Red Sox World Series Ride Through the Eyes of Shane Victorino

I had to take off my shoes and use my toes to count the number of times I got chills just watching this video. Hard to believe that was nearly two months ago and there are about 50 days til pitchers and catchers report for the title defense.

The video shows the Red Sox World Series victory on the field, post-game celebration in the clubhouse, and Rolling Rally parade through the streets of Boston, all through the GoPro camera used by outfielder Shane Victorino.

Who has more fun than the Red Sox?

Embrace the Hate!

Fans of New England area sports teams are touted as being some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans out there but there’s one thing we aren't very good at and that’s embracing the hate from other fans/fan bases.

There have been a few controversial calls against Boston sports teams as of late, most recently the non-call on the final play of this past Monday Night Football game against the Panthers.  There was also the call against the Patriots field goal defense team in Week 7 against the Jets costing them the game in OT.  And who could forget the obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks on what came to be the winning run in Game 3 of this year's World Series?

As the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have amassed their various championships, starting with the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory in 2001, these big four teams have attracted far more bandwagon haters than bandwagon fans.
   
As a result, when controversial calls like these occur, bars, living rooms and social media sites erupt with various arguments from both sides.  The two main sides of these types of arguments become the Boston Fan vs. the Anti-Boston Fan.

Here is where us Boston fans need to learn to take a step back and embrace the hate.  Don’t waste your time trying to reason against such antiquated arguments as “its payback for the tuck rule and Spygate!”  Don’t even bother responding to accusations that the Bruins are so dirty and only get away with it because Greg Campbell’s dad used to be Director of Player Safety.  Oh, and most certainly do not even entertain the most bitter anti-Boston fan’s disturbing conclusions that the Red Sox World Series win was given to them as a result of the tragic events of April 15^th (disgusting, I know).

Trust me when I tell you, it is so much more satisfying to sit back and listen to these baseless arguments and unsupported character assassinations and smile.  Smile because you know that no one is as dedicated to trashing the Jaguars and Astros as they are to trashing successful teams like ours. Smile because you know players like Tom Brady and Milan Lucic would be just as popular if they played in any of these “hate Boston” markets.

If you really want other fan bases to stop hating your teams and players, it’s simple, lose.  If you want other fans to acknowledge that maybe your team did in fact get screwed on that call, stop beating their teams so much.

But if you want to see the wins and the championships continue to pile up, learn to let everyone else hate on your team knowing that the hate they live to express is just a product of the intense jealousy they try so hard to suppress.

Called It

As you might be aware, the Boston Red Sox are your 2013 World Series Champions, thanks in no small part to the pitching performances of one John Lackey.

Since Mr. Skinny Britches himself showed up to Spring Training way back in late February, I was in full support, knowing that a new-look Lack could find the success everyone thought a 5-year, $60 deal would bring just a little sooner.

But all that time lost was nothing a little patience and facial hair couldn't fix.  Lackey went 3-1 in the postseason with a 2.77 ERA.  He has 25 strikeouts in 26 innings and posted a 1.19 WHIP.  He even pulled a classic Lackey when manager John Farrell came out to pull him in Game 6, and told him to shove off.  But in his win, he became the 10th pitcher (sixth starter) to clinch multiple World Series winners, his first coming 11 years ago in a Game 7 win for the Angels over the Giants.

So congrats to Lack and the Red Sox on bringing home their third trophy in 10 years, and a little pat on the back to me for being a believer.

Can You Name Eight Players to Play for the 2004 Red Sox That Went on to Play for the Yankees?

Kevin Youkilis became the latest in a surprisingly long list of former Red Sox players to also lace 'em up for the New York Yankees.  A list that includes players like Wade Boggs, Luis Tiant and the immortal Eric Hinske from the 2007 World Series team.

But I came across an interesting fact on Wednesday: eight players from the 2004 Red Sox World Championship team have since gone on to play for the Bronx Bombers.  Can you name them all?

Kevin Youkilis - Youkilis signed a one year, $12 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday, becoming the eighth former Red Sox champion to join the Evil Empire.

Derek Lowe - Lowe was an absolutely dominant pitcher for the Sox in the 2004 postseason.  For the Yankees in this past postseason?  A 13.50 ERA with just two innings pitched.

Johnny Damon - After having the game of his life in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2004 against the Yankees, ensuring the Sox trip to the World Series for the first time since 1986, Damon waited just a year until he fell to the dark side in 2006.  His stint lasted until 2009 as he averaged a .285 batting average with 19 homers a year.

Alan Embree - Embree was one of three relief pitchers to appear in the four games of the 2004 World Series, proving once again the dominance of the pitching performances that year.  In 2005, he played just 24 games with a 7.53 ERA in New York.  Should've stayed in Beantown...

Mark Bellhorn - Bellhorn got the 2004 Series off to a bang when he rattled a home run off of Pesky's Pole in right field, but his career quickly plummeted afterwards.  He played in just nine games for the Yankees in 2005, collecting a home run and a single as his only hits.

Ramiro Mendoza - Mendoza played for seven seasons in New York before coming to Boston to get his World Series ring in 2004.  So to show his thanks, he went right back to New York in 2005 to kick around in the minor leagues before his retirement in 2006.

Mike Myers - Myers managed to stay around for another go in 2005 in Boston, but packed his bags in 2006 for the Bronx.  He pitched just 30 innings that season, with another 40 more in 2007 -- the same season the Sox won another title.

Doug Mientkiewicz - It seemed like Mienkiewicz was just picking teams out of a hat after his defense helped the Sox secure their 2004 championship, and drew the Yankees in 2007 after two years with the Mets then Royals respectively.

So with the addition of Hinske, nine former Red Sox World Champions have gone on to play for the Yankees.  Scary thought, but with the exception of Damon, none of those players have come back to haunt the Red Sox, and I think Youkilis will fit right in with that trend.

It's Taiwanimation, Cap!

What's better than the Giants winning the World Series?  The Taiwanese Animation video of how things really went down!

It's been a while since I've seen a Taiwanese animation video and like all of the others, this one did not disappoint.  Whoever comes up with these things, thank you.  As always, its a good-natured video, featuring Sergio Romo throwing fastball's with tongues and human bodies and Pablo Sandoval as a literal Kung Fu Panda.  It takes a wrong turn at Alberqueque however when Kung Fu Panda cuts off the tiger head and hangs it next to the Ranger...

And in case you were fact-checking, that quote in the title isn't a real quote.  The actual line is "It's Afghanistanimation, Cap!" from Super Troopers.  Close enough.

The Giants are World Champions Again

For the second time in just three years, the San Francisco Giants are World Champions.

Finishing the season with a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, they ended a seven-game win streak with a championship title.  The Giants outscored the Tigers 16-6 in those four games, with outstanding starting pitching performances from Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain.

I was hunkered down for a great series between these two, predicting the Fall Classic would go at least six games.  The Tigers also featured usually dominant pitchers in Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer, but the baseball gods denied the Tigers yet another title.  Prince Fielder and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera never found their grove, and by the time Cabrera started up -- blasting a two-run bomb in Game 4 -- it was too little, too late.

Pablo Sandoval earned MVP honors, mostly stemming from his record-tying three home run performance in Game 1, not to mention his .500 average.  That NLCS momentum the Giants carried into the World Series was ultimately too much to handle for the Tigers, who had been sitting around after their sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS.

The way the Tigers performed, roaring back -- pun intended -- at the end of the regular season, then stifling a white hot A's team before sweeping the 5-to-1 favorite New York Yankees made them seem like a perfect match-up for the Giants.  Having already stopped a team with that much momentum in Oakland, it was strange to see how they played against another team with the same "advantage."  Any day of the week, if you give me Verlander vs. Zito, my money would be on Verlander.  Cabrera vs. Marco Scutaro? Cabrera, and I'd bet the farm on it.

But now that the World Series is over, we can look back on this postseason for another list of why baseball is the greatest sport under the sun.

Kung-Fu Panda-monium

The Giants took a 1-0 lead over the Tigers in the 2012 World Series Wednesday night thanks to a dominant pitching performance by Barry Zito and the bat of Pablo Sandoval.

The game ended 8-3, with the Tigers getting their last two runs all the way in the ninth after a Jhonny Peralta home run.  The Tigers never had a lead in this game, due to a very rare pitching performance by Justin Verlander.  He went just four innings giving up five runs.  Two of those runs came off of the bat of Sandoval, who homered to center and right in his first two at-bats.

This isn't the first time these two have matched up and Sandoval has come out on top.  The man they call "Kung-Fu Panda" was the one who cracked this year's All-Star Game open in Kansas City, legging out a triple to put the game's first runs on the board.  The National League's win gave the Giants home-field advantage in the Fall Classic, and if you've watched any of the NLCS or World Series games, that advantage is paying off.

Sandoval wasn't done after two home runs, however.  He crushed a third solo shot, his second to straightaway center, that traveled 422 feet.  His three home runs in the World Series was not only a personal accomplishment -- it was the first time he had ever hit three home runs in a game -- but it put him among a very select group of sluggers to do it before him.  Babe Ruth (twice), Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols are the only other three in MLB history to accomplish this.

Tonight's pitching match-up is still in favor of the Tigers, but the Giants put that to bed last night, so we're in for another great game.  Detroit will go with Doug Fister as the Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner.  Gametime is 8 p.m. ET.

Giants-Tigers World Series - Where is the Momentum?

The San Francisco Giants completed a three-games-to-one comeback Tuesday night over the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals with a 9-0 Game 7 win.  The Detroit Tigers made quick work of the New York Yankees, sweeping them 4-0 and getting some crucial days off to get their starting pitching staff in order.

The Giants have a full head of steam going into the Fall Classic which starts on Wednesday night when they host the Tigers in San Fran, thanks to the National League's success in the All-Star Game.  Led by the NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro -- who hit .500, averaging two hits a game for all seven games -- the Giants offense put up some big numbers on a proven Cardinals' pitching staff, scoring 15 runs in the last two games of the series.

The Tigers have arguably the most dominant starting pitching in the game, anchored by Justin Verlander.  Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez combined with Verlander and the bullpen to hold the Bronx Bombers to just six runs in four games of the ALCS.  And it doesn't hurt that they have the 3-4 combination of the Triple Crown winning Miguel Cabrera followed by Prince Fielder.

But regardless of what the league's newest bash brothers can do, the Tigers starters have a 1.02 ERA the entire postseason, taking a lot of pressure off of the bats.  The Giants starters put up a 3.88 ERA and have been led by two unlikely heroes in Barry Zito and Ryan Vogelsong.  Zito has been suspect since he got a seven-year, $126 million contract -- at the time, the largest ever for a pitcher -- but critics have said he earned his keep with the Game 5 win.  Vogelsong is in just his first postseason of his young career, but has a 1.58 ERA in 29.1 innings.

Both teams played all five games in their respective Division Series, and San Francisco played an extra three in the Championship series.  They faced elimination in six straight games, and have fought their way into the World Series.  That's a scary start to look at, especially when those teams were the Cincinnati Reds and the Cardinals.  The Tigers faced a struggling Yankees lineup who did not have the tenacity this Giants order will possess.

It's tough to call a favorite here, really.  I would love for the Tigers to win, since they've come so close but have not won since 1984, and how can you bet against Verlander?  Delmon Young won the ALCS MVP with four game-winning RBI.  It's tough to get more clutch that than, and it doesn't hurt that he hits directly behind Cabrera and Fielder.  The Giants have been a really impressive team, though, doing the little things well and not letting the pressure of the postseason get to them, even those young players.  They won just two years ago, but are they poised to win another?

The San Francisco Giants will win in six of what could be the best baseball games in recent memory.

Unfortunate Order Is Restored to MLB Postseason

The League Championship series have been set with the Tigers taking on the Yankees for the AL crown, and the Giants and Cardinals chasing the pennant in the NL.  All of the headlines entering the postseason have been erased with a very familiar four teams still remaining, taking away from what has been one of the best playoffs in recent years.

The four teams remaining are very capable of playing good baseball, so the games should prove to be just as entertaining.  But think about everything we had heading into October and how it has panned out so far.

The Atlanta Braves made the first Wild Card spot in the NL, hoping to go the distance for third baseman Chipper Jones, in his final season with the club.  Jones earned a World Series ring in 1995, but in a season where he was honored at nearly every park he went to, this would have been the ultimate icing on the cake for a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.  The Braves were bounced after a very questionable call in the Wild Card play-in game to the defending champion Cardinals.

The Oakland A's erased a 13-game deficit from July 1 to take the AL West crown.  A team that hasn't been relevant since 2006 was surging ahead of the Angels and right on the heels of the AL Champion Rangers.  Josh Reddick acting like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Grant Balfour "Ragefest," a pitching staff that impressed time and time again even though the average fan couldn't name more than two members.  They were the ultimate underdog story, the second-coming of Moneyball.  Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss, George Kottaras and Josh Reddick were all former Red Sox players, so that even gave them a little momentum back east.  After a stunning 3-run comeback in Game 4, they got crushed by ace Justin Verlander and the Tigers in Game 5, leaving the craziest fans in baseball sitting at home til next April.

The Baltimore Orioles went 69-93 last season.  In 2012 they flipped it around, coming out of nowhere to finish inches behind the Yankees in the AL East at 93-69.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been referred to as Fenway and Yankee Stadium South when those teams visited, with the hometown fans usually getting drowned out by the opposition.  For Game 1 of the Division Series, every seat was filled with an orange shirt waving an orange towel, chanting "Seven Nation Army" like they do across the street at M&T Bank Stadium.  The team hadn't made the postseason since 1997, and with a collection of young talent backed by veterans like Jim Thome you couldn't help but root for them against the Evil Empire.

Finally, the Nationals.  A team that received more criticism than congratulations.  General manager Mike Rizzo made the decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg because of a strict innings count he put on the starter to begin the season, which unnecessarily riled up competing GMs.  Other young stars like Jordan Zimmermann and Bryce Harper mixed with the veterans Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche gave the Baltimore-Washington area more reason to gear up for the postseason.  The Nats had the best record in the league, and blew a 6-0 lead to fall 9-7 to the Cardinals Saturday night, cutting the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1981 short.

Now, baseball is right back where it always has been, where four of the bigger market teams remain.  With the except of 2008, the Yankees have been in the postseason every year since 1995.  The Tigers have a marketing machine in Miguel Cabrera after he won the Triple Crown, and have already finished off the Yankees' season twice since 2006.  The Cardinals have won two World Series since 2006, and are the least interesting team to watch.  As for the Giants, well they're the best of a bad situation in the NL West, and after losing Melky Cabrera to a steroids suspension, they have proved to everyone their offense is still a force to be reckoned with.

Best case scenario is Tigers and Giants in the World Series with the Tigers capturing glory.  The ALCS starts Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Crabcakes and Baseball - That's What Division Series Are All About

It took five games for the Tigers to outlast the Athletics, and it took five games for the Giants to stage a backs-against-the-wall comeback against the Reds.  Friday night, the Orioles will attempt to take down the Yankees at home, and the Nationals will try to use their own home field advantage to wipe out the defending World Champion Cardinals.

The Reds won their first two games against the Giants in San Francisco, but went winless at home -- where they went 50-31 in the regular season -- for the remainder of the series to fall 3-2.  The A's, fresh off a walk-off win in the ninth inning of Game 4, could only muster four hits without a run against the indomitable Justin Verlander to fall 6-0 in Game 5, and 3-2 in the series.

But onto Friday.  The Orioles have never lost a series in New York, and tied the season series at 9-9.  They'll send Jason Hammel into the trenches against Yankees ace CC Sabathia.  Neither team has gotten their offense going, with players like Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher all hitting under .200 for the series.  I like the Orioles here, though.  The Yankees have looked sluggish at home, and if the O's can get an early run on the board, that should be all the confidence they need.

Just south of Baltimore, Washington will try to advance using their "October Natitude."  I agree, its one of the worst postseason slogans, but whatever gets the people going.  Riding the coattails of Jayson Werth's walk-off home run, their momentum coupled with Gio Gonzalez on the hill should bump them past the Cards with ease.

Underdog stories are few and far between in baseball.  The A's have already been bounced, with the O's and Nats trying to play Cinderella this year.  Last season, the Cardinals barely squeaked in to win it all.  Thinking back before that, however, you'd have to go to the Rays in 2008, when they beat out the defending champion Red Sox.  They couldn't get 15,000 people to Tropicana Field on a given night, but then the postseason came, the place was filled to the catwalks, and I was hearing cowbells for the next week and a half.

They eventually lost to the Phillies for the World Series, but in my opinion, baseball has never been on the stage it is on this year.  The NHL is in a lockout, freeing up fans' evenings as the season should be underway.  Cities like Oakland, Baltimore and D.C. have turned out in full force to support their teams like never before, filling up their respective parks.  If there would be any games to watch this postseason, it will be the games tonight.

Josh Reddick Is Reason Enough to Want the A's to Beat the Tigers

If you had a childhood, then chances are you like wrestling.  If you follow baseball, then chances are you like Josh Reddick.  Former Red Sox great was traded to Oakland this past offseason in a deal that included closer Andrew Bailey.

Given Bailey's thumb injury that sidelined him for most of the 2012 campaign, its easy for Red Sox fans to sit back and badmouth the deal, but no one could have predicted Reddick's breakout year.  He's playing in a bigger park, for a smaller market team and hasn't gotten a haircut in two and a half years.  Yet he's leading the charge against the Detroit Tigers as his team trails two games to one going into Game 4 in Oakland today.

When the A's captured the AL West crown, Reddick donned his yellow A's bathrobe and paid homage to the wrestling great "Stone Cold" Steve Austin by doing the classic double beer chug.  I picked the A's to go to the World Series this year, and even with the Tigers one win away from moving on, I'm keeping the faith here. 

Balfour Rage.

World Series Odds and Picks

The playoff picture is set and framed, with games to start Friday evening.  In this postseason already filled with storylines, will their be a Cinderalla, an upset, a front runner?  Anything is possible in October.

Here are the bettings odds for each team winning the World Series:

New York Yankees   5/1
Washington Nationals   5/1
Cincinnati Reds   5/1
Detroit Tigers   6/1
Texas Rangers   7/1
Oakland Athletics   15/2
San Francisco Giants   15/2
Atlanta Braves   12/1
Baltimore Orioles   15/1
St. Louis Cardinals   15/1

It's tough for me to predict how the postseason will go this year without my biases getting in the way, but that's half the fun, really.  No one can deny how strong the Tigers pitching rotation is, or how the Yankees are getting hot as the most opportune time.  You can't overlook the Reds offense, and you can never really count the Cardinals out of anything.  With all that said, here are my picks.

Wild Card

AL: RANGERS over Orioles

NL: BRAVES over Cardinals 

Division Series

AL: ATHLETICS over Tigers

YANKEES over Rangers 

NL: REDS over Giants

BRAVES over Nationals

Championship Series

ATHLETICS over Yankees

REDS over Braves

World Series

REDS over Athletics

Now, as we've seen with a number of my Red Sox posts throughout the season, I have been wrong several times.  But I'll start the conversation with my picks, so if anyone would like to disagree, throw some comments down below.

Moneyball 2: The Chronicles of Reddick and the Rest of the Postseason Teams

 
I'm in the process of getting the rights to that first part of title, so don't even think about using it.

Well, baseball's postseason is set, with the two Wild Card games set to play Friday.  From the American League, the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles will square off for the Wild Card, with the winner facing the number one seed New York Yankees.  The middle match-up will be between the Oakland A's and Detroit Tigers.

In the National League, Friday's Wild Card match-up is between the Atlanta Braves and defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.  The winner of the one-game playoff will face the number one seed Washington Nationals, and the middle match-up is between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.

Some big surprises and storylines in the playoffs here, which always makes for great baseball.  The A's were down 13 games to the AL West-leading Rangers going into July, and completed the division-winning comeback by sweeping the Rangers in games 160, 161 and 162.

Looking at the team this year, Billy Beane appears to have done it again.  Former Red Sox great Josh Reddick is having a career year to lead the team, alongside the likes of Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss, Brandon Inge, Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes, and George Kottaras.  Their pitchers?  Travis Blackley, A.J. Griffin, Evan Scribner -- ever heard of them?  You're not alone.  Looking for big things out of this team, they remind me of the 2004 Red Sox.

Oakland A's fans get a pretty bad rap for being, well, bad.  But if you haven't seen the phenomenon that is Balfour Ragefest, then that link right there is for you.  They have all of those intangibles you look for in a Cinderella Story, plus all of the goofy pieces and players that you look for to jump on the bandwagon.

As for the rest of the postseason, the Orioles haven't made the postseason in any form since 1997, and an hour south, the Nationals haven't made an appearance since they were the Montreal Expos in 1981.  For the Braves, this will be Chipper Jones' last season, and last postseason.  Can the Braves get Chipper one more for his already Hall of Fame-bound career? So many season to love baseball.