WHY BOSTON GOT SERVED HUMBLE PIE

OK, I've been waiting to do this piece for months now. On January 2nd, a NESN.com writer wrote a piece on why the 2011 Red Sox could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest team in the history of Major League Baseball. You can read the comedic gold HERE. Mind you, it was written before 1 pitch was thrown in spring training or even the season itself.

Casey was immediately outraged as well, and wrote WHY BOSTON SUCKS: PART II. Read it.

I saved the NESN piece the moment I read it. I knew at the time that this prediction would backfire on them easily and now, the season is over, the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs and, I just have to laugh. Who would dare suggest something so silly? Let's break it down. The piece started off saying: "The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. They will make it four in 2011."

We all know by now that he was way off in this prediction. The Red Sox finished with a 90-72 record and finished 3rd in the American League East. Meanwhile, the 1927 Yankees finished with an astounding 110-44 record. Can you say, EPIC fail? I can...oh, I did.

Next, the writer showcased the Red Sox lineup which looks like this:

CF. Jacoby Ellsbury- .321/.376/.552/.928 (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS), 32 Hrs, 105 RBI, 39 SBs
2B. Dustin Pedroia- .307/.387/.474/.861, 21 Hrs, 91 RBI, 26 SBsLF. Carl Crawford- .255/.289/.405/.694, 11 Hrs, 56 RBI, 18 SBs
1B. Adrian Gonzalez- .338/.410/.548/.957, 27 Hrs, 117 RBI
3B. Kevin Youkilis- .258/.373/.459/.833, 17 Hrs, 80 RBI
DH. David Ortiz- .309/.398/.554/.953, 29 Hrs, 96 RBI
RF. JD Drew- .222/.315/.302/.617, 4 Hrs, 22 RBI, 81 games
C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia- .235/.288/.450/.737, 16 Hrs, 56 RBI
SS. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781, 7 Hrs, 54 RBI
SS. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685, 6 Hrs, 36 RBI

That lineup looks pretty good, I mean, this team lead the majors in runs scored with 875, that's 8 runs ahead of the Yankees, but they're NOT the 1927 Yankees who scored 976 runs, 131 more runs than the second place Detroit Tigers... astounding. Also keep in mind that the 1927 Yankees had four Hall of Famers, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Earle Combs, in their lineup.Speaking of the 1927 Yankees lineup, let's take a look at how each individual fared that season:

CF. Earle Combs- .356/.414/.511/.925, 6 HRs, 64 RBI
SS. Mark Koenig- .285/.320/.382/.702, 3 HRs, 62 RBI
RF. Babe Ruth- .356/.486/.772/1.258, 60 HRs, 164 RBI...WOW
1B. Lou Gehrig- .373/.474/.765/1.240, 47 HRs, 175 RBI... WOW
LF. Bob Meusel- .337/.393/.510/.902, 8 HRs, 103 RBI, 24 SBs
2B. Tony Lazzeri- .309/.383/.482/.866, 18 HRs, 102 RBI, 22 SBs
3B. Joe Dugan- .269/.321/.362/.683, 2 HRs, 43 RBI
C. Pat Collins- .275/.407/.418/.825, 7 HRs, 36 RBI

Pretty good, huh? A couple of things...One, the writer of the NESN piece had us look at the Boston bench. It looks like this:

OF. Mike Cameron- He got DFA'd from the team in late June after hitting .149/.212/.266/.477 in 33 games with the Sox.
OF. Darnell McDonald- He hit .236/.303/.401/.704 in 79 games. Certainly doesn't strike fear to me.
INF. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781 (above)
INF. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685 (above)
C. Jason Varitek- Hit .221/.300/.423/.723 in 68 games, but he's the Captain of the team and wears that "C" on his jersey!

Now, in all fairness, the Red Sox improved their bench with the call up of outfielder Josh Reddick (.280/.327/.457/.784) and trading for utility man Mike Aviles (.317/.340/.436/.775 in 38 games for Boston).

And finally, I just wanted to say this before we conclude this piece. It is very hard, if not impossible, to compare different players performances between two completely different eras, not to mention that that 2011 season hadn't started yet. Baseball was an entirely different game way back when, and a lot of changed. But, the writer for that NESN piece brought it up in the first place, so it's his own fault.

Next we'll try and break down the pitching for you, comparing the 2011 Red Sox and 1927 Yankees. Stay tuned.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

JETER & MARTIN EXCHANGE TEXTS

(Photo: Getty)

Jeter: So,you hate the Red Sox? WTF bro, lol

Martin: ha ha, I knew u woULd break my balls

Jeter: no I love it, out of character for yanks

Martin: that salamanticmoccia redsox guy gave me a bad vibe

Jeter: lol saltalamacchia

Martin: whatever and papi ticks me off when he comes up to the plate

Jeter: keep going, hilarious bro

Martin: I’d like to go high and tight on his ass, like BYB says

Jeter: your on fire bro. this series is the best ever, i've done it for years

Martin: I love the pinstripes what can I say im fired up

Jeter: we like having u fired up. has Hal and hank told talked to u yet?

Martin: about what

Jeter: speaking out of turn. I heard ur in trouble for the Marchand interview

Martin: WHAT????

Jeter: they may use Montero in playoffs now, not u. sorry

Martin: what the f bro, r u serious????

Jeter: messing with u dood. Hahaha

Martin: ur a dick bro, Posada told me to watch out!!!

Jeter: look u said that stuff, now we HAVE to win. a must win!

Martin: true dat. we will. yankees rule

Jeter: so lets get out there and kick some ass.

Martin: u got it Cap.

Jeter: later bro

Martin: I can’t believe you just tried to play a joke on me

Jeter: welcome to the Bronx, I like to break balls :)

Martin: clearly lol

(NOTE: THESE ARE FAKE TEXT EXCHANGES. THIS IS ME USING HUMOR AND MAKING A GUESS OF HOW THE PEOPLE INVOLVED WOULD SPEAK TO EACH OTHER VIA TEXT. THERE IS NOTHING REAL ABOUT THIS. IT IS DONE STRICTLY FOR LAUGHS. ENJOY)

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY A CERVELLI FIST PUMP MEANS PASSION

Michael Kay is a Yankee fan, there’s no denying it. I’m not sure why he claims to be neutral, I mean, I know why he does, but he shouldn’t . Yankee fans are Yankee fans and Kay is one. You can hear his excitement on a Yankee walk off home run, it’s much different than when the opposing side cranks one. So, his negative analysis of Francisco Cervelli clapping as he touched home plate against the Red Sox last week still drives me nuts, probably because passion on the field has been part of the mindset of ballplayers since kids have been playing in Little League. Why is Kay so misguided on this one? Kay on Lupica’s radio show from August 31st said this: “What really annoyed me the most, even the clapping of the hands at Saltalamacchia, after the game, he said 'this is what Cervelli does'... That's the height of arrogance to even say that!" (The full Lupica/Kay rant is HERE. Time is at 28:24)

I don’t buy it.

There is something to be said about bad sportsmanship. It stinks. Bad sportsmanship is for instance, in my opinion, when a batter hits a homer and the next time up, he’s plunked between the numbers. That’s just a pitcher being a dick. I also find it to be bad sportsmanship when you hit a home run and stand in the batter’s box and watch your homer sail over the fence. It’s arrogant. Bad sportsmanship is pointing at an opposing player’s head like you’re suggesting he’s going to get his. Pedro Martinez did that to Jorge Posada, and yes, Posada did it back. Wrong and stupid. Mother jokes. I mean, are they necessary on the field? bad sportsmanship. OK, now I’m just getting off track.

Now, there is a big difference between bad sportsmanship and pumping your fist and showing some passion on the field. For instance, striking out a batter to get out of an inning and screaming and fist pumping is not bad sportsmanship, you just got out of a big inning. It’s adrenaline and it’s passion. Cervelli some of that today after a big strikeout against the Orioles.

Another example... Cranking a homer and fist pumping because you just helped your team gain the lead. Well, that's excitement, so you fist pump. You’ve just accomplished something big and gave your team a shot at winning. Another example, the now famous, "Clapping at home plate" after a home run by Cervelli last week. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's adrenaline. Cervelli is a player that never gets playing time, he's fired up. Respect it. Look, I don’t think Cervelli did anything wrong against the Red Sox. I think it was within the “home run time frame” if you will, and the Yankees won that game because of what Cervelli offered.

Why Michael Kay and Mike Lupica can’t see this is clearly beyond bizarro world to me. These guys are sports guys. They’ve seen passion by the Yankees all day long, how can they not distinguish between the two? They suggested Cervelli get a talking to by Derek Jeter. “Act like you’ve been there before” they said. Man, I hated Lupica’s radio show that day.

Now, you can say to me “Casey, you wrote about AJ Burnett in WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE…HIGH & TIGHT and suggested he needed to go inside on Red Sox hitters." OK, again, there’s a difference. Red Sox pitching have hit the Yankees hitters literally all season. The Yankees have never retaliated once. While hitting batters is part of the game, there’s a difference between hitting a batter once in a while and hitting them constantly. Hitting them constantly is bad sportsmanship, the occasional plunking isn’t. My assignment to Burnett on a retaliation is not only heroic, it proves that the bad sportsmanship by the Sox needed to end. Hey, to Burnett’s credit, he took the high road, he didn’t hit any Sox batters the night he pitched.

Look, as far as I’m concerned, Francisco Cervelli’s happy to be on the field. If he needs to clap, or fist pump, I accept that if something big happens in the Yankees favor. I hate hearing the argument that Cervelli needed to “act like he’s been there before.” Cervelli may not be your typical Yankee following the “Yankee way”, but one thing he is not is annoying. If you’re going to give him that “annoying” label, you might as well include Nick Swisher too. You see my point? Fun and passion for the love of baseball is just baseball. As long as you perform on the field, let out your energy, as long as it’s not malicious. If you can do that, then passion rules.

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