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
The Tigers, finally, put a 'W' in the win column! Rick Porcello pitched 8 innings and allowed 1 hit and Jhonny Peralta added a homer and that's all Detroit needed to end their five-game losing streak.
The Boston Red Sox should thank their lucky stars that Tim Wakefield keeps hanging around! Wake is 44-years-old but, because his knuckleball allows him to throw with no stress on his arm, could probably still be on the mound at age 50. John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka are on the DL - so, if not for Wakefield, the Red Sox would be pretty-much screwed! Wakefield pitched 6 2/3 innings and held the Cubs to 1 run to give Boston a 5-1 victory and win the series. Remember that picture I posted yesterday? The one of Marlon Byrd hitting his knees after getting smoked in the melon by an Alfredo Aceves pitch? It resulted in a 15-day trip to the disabled list for Byrd who suffered multiple fractures in his face. That's brutal - but thankfully it wasn't a more serious injury.
On Saturday night, for a few hours, the Boston Red Sox were in 1st place in the AL East and had a comfortable 3-1 lead on the Chicago Cubs. Everything was going Boston's way. They were rockin' their 1918 throwback uniforms. Big Papi cranked a 2-run dinger for the 300th homer of his career. Tampa Bay had just lost to Florida, putting Boston at the top of the division... Then all hell broke loose! Matt Albers came in to pitch the 8th inning. He promptly allowed 6 runs. Jed Lowrie, Kevin Youkilis and Carl Crawford managed to commit three errors in succession and Franklin Morales closed-out the game by allowing another 2 runs. So, a 3-1 Boston lead quickly turned into 9-3 Cubs victory. Brutal!! There was a very scary moment in the 2nd inning when Red Sox pitcher Alfred Aceves beaned Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd. I hope the guy's alright...
The Cubs and Red Sox wore their 1918 uniforms...
Boston sits a half game back of the Rays and Yankees in the AL East. James Russell vs Tim Wakefield tonight at 8:05 PM.
Justin Timberlake was the host on SNL last night. Timberlake is one of the best hosts in the long history of Saturday Night Live. The dude is funny! I'll post these videos and hope that the NBC watchdogs don't yank them down for a while... JT brings Lady Gaga, Andy Samberg and Jimmy Fallon along for the ride!!
The Curse of the Billy Goat team played their first game at Fenway since the 1918 World Series. The Billy Goat must've been at the game because the Cubs committed four errors and gave up 19 hits in a 15-5 Red Sox victory! The Red Sox have won seven-in-a-row. They're 22-10 since losing 10 of their first 12 games. They just passed the Yankees and they're a half-game behind 1st place Tampa Bay! Bill Buckner was at Fenway! But he was working for the Cubs. Buckner was doing the colour commentary for the Cubs' broadcast. So, the Cubbies had that goin' for them!
The last time the Cubs played at Fenway, this guy was a Red Sox pitcher...
WTF? The Tigers got CRUSHED by the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1. Tigers skipper Jim Leyland returned to his old stomping grounds and got his ass handed to him...
Detroit just can't hit! Pittsburgh pitcher Jeff Karstens, a dude with a lame fastball, had a no-hitter going until Brennan Boesch hit a Texas-league blooper with two outs in the fifth! Hopefully Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer will pull Detroit out of its funk and become the majors first seven-game winner. Scherzer is 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Hometown boy Joe Louis was the heavyweight boxing champion the last time a Tigers pitcher was 7-0 before the end of May! The last cat to do it was Vern Kennedy way back in 1938. Tigers vs Pirates at 7:05 PM
If you followed wrestling in the 1980's, you witnessed the greatness of Randy 'Macho Man' Savage.
Randy Mario Poffo(His real name) died in a car crash today in Florida. He was 58. Before becoming a wrestling legend, Macho Man was a pretty darn good ballplayer. There's an excellent tribute over at BIG LEAGUE STEW by David Brown:
‘MACHO MAN’ RANDY SAVAGE PLAYED IN CARDINALS, REDS SYSTEMS By David Brown
A small part of my childhood died after hearing that former pro wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage was killed Friday in an auto accident. He was 58 years old. Yahoo! Sports' own Chris Chase wrote an obit here. Thankfully, Savage's wife survived her injuries. Other than Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant, no WWF rassler was more popular than Savage in the late 1980s. I might have liked him more for his manager — the lovely Miss Elizabeth Hulette (also pictured) — than for anything he actually did in the squared circle. But before Savage hit it big in wrestling, he had a four-year pro baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds — and it was remarkable for a few reasons. As an 18-year-old in 1971, Savage (who then went by his given name, Randy Poffo), won a job with the Cards after trying out. Yes, those camps actually bear fruit once in a while. One of his minor league managers was none other than Jimmy Piersall. I can't think of a better person from whom to learn — about what to do, and not to do — in the game and life. And check out this tidbit from WhiteSoxCards.com, which reported in 2007 that Savage's baseball career was at a crossroads after three years with the Cardinals:
Randy suffered a setback when he developed a severe muscle tear and ligament separation in his throwing arm. Instead of retiring, this right-hander taught himself how to throw southpaw.
This obviously was a dude who knew how to reinvent himself. Such a talent would come in handy after Savage failed to hook on with the White Sox organization out of spring training in 1975. Though he never advanced beyond the Class A Florida State League, Savage had several teammates who made it to the majors, including Larry Herndon, Mike Vail and Tito Landrum. And they can tell stories. In an interview Friday afternoon with Sports Radio 1380-AM out of St. Louis, Landrum recalled that Savage would build makeshift rings in the clubhouse and wrestle all comers. Savage knew he had wrestling to fall back on. And after he got famous, Savage would remind Landrum to call him "Macho Man" and not "Randy." He also was an earnest autograph signer; not in it for the money, Landrum says, but for the cause and the fan interaction. And you know what? Savage wasn't a bad baseball player. His career batting line was OK — .254/.293/.391 — with 16 home runs in 289 games. But he would have been better if he had not gotten hurt. In '71, he posted a slugging percentage of .492 (in 63 at-bats) and he slugged .508 (in 61 at-bats) in '73. He was mostly an outfielder, but he also caught and played first base. He had some talent. Even in semi-retirement, Savage remained a big baseball fan. Just this past February, Savage sat in the good seats at Port St. Lucie to watch the New York Mets in spring training. I found this screen shot on a Spanish language pro wrestling site, AllWreslters.net. One of the commenters noted he looks like "Papa Noel," or Father Christmas.
He did look like an old 58, that's for sure. Like so many other wrestlers, his body probably was beat to heck. The outcome of those matches might have been fixed, but the toll being a pro wrestler takes on your body is no less real than what happens to NFL athletes. He might have had a heart attack — that's what his brother "Leaping" Lanny Poffo told TMZ — and authorities do not suspect alcohol was involved. Reportedly, Savage's Jeep Wrangler veered out of its lane, over a concrete median, through oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a tree. Savage and his passenger, wife Lynn, had their seat belts on, too. Hers apparently saved her life. They had only been married since 2009. It's a sad day. But hopefully the Macho Man is in a better place. His contribution to pop culture, wrestling and baseball ought to be remembered for a long time. Ohhhhh, yeahhhhhhhhh!
The Red Sox beat the Tigers 4-3 and won their 6th straight game, Verlander went 8 innings, allowed 6 hits, fired 9 Ks and gave-up 3 runs - two were homers by J.D. Drew and David Ortiz. Beckett went 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, notched 3 Ks and allowed 1 run before leaving with stiffness in his neck. Hard-throwing Daniel Bard came-in and, promptly, served-up back-to-back homers to Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera in the 8th. Carl Crawford hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. The Tigers have problems. They stranded 10 runners and Detroit's bullpen has the worst ERA in the AL at 5.61. Interleague play starts today. Detroit visits Pittsburgh to play a 3-game series against the Pirates. The Red Sox host a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs in the first meeting between the two teams at Fenway since the 1918 World Series!
On Wednesday night the Red Sox beat the Tigers 1-0. Detroit was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The guy with the longest last-name in baseball smoked an RBI double off the left-field wall in the 8th inning to score the game's only run. Can you say Saltalamacchia?
Tonight's game is a beauty! Wish I was at Fenway. Justin Verlander vs Josh Beckett. A battle of power arms! Guess who's at the game? Dick McAuliffe! Dicky played for both the Tigers and the Red Sox and was a member of the Tigers' 1968 World Series Championship team. McAuliffe was one of the best shortstop/2nd baseman in Tigers' history. During the 1968 championship season McAuliffe got into a great rumble with pitcher Tommy John. The Tigers were playing the White Sox when John threw at McAuliffe's head. On the next pitch, John threw behind McAuliffe! Dick got kinda pissed and charged the mound. He jumped-up and drove a knee into Tommy John's shoulder separating it...John missed the remainder of the season. The benches cleared but, with Willie Horton, Gates Brown, Earl Wilson and Bill Freehan on Detroit's side, it wasn't much of a fight! McAuliffe was suspended for 5 games.
SURPRISE! Kate Upton won last week's RACK-OFF by a landslide. Kate captured 78% of the vote over fellow Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie Alyssa Miller.
Oh boy! The Tigers visit Fenway to take on the Red Sox for a two-game series tonight and Thursday night. Phil Coke vs Clay Buchholz at 7:10 PM. Can't wait!
On Monday night the Baltimore Orioles had a 6-0 lead on the Red Sox going into the bottom of the 6th inning. After a sweet comeback, Boston won the game 8-7 with an Adrian Gonzalez' two-run double off the Green Monster. In his last 10 games Gonzalez has hit .348 with 7 homers and 16 RBIs. He leads the majors with 37 RBIs.
One of baseball's greatest hitters has died. Harmon Killebrew passed away, today, after battling esophageal cancer. He was 74. During the 1960's, when pitching dominated baseball, Harmon Killebrew hit more homers than anyone! He cranked 40 homers in a season eight times. In 1969, to close-out the decade, he hit 49 home runs, 140 RBIs and won the AL MVP Award. Only 4 players have possessed enough power to hit a baseball over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium: Harmon Killebrew in 1962, Frank Howard in 1968, Cecil Fielder in 1990 and Mark McGwire in 1997. Killebrew ranks 11th all-time with 573 home runs. A 13-time All Star, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.
Mercifully, Sunday's game between the Tigers and Royals was rained-out. The game has been rescheduled for September 1st at 1:05 PM. Much better! The Blue Jays visit Detroit for a two-game series tonight and tomorrow.
...And, although the weather was cold & rainy, the HBWHOF basked in the warmth that can only be derived from a Red Sox sweep of the New York Yankees. New York have lost five straight games - ALL AT HOME. They've committed 13 errors in their past 10 games. Did you enjoy your weekend Mr. Yankees Douchebag?
The Detroit Tigers beat the KC Royals 3-0 for their 7th straight win. Brad Penny pitched 8 scoreless innings but had mucho help from an awesome defence:
"We had some awesome plays today. That's probably the best defense I've had, personally, in one start in my career."
V-Mart extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Jhonny Peralta notched the 1,000th career hit.
The HBWHOF is supposed to be going to today's game but it doesn't look too promising! Instead of giving away Magglio Ordoñez Mini-Bats, maybe they should give the adults Tigers Sump Pumps.
On Saturday the Red Sox shutout the Yankees 6-0. Josh Beckett's curveball was droppin' off the table again! Beckett fired 9 Ks over six innings. He didn't have to take the mound in the 7th because Adrian Gonzalez cranked a 3-run homer to give Boston the 6-0 lead. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the 7th inning for yapping at plate umpire Mike Winters. But, the big controversy went down before the game even started. At 6 PM Jorge Posada went into Girardi's office and asked to be removed from the Yankees lineup! This season Russell Martin has taken over as catcher and Posada has been hitting .165 as designated hitter. Subsequently, Girardi Dropped Posada to No. 9 in the batting order. Evidently, this didn't sit well with Jorge! The Yankees could fine Posada one day's pay - that would be $71,978 on his $13.1 million salary. If Jorge declines to play two days in a row, he could be put on the restricted list. Posada's wife went on TWITTER during the game and wrote: He's trying his best to help his team win. Today, due to back stiffness he wasn't able to do that.
Gosh, I hate it when bad stuff happens to the Yankees.
Over in the AL East we've got a three-game showdown between the Red Sox and the Yankees. When Boston visits the Big Apple it's ALWAYS a big deal. First let's take a gander at the New Era ads featuring Yankees fan Alec Baldwin's friendly rivalry with Red Sox fan John Krasinski...
Next up, the MLB Fan Cave on the corner of East 4th and Broadway in Greenwich Village. Mike O’Hara and Ryan Wagner, two dudes who, obviously, have no obligations, were selected to participate in MLB's Dreamjob project. They are getting paid to live in the Fan Cave and watch all 2,430 regular season MLB games plus the playoffs! The HBWHOF would have sent in my application too - if I didn't have a wife & kids and a full-time job! Oh well. Anyway this little slice of Hardball Heaven has 15 TVs, a pool table, bar, 50s diner, memorabilia museum, fantasy baseball counter, and pitch-speed tester. ...And lots of visitors. So, with Boston in town, the Large Father paid a visit...
How can you not hug the Large Father? See, Yankees fans, it's all good...
Next, we have HBWHOF fave, Heidi Watney, visiting the Fan Cave...lucky bastards...
Now for the results from Game 1 in the Big Apple. Boston beat New York 5-4. Adrian Gonzalez and Yoouuuuuk went YARD. Yankee Stadium had its first sellout crowd since Opening Day. Oh, and guess who's leading the major leagues in dingers? CURTIS GRANDERSON. Yep, Grandy's gone deep 12 times already! Tonight: Josh Beckett vs CC Sabathia at 7:10 PM.
