The world is not a prison house but a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks. ~Edwin Arlington Robinson
What is it with the Red Sox vs the White Sox? In the last 13 meetings between these two - the White Sox have come out on top 11 times! On Monday, Chicago beat Boston 7-3. Jon Lester was riding a seven-game winning streak. He gave up 7 runs, 8 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4 in 5 2-3 innings. To make things worse, the guy who I despise more than anyone in baseball, A.J. Pierzynski, racked-up 2 RBIs. Taking my mind to a happier place...
Tonight: White Sox vs Red Sox at 7:10 PM from Fenway.
The Tigers enjoyed a better result - but not without controversy. Detroit beat the woeful Minnesota Twins on a spectator interference call in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Baby-Faced Assassin and V-Mart hit homers. Martinez' two-run dinger tied the game 5-5 in the 6th inning. In the bottom of the 8th, Alex Avila hit a ball that went down the left-field line, a couple fans along the fence reached over to snag it, then it bounced off another fan in the stands - the umps ruled fan interference - and Jhonny Peralta was allowed to score from first on the play. That gave the Tigers a 6-5 win. Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected after arguing the play...
The Twins, always a classy organization, had a No. 3 jersey hanging in their dugout in memory of Harmon Killebrew...
Tonight: Twins vs Tigers at 7:10 PM from Comerica Park.
The Red Sox and Tigers split their doubleheader on Sunday. Boston took 3-out-of-4 against Detroit. They're 1 game up on the Yankees - 1st place in the AL East. In Game 1 Boston and Detroit exchanged homers. Dustin Pedroia and Mike Cameron went deep for Beantown. Andy Dirks and Brennan Boesch went deep for Motown. The score was tied 3-3 in the 9th when Big Papi came in to pinch hit for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Large Father took closer Jose Valverde deep for a 4-3 Boston win...
The HBWHOF went to the ballpark for Game 2. I couldn't miss a showdown between Josh Beckett and Justin Verlander! The Tigers won 3-0. Do ya think Verlander wanted this one? He threw a career-high 132 pitches! Verlander went 7 2/3 shutout innings, allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and added 3 strikeouts. Beckett pitched 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, 5 walks, 2 runs and added 5 Ks.
"Beckett's stuff was up in the first inning, and he gave up a couple runs. After that, Verlander never gave us a chance. He's one of the best in baseball. We made him work, but the higher he got into the pitch count, the harder he threw." - Red Sox manager Terry Francona
Some pics from the game - HBWHOF style... This ad is directly over the urinal in the men's washroom at Leo's Coney Island at Comerica Park. "Success is in your hand."
Have you ever watched HUNG? Great show! The best Motor City intro EVER!! The Ren Cen, Joe Louis' fist, Hart Plaza fountain, Lafayette Coney Island, the People Mover, FOX Theatre, Woodward Avenue...just awesome!!!
FRONT ROOOOOW - SECTION 114 - LOTSA FOUL BALLS FROM BOSTON'S LEFT HANDED BATTERS...
Like Hall of Famer Ernie Banks used to say, "LET'S PLAY TWO!" Today's day game: Clay Buchholz vs Andy Oliver at 1:05 PM. The HBWHOF will be at tonight's game - and it's a beauty: Josh Beckett vs Justin Verlander at 7:05 PM.
The HBWHOF went to Comerica Park for Saturday night's Red Sox - Tigers game. It looked like a nice evening. The weather forecast said the rain wasn't supposed to hit until later at night. WRONG! Gametime was 7:10. At 7:00 the scoreboard said the game was in a rain delay - even though the sky was clear and there were only a few isolated sprinkles. Then, around 7:10 - BOOM - the heavens opened-up and the downpour began...They called the game around 8:45 - POSTPONED. So, it's a doubleheader today. The only consolation is...my game has now moved to the Sunday night game...which means - rather than seeing Clay Buchholz vs Andy Oliver - I NOW get the sweet showdown: Josh Beckett vs Justin Verlander!!
Here are some pics from the pre-game on Saturday night. A Memorial Day float outside Comerica Park...
It was Elvis night at the ballpark - so I was hangin' with the King's disciples...
At the Elvis booth, you could even pick up a pair of the King's shades...
It was still beautiful weather when the Red Sox took batting practice...
Varitek & Yoooooouuuuk...
This is a new feature at The Copa. There's a Food Network concession! My wife had the Drunken Pork Sandwich. Freakin' delicious!!
This season the HBWHOF has a lot of career watches going on: Derek Jeter sits at 2,977 career hits - 23 away from 3,000...Tim Wakefield sits at 195 career wins - 5 away from 200...Jim Thome sits at 593 home runs - 7 away from 600(And they're CLEAN homers too!)... So, right now, I'm impressed with all things Thome! Big Jimbo paid a fine tribute to the late, great Twins' slugger Harmon Killebrew at Target Field a few days ago. The televised ceremony featured a video of Killebrew’s 520-foot home run at the old ballpark - The Met. The cameras then zoomed out to a bleacher seat in Target Field 520 feet from home plate...and there sat Jim Thome holding at 1962 Killebrew game-worn jersey...
Tim Wakefield threw nothin' but knucklers to beat the Tigers 6-3. Wakefield pitched 7 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He faced 28 batters and his fastest offering topped-out at 75 MPH. Wakefield started his career in Pittsburgh. In 1992 and '93 he played for current Tigers manager Jim Leyland...
In 1995 Wakefield went to Boston. He's five wins away from 200 career victories. I think he has a little Captain in him...
The HBWHOF will be at the game tonight. Clay Buchholz vs Andy Oliver at 7:10 PM.
Hmm, 28 runs in the last two games. Not too shabby. On Thursday, the Red Sox CRUSHED the Tigers 14-1 in a rain-shortened game. After the 8th inning, the umpires called a rain delay. An hour later they called the game. One of Detroit's best pitchers, Max Scherzer, got shelled! Boston put-up 16 hits. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer. Carl Crawford went 4-for-5 with two triples and 3 RBIs. Alfredo Aceves pitched 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 run and notched 6 Ks. Two of my faves chattin' it up at 1st base - The Baby-Faced Assassin & The Large Father...
Tonight: Tim Wakefield vs Rick Porcello at 7:05 PM
On Wednesday, the Yankees beat the Jays 7-3. In the 9th inning, Mariano Rivera became the first player in major league history to make 1,000 appearances with the same team! The dude's headed to the Hall of Fame, he's got 5 World Series rings, 572 saves and 1,068 strikeouts and he's done it all with one pitch - a cut fastball!!
The Tigers - Rays game was postponed yesterday after a monsoon hit Motown. There's another day game today - and more rain expected. Boston visits Detroit at 1:05 PM.
On Wednesday, the Red Sox clobbered the Indians 14-2. Boston was leading 7-0 after the 1st inning! The Red Sox had 20 hits. Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs. Dustin Pedroia hit a homer and 3 RBIs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a homer and 3 RBIs. The Large Father hit a dinger that was estimated at 431-feet! Jon Lester pitched 6 innings, allowed 3 hits and struck-out 7 Cleveland batters.
Cleveland faced Boston's big guns - Buchholz, Beckett and Lester. Detroit is gonna get off easy...they get Alfredo Aceves, Tim Wakefield...then Buccholz...then who knows? Beckett?? With John Lackey and Dice K on the DL, Terry Francona is doing some juggling!
The Boston Red Sox are firing on all cylinders! On Tuesday night, the Red Sox beat the Tribe 4-2. Josh Beckett pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 run and notched 6 Ks. Beckett leads the American League in ERA with 1.69. Big Papi is batting .341 with seven homers and nine RBIs in his last 20 games. Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .340 and leads the majors with 42 RBIs. With John Lackey, Dice K, Dustin Pedroia, Bobby Jenks and Marco Scutaro all on the DL...I just hope the young guys can fill the holes. Red Sox vs Indians - 12:05 today at Progressive Field.
Well, that wasn't much of a competition! In a Battle of Baseball WAGs - Jeter's girlfriend, Minka Kelly, just destroyed A-Rod's gf, Cameron Diaz. Minka took 86% of the popular vote in RACK-OFF! Nicely done, Ms. Kelly...
On Monday, the Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3. The winning pitcher for Detroit was Charlie Furbush? Andy Dirks hit his first career homer too? Detroit has guys like Dirks & Furbush(Do you think kids made fun of this dude's name growing up?) in the lineup because their disabled list continues to grow. Furbush got his first big league win because Phil Coke sprained his ankle yesterday. Carlos Guillen and Joel Zumaya are DL lifers! Magglio Ordonez and Brad Thomas are probably going to be back in late June. You have to give the Tigers credit cuz they always manage to bring-up young guys who can play ball...Will Rhymes, Danny Worth, Brennan Boesch, Don Kelly, Ryan Raburn, Casper Wells and Clete Thomas have kept Detroit rollin'. Tigers vs Rays tonight at 7:05.
Justin Verlander congratulates Charlie Furbush on his Major League debut...
The Cleveland Indians continue to dominate the Boston Red Sox. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a double in the 8th inning to beat Boston 3-2. The Tribe had a 3-game sweep against Boston at the beginning of April. The Red Sox play two more games in Cleveland before visiting Detroit for a 4-game series against the Tigers. Cleveland vs Boston tonight at 7:05.
Right now, these guys are a force to be reckoned with...
WTF is going on with the Minnesota Twins? On Monday the Twins blew a 3-run lead to lose 8-7 to the Seattle Mariners! The Twins are already 15 1/2 games out of first in the AL Central!! Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer haven't exactly been tearin' it up... But the Twins have one cat on their roster who I've ALWAYS liked... Jim Thome. Thome returned from missing 19 games on the DL and cranked two homers yesterday. Jimbo smacked #592 & #593. He's 7 dingers away from the big 600 homer club. To put that into perpective - there's only 7 guys ahead of Thome in career home runs - and three of them cheated their way there... The three weasels: No. 1 - Barry Bonds at 762 homers, No. 6 - A-Rod at 622, No. 7 Sammy Sosa at 609. Check out this little stat: MLB waited until 2004 to impose penalties on players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs(steroids). Between 1995 and 2003, when NO SUSPENSIONS were given to cheaters, here are your Top 7 home run leaders: Sammy Sosa hit 444, Barry Bonds hit 399, Rafael Palmeiro hit 373,Jim Thome hit 351, Alex Rodriguez hit 345, Mark McGwire hit 345 and Manny Ramirez hit 328. Notice anything? The ONLY dude on that list that didn't use steroids - Jim Thome! So, realistically, the only dudes ahead of Thome in legitimate career home runs are Hank Aaron at 755, Babe Ruth at 714, Willie Mays at 660 and Ken Griffey at 630!! Jim Thome ROCKS!!!
There are certain asses that were designed to be showcased on a yacht on the French Riviera. Bar Refaeli owns one such ass...
