .260 BA. and the 21 steals account for almost half of the 43 career swipes. i do have to mention that he shared a locker room with mark mcgwire that season so maybe there was some magic potion floating around the room. next post i'll have the outfield and we'll put this 1-year wonder thing to bed.

i'm getting old

my body has a little ache to it this morning. i'm in lousy shape. yesterday i walked the dog, did some spring cleaning around the yard and had a softball game at 8. nothing too straining, but i'm sore. my back is taking the worst of it. either way no sense moaning.

brearley.com won again last night 18-9. i wasn't real satisfied with our first 3 innings of play as we were sloppy in the field. thankfully we continue to score runs so it makes up for defensive lapses. we tightened up the defense in the later innings and took care of business. we had some big 2 out hits by david smith & t.j. dupuis that helped put us over the top. our next game is against the maverick's. these guys are a bunch of crusty veterans who will take advantage of any mistakes a team will make so we need to bring our A-game if we plan on going to 3-0.

continuing with the 1-year wonder theme i have the right side of the infield. 1B has to be walt dropo. in his rookie year of 1950 he hit .322 with 34 homers and 144RBI's with the red sox. he was albert pujols!! needless to say it was downhill from there although dropo did have a couple of nice seasons after that, but none that approached the monster season he had in 1950. the 2B is davey johnson; more known for managing the 1986 mets to the world championship. few people know that in 1973 johnson hit 43 homers and drove in 99 runs for the atlanta braves. even fewer people realize that homer total is 25 more than he hit in any other year! if it wasn't 1973 this would scream steroids. my guess is crazy dumb luck and the fortune of hitting in a line-up with hank aaron. actually 3 braves hit 40 or more homers that season so maybe something was in the air.

roger clemens

okay so clemens is a yankee. i have a few observations regarding this. first, lets just eliminate any talk of clemens making choices based on anything other than money. he went to the team that paid him the most. along with that, we can now determine that his claims to want to be close to home (houston) and wanting a chance to win a championship (boston) is just crap. if it was about being world champs he would look at the yankees and determine that the pitching just isn't there for them to win. clemens is a huge upgrade for the yanks, but that bullpen is bad and getting worse. we'll see a lot of games where clemens goes 5 innings, throws about 110 pitches and then turns the game over to the pen and they blow it. boston has a much better chance of winning the title. as for houston, they should feel used and abused right now. they started this whole absurd thing about clemens sitting out until june and then coming in on his high horse to save the day. roger clemens used the houston astros. he is a legend there and took advantage of that to create a situation that was only about roger clemens and his enormous ego. no other team would have allowed a player and his agents to play this wait and see game. in february ballplayers go to arizona or florida, run sprints, do monotonous drills and bond with teammates. they don't sit around saying "i'm 99% retired. if the phone rings i'll listen." just ridiculous and arrogant to disrespect the game and his own teammates like he's done the past couple of years.

i also love the fact that instead of just saying "i chose the yankees" he has to say the sox and astros dropped the ball. this is typical from a guy who for almost 25 years has talked from both sides of his mouth and neither side is telling the truth. according to clemens and the hendricks brothers(they are jerks too) the red sox and astros both wanted roger clemens no earlier than june 1 and the yankees wanted him immediately. this from a guy who hadn't even decided if he was going to play at all!!! now he tries telling us that boston and houston were holding him back & he didn't want to wait to get back on the mound. what a fraud. any time an athlete needs to discuss the failures of a negotiation with another team you can be sure it is because he really would rather be playing on that team rather than the team who signed him. it happened with johnny damon and pedro martinez when they bashed the sox on their way out of town. they act like a high school kid who just got dumped. damon and pedro wanted to stay here, but the agents and players association has players brainwashed into believing that the highest bidder is the best choice. its a sacrafice of happiness for an extra buck.

the thrill of victory

the brearley.com softball team got off to a great start saturday by beating glenn construction 11-9 in dramatic fashion. we had some solid defense and timely offense. in particular our SS mark (ozzie smith) memmolo played great in the field and set the table for us at the top of the order. we hit 3 homers, all with men on base. coley foley hit a 3 run jack in his first at bat of the season. andy sanford added a 2 run homer and dennis brearley hit a WALK-OFF 3 run homer in the bottom of the 7th to give us our most dramatic and exciting win in our 3 year history. we needed some champagne and stogies after this one!!! we play again on monday & i'll be sure to detail that game..

continuing my search for the alltime 1 year wonder team i have found a catcher..todd hundley. granted he was an everyday catcher for a number of years and had some solid power numbers. however, his 1996 season is ridiculous. he hit 41 homers and drove in 112.  not only is that 11 more homers than he hit in any other year, but it broke the single season record for HR's by a catcher. when you think of the catching greats of all time hundley doesn't come to mind, but there he is with the single season record. again, he had some nice years during his career, but to me that season stands out as a true one-year wonder.