Bailey's Daily!
This is Bailey's Daily Blog site to complain, compose, give utterance to, or just plain wax poetic. I am, if I may say, an adorable, sweet, TALENTED, 4 1/2 year old Beagle (that's 32 in people years who was rescued from Zell Miller's and Saxby Chambliss' South Georgia!). I love the Red Sox, my mom, gramdma's cooking, ice cream and playing in the dog park! I am learning how to email and blog with no opposable thumbs! IT'S BLOG-GONE FUN! WOOF!:)Tuesday, May 03, 2005
"Stay Calm Everyone"
Are we panicking yet? Steady everyone, there's no need to send up the white flags now. It's been a brutal last few weeks for the Red Sox, but there's no cause for alarm. At least, not yet.
It appears that the foot injury to David Wells will keep him out of action from 4-8 weeks. Curt Schilling's ankle injury, which occurred in his last start at Tampa Bay, is believed not to be directly related to the place where he had the surgery last November. He may only be out for about 2 weeks. It is more important to have them healthy in August and September, for hopefully October.
The Red Sox have given up a four run lead to Tampa Bay and a five run lead to Baltimore and lost both games. Keith Foulke looked like he was pitching batting practice in giving up those two two-run home runs to the Orioles last Tuesday night.It looks dismal, but my calendar says today is April 29. Trust me on this one: the Red Sox will be fine. After what happened last year (being without Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon for the first two months), they can weather this storm. Every game is important, but they still have 141 games to play.
I've heard the excuses for why the Red Sox haven't played well. World championship hangover. Johnny Damon's been in the media too much. Curt Schilling came back too soon. They shouldn't have let Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe leave. You can believe any or all the excuses being made for the less-than-stellar play. Fortunately the Yankees are playing much worse than the Red Sox now. How long that will continue is anyone's guess. I believe the Yankees have too much talent to be at or near the basement for too much longer. However, I never bought into the hype that they were shoo-ins for the division title (I still think the Sox will win it) or to win 100 games. Their problems, especially in their rotation and bullpen, aren't going to go away any time soon. Can they still make the playoffs? Sure. But I still believe they are on a downward slope, and their glory days are currently in the rearview mirror.
The Orioles are currently in first place, and have been impressive in the first month of the season. They have one of the best balanced lineups in the game, and Brian Roberts has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have a good bullpen, but if their starting pitching can hold up through the summer (and that's a big question), a playoff run isn't out of the question. The Blue Jays are a better team than they were last year, but they are not a playoff contender just yet. I've been impressed with rookie starter Gustavo Chacin, who's won 4 games so far.
He and Roy Halladay can make an impressive 1-2 combo in their rotation. Miguel Batista, who I've always liked, has been very good as a closer, with 6 saves so far. The Jays have been better, even with the loss of Carlos Delgado. I don't see them hanging around the playoff race however.The Devil Rays?
I still think there's hope for the franchise, but they have to find an owner willing to spend money. They have lots of talented young players, but need some veterans (not ones who are just barely hanging on). I have to admit I was impressed with the fact that after being pummeled by the Yankees 19-8 (could be a bad omen for the Yankees; remember last October 16?), they came right back and beat them and Randy Johnson, 6-2, the next night. They just need some better middle caliber players in order to take the next step (not to mention some decent starting pitching).Losing two of three to Tampa Bay is of course, tough to swallow, and in many ways, unacceptable.
This is clearly a tougher division in 2005, and the Yankees and Red Sox finishing in the top two spots is not a guaranteed thing. The injury bug has hit the Red Sox hard, and now for the time being the Sox will have long reliever John Halama and former Devil Ray Jeremi Gonzalez in the rotation until Wade Miller is set to make his Red Sox debut. The news on Miller is very good, as he pitched five shutout innings for Pawtucket on Thursday night. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox will activate him sooner than expected. I do believe they will have to give him at least another start at AAA before he joins the Sox.The overall play of the Sox has been at times lackluster. Mark Bellhorn looks like a cinch to strike out 200 times, and Edgar Renteria is hitting into double plays at a Jim Rice-like pace. Alan Embree has given up two crucial home runs that have either led to or lost games. And Keith Foulke? He looks totally lost compared to the dominant closer he was for most of 2004. Still, I don't panic in the month of April. The Yankees are currently behind the Red Sox, and the Orioles are holding on to first place. Anyone want to bet that changes before long?
There are of course, many positive signs. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have both busted out and belted some memorable home runs, and Johnny Damon has hit well since the season started. (He doesn't look distracted to me.)2005 will be a very different season than the Sox world championship season of 2004. Can they win it all again? I believe so. But just stay calm everyone.As they say about baseball, "It's a marathon, not a sprint.
"Before I go, here's a comforting thought. I was watching the local sports news last night, and they talked about the New Jersey Nets losing to Miami and going down 0-3 in their opening round NBA series. (I think you may know where I'm going with this.) Jason Collins of the Nets was asked about being down and possibly coming back from 0-3 in the series."The Red Sox did it. So there is a precedent to it."The sportscaster seemed a little annoyed by that and said, "They're still talking about what Boston did last year."The legacy of October of 2004. It's a beautiful thing. But now back to our regularly scheduled program: the 2005 season, already in progress
Written by John Brian Quinn, Brooklyn Sox fan on the Born Into It.com website
It appears that the foot injury to David Wells will keep him out of action from 4-8 weeks. Curt Schilling's ankle injury, which occurred in his last start at Tampa Bay, is believed not to be directly related to the place where he had the surgery last November. He may only be out for about 2 weeks. It is more important to have them healthy in August and September, for hopefully October.
The Red Sox have given up a four run lead to Tampa Bay and a five run lead to Baltimore and lost both games. Keith Foulke looked like he was pitching batting practice in giving up those two two-run home runs to the Orioles last Tuesday night.It looks dismal, but my calendar says today is April 29. Trust me on this one: the Red Sox will be fine. After what happened last year (being without Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon for the first two months), they can weather this storm. Every game is important, but they still have 141 games to play.
I've heard the excuses for why the Red Sox haven't played well. World championship hangover. Johnny Damon's been in the media too much. Curt Schilling came back too soon. They shouldn't have let Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe leave. You can believe any or all the excuses being made for the less-than-stellar play. Fortunately the Yankees are playing much worse than the Red Sox now. How long that will continue is anyone's guess. I believe the Yankees have too much talent to be at or near the basement for too much longer. However, I never bought into the hype that they were shoo-ins for the division title (I still think the Sox will win it) or to win 100 games. Their problems, especially in their rotation and bullpen, aren't going to go away any time soon. Can they still make the playoffs? Sure. But I still believe they are on a downward slope, and their glory days are currently in the rearview mirror.
The Orioles are currently in first place, and have been impressive in the first month of the season. They have one of the best balanced lineups in the game, and Brian Roberts has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have a good bullpen, but if their starting pitching can hold up through the summer (and that's a big question), a playoff run isn't out of the question. The Blue Jays are a better team than they were last year, but they are not a playoff contender just yet. I've been impressed with rookie starter Gustavo Chacin, who's won 4 games so far.
He and Roy Halladay can make an impressive 1-2 combo in their rotation. Miguel Batista, who I've always liked, has been very good as a closer, with 6 saves so far. The Jays have been better, even with the loss of Carlos Delgado. I don't see them hanging around the playoff race however.The Devil Rays?
I still think there's hope for the franchise, but they have to find an owner willing to spend money. They have lots of talented young players, but need some veterans (not ones who are just barely hanging on). I have to admit I was impressed with the fact that after being pummeled by the Yankees 19-8 (could be a bad omen for the Yankees; remember last October 16?), they came right back and beat them and Randy Johnson, 6-2, the next night. They just need some better middle caliber players in order to take the next step (not to mention some decent starting pitching).Losing two of three to Tampa Bay is of course, tough to swallow, and in many ways, unacceptable.
This is clearly a tougher division in 2005, and the Yankees and Red Sox finishing in the top two spots is not a guaranteed thing. The injury bug has hit the Red Sox hard, and now for the time being the Sox will have long reliever John Halama and former Devil Ray Jeremi Gonzalez in the rotation until Wade Miller is set to make his Red Sox debut. The news on Miller is very good, as he pitched five shutout innings for Pawtucket on Thursday night. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox will activate him sooner than expected. I do believe they will have to give him at least another start at AAA before he joins the Sox.The overall play of the Sox has been at times lackluster. Mark Bellhorn looks like a cinch to strike out 200 times, and Edgar Renteria is hitting into double plays at a Jim Rice-like pace. Alan Embree has given up two crucial home runs that have either led to or lost games. And Keith Foulke? He looks totally lost compared to the dominant closer he was for most of 2004. Still, I don't panic in the month of April. The Yankees are currently behind the Red Sox, and the Orioles are holding on to first place. Anyone want to bet that changes before long?
There are of course, many positive signs. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have both busted out and belted some memorable home runs, and Johnny Damon has hit well since the season started. (He doesn't look distracted to me.)2005 will be a very different season than the Sox world championship season of 2004. Can they win it all again? I believe so. But just stay calm everyone.As they say about baseball, "It's a marathon, not a sprint.
"Before I go, here's a comforting thought. I was watching the local sports news last night, and they talked about the New Jersey Nets losing to Miami and going down 0-3 in their opening round NBA series. (I think you may know where I'm going with this.) Jason Collins of the Nets was asked about being down and possibly coming back from 0-3 in the series."The Red Sox did it. So there is a precedent to it."The sportscaster seemed a little annoyed by that and said, "They're still talking about what Boston did last year."The legacy of October of 2004. It's a beautiful thing. But now back to our regularly scheduled program: the 2005 season, already in progress
Written by John Brian Quinn, Brooklyn Sox fan on the Born Into It.com website
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