The flaws in the plan: Despite record, Redsox need change to compete

The Redsox may have just won the series against their arch rivals New York and may own the best record in Major League baseball, however big changes are required if they are to be competitive in the playoffs

Mike Napoli wins the night

Yes, the end of the Yankees series came with a happy ending. Yes, Boston owns the best record in all of baseball. And yes, a series win against Tampa this week would provide a little separation from the AL East pack. However, all of this comes with a massive caveat. The fact of the matter is, the Redsox will not be doing anything meaningful in October unless they make some serious changes before the trading deadline passes.

We’re not talking small changes here. Sure there are plenty of tweaks that can be, and should be, made, however the below is a list of changes that simply have to happen if the Redsox are to be competitive going into the 2013 MLB playoffs.

Three things in particular need to happen.

The bullpen needs the addition of at least two outstanding arms. The pen held up admirably over the weekend, however it represents something of a creaking old ship, which could sink at any moment given a slight change in conditions. Right now the only Sox bullpen piece you would truly trust in October baseball would have to be Koji Uehara. Nobody ever won a World Series with a bullpen that consisted of Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa, Matt Thornton, Drake Britton, Pedro Beato and Jose De La Torre. It is simply not possible. The two Andrew’s, Bailey and Miller, are enormous losses and the Sox have to replace them. Uehara is an effective and indeed exciting closer, but the Sox need a couple of power, swing-and-miss arms as a bridge to the high fiving closer, or they are not going to be winning anything of note in 2013.

We’re not talking ‘nice prospects’ coming up from the minors here. We’re talking impact, game winning arms. Jonathan Papelbon and K-Rod (Francisco Rodriguez) would appeal. Both are available also, with the Phillies and Brewers having effectively nothing to play for this season.

Papelbon is basically the same as when he departed Boston, with a few more miles on the tyres. He is still effective, and would obviously fit right in to the team and the town itself. K-Rod is intriguing. His velocity is down but he is still throwing 90-93 with a cartoon curve ball and the savvy of a veteran pitcher his age. He would be a welcome addition as a setup man or possibly even closer, although it is debatable if he is an upgrade on Koji or not.

Second, the Redsox have to trade for a front line starter. Again, similar to the bullpen issue, we’re not talking ‘nice’ 4th or 5th starter here, no young up and comers need apply. We’re talking second or third rotation piece preferably. Having said that, why not aim high? Chase an ace and see what you come up with. Let’s face facts, the Redsox rotation is a nasty, sloppy mess right now, held together by smoke and mirrors. The current ace? John Lackey, and deservedly so, he has been showing Sox fans exactly what he can do when healthy (and slim!). After that?

Brandon Workman is a nice, high upside, starter for the future but he is a 4th or 5th spot starter in the rotation at best. More cannot be expected of him at this early age.  We are not talking a Ryan Dempster type either here. Dempster is doing his admirable best, but if Boston are going up against the finest arms in baseball in October, with Dempster starting, we’re in trouble. The Sox won last night because they scored 8 runs, not because of Dempster, who did, to his credit, stop the Yankees from cashing in on some early base runners. We need more come October however.

Jake Peavy would be interesting, is throwing 91/92 and knows his way around a 7 inning quality start. He would fit in beautifully behind Bucholz with Lester and himself fighting over the 2nd spot in the rotation. Cliff Lee might be available, and the Sox should at least kick the tyres on that one, to see if anything is going. Whilst we’re dreaming, even someone like Felix Hernandez has a price. Seattle could no doubt be blown away with the right package.  The point is, the Redsox need top notch starting pitching, and they need it now.

Finally, and we hate to stick the fork in here, but the Redsox need a catcher.

Unless the Redsox bury Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the 9 hole and put stock in his admitted ability to handle the Sox diverse pitching staff, they are not going to get any further value from Saltalamacchia. He basically has two things going for him, every once in a blue moon he steps into a poorly located fastball and parks it in the bleachers, and as we said, he does appear to be good with the pitchers.

Apart from that, he is basically useless. Saltalamacchia cannot stop a running game, and his attempts to do so are increasingly embarrassing. His bat is completely ineffective particularly recently. In the last 30 days Saltalamacchia has hit zero home runs and has a paltry 9 RBIs in 66 at bats. His average of .240 in that spell sums him up perfectly. Not absolutely awful, but, close.

We do have to be somewhat careful here as it is important that a team’s pitchers trust and indeed ‘like’ their catcher, and the Redsox pitchers seems to hold Salty in high esteem. Perhaps the Sox could, as we said, bury Salty in the 9 hole and hope his influence on the pitchers is worth his black hole offensive stats.

The fact is though, an impact catcher who can fill up the 6 or 7 hole in the order with authority, would push the Sox closer to being a contender.

And, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, right? Winning this damn thing.


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The O'Malley baseball fields in Dublin, Ireland - a short history of Ireland's home of baseball

Ahead of The Peter O’Malley International Invitational tournament, a part of The Gathering, we take a quick look at the baseball field funded by Peter O'Malley of LA Dodgers fame

The Hurricanes and Spartans, two of Ireland's top baseball clubs, at the O'Malley field.

The O'Malley Fields at Corcaigh Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin are the main home of Irish Baseball. The fields are named after legendary LA Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, who generously funded their construction in 1998. The majority of league games are held at the fields, along with playoff games and Ireland National Team games and practice sessions.

Peter’s father, Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. Calling him a baseball executive, however, is not paying him anything close to his full due, he is a Dodgers legend. The Dodgers were initially successful under O'Malley's leadership, winning National League pennants in 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. In 1958 he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. They remained successful on the field, winning the World Series in 1959, 1963, and 1965.

On March 17, 1970, Walter turned over the presidency of the team to his son Peter. Peter O'Malley held the position until 1998 when the team was sold on. In that time he became friendly with legendary baseball Ireland emissaries Anne Murphy, Mike Kindle and Mick Manning, a trio who have worked tirelessly championing the sport in Ireland. Through that friendship, Peter generously funded the construction of the O'Malley baseball Fields at Corcaigh Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin in 1998 and those fields have been the home of Irish Baseball ever since.

The fields are not only the logistical home of baseball in Ireland, they are the spiritual home of same also. Since their constructions in 1998 thousands of moments and memories have been born at that field, quite literally hundreds of great games of baseball have been played there. It is safe to say that people’s lives have been elevated by those fields, and most people who have played ball in Ireland owe a great debt to the generosity of Peter O’Malley and his family.

Baseball Ireland, proudly supported by The Gathering Dublin and Fingal Leader Partnership, will be holding the inaugural Peter O'Malley International Invitational Baseball Tournament from July 12-14, 2013 in Corkagh Park, West Dublin. Participating teams are expected from Ireland, continental Europe, and the UK. Find out more on the tournament on the official Baseball Ireland website

The Dublin Hurricanes at the O'Malley field in Dublin

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The top 50 highest paid athletes list is a cesspit of wasted money

Sports Illustrated's list of the top 50 highest paid athletes in the United States is full of names that will surprise and or shock you

The immortal Carl Crawford

Sports Illustrated's recently released lists of the top paid athletes in sports is well worth a look.

Fascinatingly SI have separated their lists into two, a United States list, and an international list. This separation perhaps unexpectedly provides a look into the soul of American sports. Much as we all love it, it's not always pretty.

I would argue the top eight athletes in the list are acceptable, from the point of view of value for salary. Every athlete in the top eight belongs in this list, it is hard to argue the impact and value of LeBron, Drew Brees, Kobe, Peyton Manning and so on.

From the 9 spot in the order we see problems start to arise. Alex Rodriguez is the 9th highest paid athlete in sports in the United States. That's right, A-Rod. Right after the man most to blame for the horrific logjam on the New York Yankees payroll comes perhaps the most overpaid individual on the list. Zach Greinke is good, sure, but unless you were his Dad, can you look me in the eye and say he should be the 10th highest athlete in sports in the USA? Forget athletes from other sports, there are literally dozens of MLB pitchers who should be ahead of Greinke in terms of annual earnings.

The rest of the list is a scrap heap of carnage. Take a deep breath, and, know that Alfonso Soriano, Barry Zito, Carl Crawford, Vernon Wells, Carl Nicks, Mario Williams, Johan Santana and A-Rod are all part of the top 50 highest earning athletes in the United States this year.

Soriano, Crawford and Wells (Vernon Wells, seriously!) are all laughable or chilling entries in the list, depending if you find the fact that people are paying them hundreds of millions of dollars to play sports funny or scary.

Whatever about those, Joe Johnson, Dwight Howard, Matt Schuab, Vincent Jackson and Zach Greinke might be decent athletes, but come on, seriously, top 50 paid athletes in the entire United States?

Those are just the most egregious names on the list. You could probably argue half a dozen more or so.

Compare that with the international list.

I'll give you David Beckham, he's questionable at best, and right at the top of the list. You could argue he is currently on the books of a hot French side (PSG) and is still very much 'significant' in the world of soccer, but he really doesn't represent value as the highest paid athlete in international sports.

After that though the list is pretty tight. Most, if not all of the rest of the athletes on the international list are worthy of their spot, and most if not all are at least close to the top of their respective games.

Put it this way, there is nobody like Carl Crawford stinking up the International list.

What does this all tell us?

In short, it suggests strongly that the system is, if not broken, seriously damaged in the United States. The best athletes are not the highest paid athletes. The highest paid athletes list in the USA is infected with a large percentage of players who are are broken, cheating, underachieving losers, clogging up the list with dead dollars.

Dead, wasted dollars.

I am sorry if it offends him or his 7 remaining fans, but in no universe is it logical to have Vernon Wells as one of the top 50 highest paid athletes.

Perhaps most worryingly of all, it does not appear that anyone gives a damn.


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Why the USA can't win the World Baseball Classic

The Public, Press and Players in the USA all have a part to play in Team USA's failure to advance in the World Baseball Classic

Down and out - The USA will have to just watch
 the rest of the World Baseball Classic

Is ESPN still 'a thing', or is it basically a portion of the Miami Heat website now? This morning on first viewing the ESPN main page had between 5-7 major headlines involving the Miami Heat. One tiny, short sentence mentioned the fact the USA has been knocked out of the World Baseball Classic.

That in itself is a nice little pointer as to why the USA will not win the tournament any time soon.

Taking a step back for a second, is there anything worse than a big fat bully who loses a game of anything, and then walks away, dismissively, arrogantly proclaiming 'Whatever! I didn't wanna win it anyway!' That's pretty much the overall attitude being displayed by a very large number of people, press and players involved with Team USA and it's early exit from the International tournament of the game that America is supposed to own.

There isn't even a simple answer. The USA's problems in the World Baseball Classic (WBC from here on in this article) are of a deeply ingrained, toxic nature, and they come from the very roots of American society and it's attitude to international sports.

You know the problems are deep and toxic when a major US sports website has to beg; ''Time to start caring about the WBC''. Note to the USA; everyone else does already care about the WBC. The USA is out in the cold on its own on this one

Everything about the US participation reeks this time round. Have you noticed players and media on the US side complaining about the way first the Dominican and then Puerto Rico celebrated their wins? Pathetic. Very poor sportsmanship on the USA's part. Winners celebrate. Losers go home. Losers go home, and if they have any class at all, losers keep their mouths shut. Once again we find ourselves saying, note to the USA; this tournament means a lot to the Dominican and Puerto Rico, and all the other teams, bar the USA. With that in mind, you should expect them to celebrate their backsides off.

This is where we need to broach the topic of the USA's attitude towards international sports. In 2007 it was major news that LeBron James decided he would play for the Dream Team. You can say with authority than in every other corner of the World, that kind of news would only have been of the headline variety if the player had decided not to play for his country.

Playing for your country should not be an option. Every single United States eligible player who did not give themselves up fully for the World Baseball Classic should be absolutely ashamed of themselves  The only reason anyone should be excused is if they were injured. That's it. There is absolutely no other valid reason.

That's how all other countries in the entire World approach international sports. And that's why they both play and celebrate the game so hard. Their love for playing for their country.

Japanese fans celebrate during the World Baseball Classic

It is wildly ironic to be talking about this particularly in the case of the United States. The Third Reich would blush at the plastic Patriotism that is on display at every United States sporting event these days. Bombers designed to kill thousands of people flying over head, thousands of military personnel in the stands, flags waving everywhere and nationalist chants emanating from the stands. USA! USA! However, when the country needs its best players on the diamond, where are they?

Injured? No doubt a few were. Worried about injuring themselves? Probably another bunch fall under that category. Protecting themselves and their financial future, wrapping themselves in cotton wool before the MLB season starts? That's probably the most prevalent excuse, right?

What sets the other countries that are superior to the USA on the diamond apart is their players would literally do anything for their country.

True patriotism.

They would play through injury for their country, and they would, and do, put their bodies on the line just for the honour of wearing their countries jersey.

It's simple, easy and true patriotism. Nothing manufactured, nothing glossy and nothing fake. Your country comes calling, you put the jersey on.

There. Are. No. Valid. Excuses.

Last night on Twitter one of the beaten USA players said a graceful thank you to those who supported the team the last week. He said he wished they had done better. Then he finished by blubbering 'The USA is still the greatest country in the World'. 

That's exactly the attitude that is preventing the USA from winning the World Baseball Classic.

That very arrogance, taking the place of the true-patriotism shown by all the other countries that take part, is one of the restraints that are preventing the USA from progressing in the tournament. Until the USA is humble about the WBC, until everybody, press, people, players all chip in an invest in this tournament, until that time, the USA certainly is not the greatest country in the World. They didn't even make the semi finals.

Until everyone involved in Team USA understands and admits that they are not the greatest in the World, and knuckles down to try and change that situation, they will always just be another team looking on as the real greatest international baseball teams in the World go about their business.

Japan - Note to USA, the actual greatest. 

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2012 World Series preview

And then there was two. The Major League Baseball season is long. Very long. 162 games, to be exact. Now, finally, the playoffs have whittled the remaining field down to a final two, and all that remains is the World Series. This column would contend that there are no better teams suited for this World Series than the Detroit Tigers and the San Francisco Giants.

The two teams are both great examples of exactly what a ‘team’ is, at least in Major League baseball terms. Much more costly, extravagant and indeed fancied teams have all been cast by the wayside on route to the final. The Yankees? Gone, along with their ridiculous $220 million a year in salaries. Texas? Gone, their big sluggers couldn’t bash their way through the playoffs. Detroit and San Francisco are arguably the most complete teams in baseball in their respective conferences.

San Francisco play great defence, have some shut-down type starting pitchers, a great bullpen, and can play small-ball when they want to, or bang home-runs when they have to. The Tigers? Detroit have a couple of the best pitchers in the game right now, and a fear-some middle of their order unlike almost any other in baseball.

Two truly great teams, very worthy of their slot in the finals.

The Giants are jam packed with high-character players. Marco Scutaro, a player that the Boston Red Sox idiotically cast off last season, is having a playoffs for the ages, the baseball must look the size of a large water melon to him right now. Scutaro is a what they call in the English Premier League, a ‘players player’, just a gentleman and a true professional. It is heart-warming to see him succeed at the highest level. The wonderfully named Buster Posey is coming back from a terrible injury last season, playing catcher for the Giants. He is their ‘long ball’ threat and when he makes contact, the ball really jumps off of his bat.

The Giants are really defined by their starting pitching, the ‘horses’ who get the ball for (hopefully) six to seven innings from the start of the game. Matt Cain is the calm, cool and collected ace in the pack, while Ryan Vogelsong is striking batters out at a incredible pace. Keep an eye out for popular and humble Tim Lincecum, a young, free spirit, with buckets of talent, trying to bounce back from an average season.

The Tigers are bringing some heavy-lumber to the party. Their batting lineup is big, bad and mean. Their fulcrum is the fearsome duo of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Cabrera is fresh of winning a rare ‘Triple Crown’ which means he topped the MLB charts in runs batted in, home runs, and batting average. A truly Herculean feat. His running mate, his partner in crime is the affable  Prince Fielder, a huge man who bashes home runs like you and I swat flies.

Detroit also bring arguably the single most dominant pitcher on the planet right now. Justin Verlander is on top of his trade. He can touch triple figures on the radar gun, and his curve ball can make a batter question his very existence. He is a ferocious competitor, and really ‘gets’ what it means to be the ace, the figure head of the Tigers.

That final aspect touches on perhaps the best part of this World Series.

It was really pathetic watching the Yankees play their home playoff games, as Detroit put them to the sword. The disgustingly priced $2000 plus seats behind home plate were only half full, and Yankee stadium itself was basically only three quarters full. Worse yet, the Yankee fans jeered their team more than they cheered them. It was ugly.

No such problems in this Series, you can bet.

These two teams really mean something to and in their respective communities. Their fans really love their teams, both playing in front of adoring, packed houses on a nightly basis. The Giants stadium is really a sight to see, arching high into the San Francisco night sky, with a swaying, colourful crowd jammed into every available seat. The Tigers, meanwhile, perhaps mean even more to their City (and that’s saying something). Detroit and Michigan has had a tough few years, and the Tigers do an incredible job giving their City and State something to be proud of, and something to cheer for. You can really feel the connection between the team and its fans every time they play ball.

Who’s going to win? It is a very tough call. Each game should be closely contested. San Francisco have some fabulous players and characters, and Marco Scutaro is a man on a mission right now. However, you simply can’t ignore two men in particular for the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander are once-in-a-lifetime type talents, and for me, they will swing the series towards Detroit.

Playoff baseball is a beautiful thing. Elegant, electric and to those that love it edifying, do yourself a favour, catch a few of the games, even if it means going into work a little late the next day!



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Old Sox: Your 2013 MLB all Red Sox castoff all-stars

Sitting there eating popcorn watching Josh Reddick mash and swagger his way through the playoffs, his locks blowing in the wind, it is hard not to think, ‘what might have been?’ if the swashbuckling young man had stayed in a Boston Red Sox jersey. Damn would he look good patrolling right field, providing the finishing touches to an outfield of Ross\Ellsbury\Reddick which would be more than competitive, even amongst the daily grind of the AL East. Of course, Reddick isn’t the only ‘one that got away’.

Extrapolating this line of thoughts further it didn’t take long to create an entire team of former Red Sox from around the Major Leagues. Our ‘Old Sox’ squad would be extremely competitive, we think. In fact, it is hard not to imagine this Old Sox team bashing the living daylights out of the current incarnation which sapped the life out of baseball in Boston all 2012 long.

Assuming this column won the lottery this week, we would build a beautiful tidy little, fan friendly stadium in Cape Cod, naturally something ergonomically acceptable. In line with the swagger of our right fielder we would simply call them ‘The Old Sox’ and our uniform would be suitably unique. The stadium would fill up on a nightly basis, a mix of inevitable  Cape Cod tourists, gnarly Portuguese fishermen, college kids working on the Cape for the Summer, curious Irish J1 visa students, also working in the Cape’s bars and eateries, handsome older gentlemen  in crisp wind-sheeters, happily and diligently filling out old-school scorecards, holidaying New York families with the kids in Jets and Giants jerseys, dreamers and poets, artists and entertainers, the finest of the Cape and the North East. The Old Sox would play the game the right way, and their adoring fans would applaud the right moves.

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Booing your own team, players or coaches would mean instant and permanent expulsion from the stadium.House rule.

The mascot? A giant clam or something, who cares, everyone would be too busy to notice, lost in a dreamy haze of Cape Cod summer nights and Hanley Ramirez monster blasts over the left field wall.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Let’s meet the team.

The Old Sox lineup
1. CF: Coco Crisp - Oakland
2. 2B: Marco Scutaro - San Francisco
3. 1B: Adrian Gonzalez - LA Dodgers
4. SS: Hanley Ramirez - LA Dodgers
5. 3B: Adrian Beltre - Texas
7. C: Victor Martinez - Detroit
8. RF: Josh Reddick - Oakland
9. DH: Anthony Rizzo - Chicago Cubs
10. LF: David Murphy - Texas

Not bad, right? The above is of course with apologies to Jed Lowrie and Kevin Youkilis. We just couldn't fit them in. How about that lineup though? Reddick batting 8th? The front two might be a little 'light' but our feeling is they will be energized by their incredible team-mates and will go about setting the table in front of the big bashers with glee. Our 3 through 6 is amongst the best in baseball, with a healthy Victor Martinez providing serious pop in the 7-hole. Adrian Beltre will be the glue that holds the whole thing together, and you can expect some highlight reel moments in defence from him and Gonzo in particular. Anthony Rizzo is a fine young slugging prospect who made it to Chicago from Boston via San Diego. He is one to watch. David Murphy batting 9th? Great defence and a consistent bat. The Old Sox would be a serious contender right out the gate.

How about pitching, I hear you say. Okay, you found out weak link, perhaps. The Old Sox are going to probably have to win a few games with the bat, however the starting rotation is not absolutely horrible. It has its moments. You could argue it is streets ahead of what Boston put on the field in '12. Have a look and see what you think.

The Old Sox rotation
SP: Bronson Arroyo - Cincinnati Reds
SP: Justin Masterson - Cleveland Indians
SP: Josh Beckett – LA Dodgers
SP: Anibal Sanchez - Detroit
SP: Casey Kelly - San Diego

Arroyo gets the ball opening day, through sheer consistency alone. He may not be flashy, he doesn’t light up the radar gun, he just wins.  Masterson has the potential to go on and be a major league number two type in any rotation. Josh? We all know what the World Series MVP can do. Anibal Sanchez just needs to find a vein of form and health, and he can build on that no-hitter he threw, and Casey Kelly is one for the future, and a good one at that.

There it is. The Old Sox. Maybe 'The Cape Cod Old Sox' - we're not sure yet. Planning permission on the stadium still in the works. Dreaming aside, the point is, you can name a pretty darn good MLB team from recently-former Red Sox cast-offs.

Read into that what you will, however, it does not speak highly on Boston's ability to hold onto good players.


Right now, more than anyone, Josh Reddick is a whirling, bashing, strutting piece of evidence of just that.

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Whisper it quietly: The Yankees might miss the playoffs

To date, this had been an enjoyable summer for New York Yankee fans. Their team cruised through the early portion of the season, while their old rivals, the Red Sox, collapsed out of sight a number of weeks ago. Yankee fans celebrated wildly, like a pack of angry, learning challenged chimpanzees, taking great delight in Boston’s horrific demise.

Then, the party quietened, the storm clouds began to gather on the horizon.

Suddenly the mighty Yankees are facing something resembling a doomsday scenario, along the lines of their legendary 2004 ALCS collapse. After a complete snooze fest of a first two thirds of a season, the AL East is suddenly the front line, one of the most dramatic divisions in all of Major League Baseball. The Yankees are in a horrific tail-spin of a free fall, having lost six out of their last ten, while Baltimore and Tampa are coming round the bend faster than Seabiscuit.

After Robbie Cano whiffed horribly, lazily missing a ground ball to hand Tampa the win last night, The Yankees, who led by 10 games earlier this summer, had their edge cut to one game by Baltimore, which beat Toronto 4-0. The Rays moved within 2 1/2 games of New York. If New York were to continue their sloppy slide out of first place, they face a drove a bandits in the form of Oakland, Detroit and the Angels for the two Wild Card slots.  Not to mention whichever between Baltimore and Tampa doesn’t win the AL East, in the Yankees nightmare scenario.

The Orioles and Rays are playing good, solid, error free baseball, and look set to continue a good run through the remaining 26-28 games of the regular season, while New York, frankly, are reeling. There are no excuses. Their payroll is a gazillion dollars, they are stacked with superstars, and they daren’t start complaining about injuries, they would be deafened by the laughter that would come from Toronto and Boston if they tried to hide behind that. The Blue Jays and Red Sox have been absolutely decimated by injuries. The Yankees are downright healthy in comparison.

Take a look at the standings. The Yankees are a couple of bad weeks of baseball away from missing the 2012 playoffs entirely. That is absolutely shocking.

Perhaps more worrying for New York, their ageing, expensive lineup, may not recover in the next couple of seasons either. Jeter can only keep slapping singles to right for so long, and A-Rod would appear to be disintegrating before our eyes. The Yankees will no doubt enjoy having their gazillion dollar DH of the future come to the plate using a zimmer-frame in coming seasons, as his body ‘mysteriously’ falls apart. Their bullpen is a complete mess and their starting pitching rotation beyond their 400lb Ace CC Sabathia is about as scary as Mitt Romney.

The Rays and Orioles look set to embark on a productive, successful period of seasons to come, and Toronto are not as bad as their injuries have made them play this season. The Red Sox took a deep, deep breath and pressed the big shiny reset button a couple of weeks ago, and can re-tool (particularly in terms of pitching) in the offseason, to come back stronger in 2013. The Yankees? Right now they are an old, expensive team, with hundreds of millions concreted in on old players contracts, and right now, they look set to miss the playoffs.

Is the short term or long term the more depressing and scary for Yankee fans? Ask one today, and while you’re at it, give them a hug.

They need one.







 


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The L.A. Dodgers represent great World Series value at 12/1

In case you were hidden under a rock, buried deep in episodes of The Kardashians or blinded by endless naked Prince Harry pictures, you should probably know that sometime between Friday and Saturday the Red Sox and the L.A. Dodgers pulled off probably the biggest single trade in MLB history. The Dodgers gave up a group of prospects (including the wonderfully named Rubby De La Rosa) whilst in return Boston shipped off Adrian Gonalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and (don’t forget!) Nick Punto. A simply stunning trade in its sheer magnitude, particularly the incredible $260 odd million dollars of salary The Red Sox West Dodgers are committing to by taking on those high priced veterans.

Boston’s media and fan-base are literally reeling from the shock, the former have nothing to write about anymore, and the latter simply stunned this is happening. Perhaps conditioned by weeks, nay, months of negative Front Office bashing by The Knights Of The Keyboard (as Teddy Ballgame sardonically called Boston’s sports media), Red Sox fans were under the impression the Front Office at Fenway Park had no clue how to run a Major League ball-club. As it turns out, their timing was absolutely impeccable and they have managed to not only drop those $260 million in wages, they have also changed the club-house attitude completely. There is still some work to do, obviously, however right now the future looks definitely brighter and clearer for the Red Sox. The fans are delighted by and large, the media, well, they are a little stunned.

Meanwhile, flying somewhat under the radar, are the Dodgers. The L.A. Dodgers have gone from something of an after-thought to a legitimate World Series contender in a very short space of time. Magic Johnson and his co-owners have signaled their aggressive intent with the Hanley Ramirez pickup, they have now literally engaged afterburners and left many an opponent in their wake with the arrival of Beckett and most of all Gonzalez. The Dodgers line-up, already awesome, is now a veritable Murderers Row for opponent pitchers, who are basically going to have nightmares every night before taking on this lot. Consider, for a second, the core of the Dodgers lineup on a nightly basis. Kemp\Ethier\Ramirez\Gonzalez is a simply scintillating three through six, perhaps superior to anything else in baseball, NL and or AL. Seriously, look at those names, and imagine for a second being a middle level pitcher trying to navigate their way through those four, back to back to back to back. Then throw in pesky leadoff guy Shane Victorino and other parts like Nick Punto, and you can understand the ferocious, other-worldly potential of this Dodgers lineup.

Of course with the addition of Josh Beckett the Dodgers have also upgraded their pitching staff. Beckett will provide experience, depth, and, for my money anyway, wins. He did not turn into a bad pitcher overnight. He can still bring a fastball, and still has a burning desire to win every single battle with every single batter. Beckett is going to love pitching in the wide open expanses of Dodger Stadium, which make Fenway Park look roughly the same size as a tiny little panic room. There are going to be a lot of fly balls to left and center in particular that turn into outs for Beckett, reducing his ERA, his WHIP and his stress levels.

Say what you want about Beckett, he tells it like it is, and has been brutally honest about his own performance when asked about it on the Left Coast. Take these comments for example;

“I’m as big a part of that as anybody. That’s not what they wanted to do. They wanted Adrian to stay. They wanted me to stay. They wanted Nick [Punto] to stay. They wanted Carl [Crawford] to stay. We just didn’t do our jobs.”

He is clearly invigorated and ready to, frankly, be awesome again. Beckett was a huge fan favourite in Boston just two seasons ago. It all fell apart in a short space of time, but the good people of L.A. will probably end up loving the big Texan, particularly if he puts up a few wins for them between now and the World Series.

Speaking of the latter, our overall point is that right now is the time to get on board the Dodgers bandwagon. A few weeks ago the Dodgers were as high as 25/1 to win the World Series. With the addition of Hanley Ramirez, they moved in to 20/1, and now suddenly with the big trade there has been a further market adjustment, all the way in to 12/1 or 14/1 with some establishments.

For me, this adjustment still is not big enough. You are telling me that 12/1 isn’t incredible value for a deep pitching staff, a good bullpen and a simply superb, out of this world lineup? We’re talking value here. We aren’t suggesting for a second that the Dodgers are 100% locks for the trophy, however you cannot deny that at 12/1 they represent superior value, considering the sheer talent of the pieces they have added recently.

The Dodgers are building something special for the short term. The bookmakers have not fully adjusted as yet. Find a way to get on the bandwagon, and enjoy the ride.

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Red Sox players again under attack, this time for not attending Johnny Pesky's funeral

In this lost Red Sox 2012 season, the anger and frustration continues to rise. As you probably already know, the latest drama is around the funeral of the late great Johnny Pesky, which was on Monday morning. There were four Red Sox players amongst the estimated hundred Sox front office and coaching staffs present at the funeral. That same night, Josh Beckett held his annual (since 2006) fundraising event in a bowling hall, and basically most of the Red Sox players attended.

Those are the raw details, and in the last 24 hours there has been a deluge of material of varying degrees of vitriol lambasting the Red Sox players for not attending the Johnny Pesky funeral, and yet attending the Beckett Bowl.

There is no point in tackling either the mud being slung the way of the Sox players, or trying to defend ‘their actions’ Perhaps the most level headed thing to do is understand a few simple facts. First of all, the Sox got in on Monday morning at 4 am from a road trip. Second of all, the Beckett fundraiser is for a Boston kids hospital and has raised over a million dollars for same.

The latter is the point I would like to draw attention to. Regrettably, the more fiery of the articles assaulting the Sox players appear to be attempting the pawn the Beckett ‘thing’ off as the Sox players hanging out, eating chicken and drinking beer. The honest truth is, it was the Sox players giving themselves up completely for children. To try and use this event as a reason to beat further the very dead horse that is Boston’s players behaviour these last two seasons is actually pretty pathetic, and also completely dishonest.

Things are often never as simple as black and white.

Who knows why only four players made it to Pesky’s funeral, however it would appear that the four that did, did not attend the children’s hospital fundraiser later that evening. Perhaps, for example, it wasn’t possible to do both, and therefore the Sox players decided which they needed to attend, to ensure coverage at both.

I believe it is entirely unfair for people to instantly draw a wildly negative conclusion when the fact of the matter is, very few of us know the timing on the day. Perhaps if you are one of those who want to bury the nail deeper into the coffin of this batch of Sox players, you should check yourself momentarily and review these pictures from the Beckett fundraiser.

They were taken by Shelley from Fenway West, and from what I can see, there isn’t a beer or a bucket of chicken in sight. Just a lot of Red Sox players putting in a lot of time with a lot of very, very happy kids.

If you are absolutely determined to hate this Red Sox team, fine, knock yourself out, however don’t disgrace yourself by dragging the funeral of a Red Sox great and a very worthy fundraiser into the debate.

It is probably best to leave both alone. Very, very few of us are qualified to cast the first stone in this one.

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Derek Jeter shows his class with moving eulogy to Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky

New York Yankee Derek Jeter

Boston lost a true legend yesterday as 92-year-old Johnny Pesky moved on to the great diamond in the sky.

Pesky bled Red Sox red longer than most of us can imagine, dedicating himself to the Sox and the local community. On first hearing the news of the great man’s passing, the first thought I had was, thank goodness the Red Sox managed to win a couple of rings for him in his lifetime. Pesky definitely deserved that.

Shunned by former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, who famously and idiotically banned Pesky from the Sox dugout during games, Pesky was thankfully welcomed back into the fold by the current management team, an act that will stand to them for the duration of their ownership.

The legend of Johnny Pesky stretches back a long way. Former Major Leaguer Larry Upton told me that none other than the great Ted Williams used to jokingly and playfully call Pesky ‘needlenose’ . He also spoke of Pesky’s outgoing, warm nature. You can read a nice article by him on the great man here.

Like Larry, there are going to be many a worthy accolades written about Pesky in the coming hours and days. Last night as the New York Yankees prepared to play Texas, one of the Red Sox greatest rivals spoke about him.

Often the greatest compliments come from your rivals. They just carry more weight to them. In this case, the Boston Red Sox have no greater rival than the New York Yankees, and the figurehead of that organization, one Derek Jeter.

His softly spoken, measured and thoughtful comments should resonate strongly with even the staunchest, loyalist Red Sox fans. Jeter said;

“He was always so nice to me throughout the years. Every time I’d see him, he would come over and say, ‘I hope you get four hits today – and the guy behind you hits into four double plays.’ I’ve always enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to him. I always like the fact that we have a lot of ex-players that come around all the time. I always liked going up [to Boston] and having an opportunity to see him. They loved him there; fans, players, media, everyone loved him. I send my best wishes to his family.”

Jeter has broken Red Sox hearts countless times down through the years, however this time he may have tugged at their heart-strings in a different way, with such a simple, yet gentle and meaningful eulogy.

Like Pesky before him, Jeter remains a class act.

Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky

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The LA Dodgers land prize fish Hanley Ramirez as Miami continues to unravel

You have to wonder, what on earth are the Miami Marlins doing? Stunning MLB news today as it is starting to break that the LA Dodgers have landed Hanley Ramirez and his very, very big bat in a several-player-deal that is heavily weighted in the Dodgers favour. At first glance it would appear Miami might be in the middle of a big salary (and talent) dump, the deal is that lopsided.

If you recall, the Marlins dumped every decent part of its roster after World Series wins in '97 and '03, this time round they would appear to have forgotten to win the series before dumping its roster.

The ugliest part of this is the Marlins front office is now going to attempt to sneakily assasinate Ramirez around baseball by releasing thinly veiled hints in regards club house chemistry and so on. I am not buying it, what about all those goofy pro-Marlins promos we were force fed where Ramirez horsed around with Reyes and other Marlins, apparently one big happy family? Now it suits the front office to hide behind these 'character' stories we are already starting to see on Hanley. I call bullshit. They are trying to distract us from the stink of their latest fire sale by distributing misinformation.

The big winners? Obviously the Dodgers. Get the nicknames ready, their nasty murderers row of Kemp, Ethier and Ramirez has the potential to pplay wrecking ball on opposition pitching staffs for a very long, productive and successful time. Who the hell do you pitch to amongst that trio? You could legitimately say the Dodgers are suddenly serious World Series contenders, and that's exciting for Dodger fans all over the world.

Not so much a good time to be a Marlins fan. They couldn't have timed this obvious fire sale any worse. Their gaudy new ballpark is now shorn of several key parts, not just Ramirez but also Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. The word on the street is they are going to dump Josh Johnson too, which leaves us all to just scratch our heads and wonder, who on earth is planning things down in Miami?

The Marlins are an absolute train wreck.

Let's finish on a positive note. The Dodgers are 10/1 to win the National League and 18/1 to win the World Series. If Ramirez slots right in and starts bashing away, those are both very good value prices, so grab 'em while you can!

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Kevin Youkilis is glad to be away from the Boston sports media

In case you haven’t noticed. Kevin Youkilis, recently traded to the Chicago White Sox, is raking. Youk is hitting bombs again, winning games with his bat, and the White Sox are on a tear since they picked him up in exchange for basically garbage to the Red Sox. Predictably enough, Youk is already a firm favourite on the Chicago south side, with his replica jerseys flying out of the club shop faster than you can say ‘Greek God of walks’.  Let’s take a step back to just a few weeks ago, before Youkilis was traded. At the time, the Boston sports media was tripping over itself in a rush to see who could insult Youkilis the harshest. In articles on Boston online papers, in Twitter and Facebook, the press absolutely whaled away at Youkilis, calling him washed up, done, finished and saying it was the right move to ship him out of time, as fast as possible. A couple of writers even suggested releasing the veteran.

The problem is, as Youkilis continues to show himself to be a veteran, quality bat, turns out they might have been very wrong.

The level of negativity attached to Youkilis by the media was astonishing. A number of my Red Sox fan friends mentioned it to me and we wondered why they were going so hard on the guy. Was it all instructed from ‘above’? (The Red Sox own part of the Boston Globe, for example) Did Youkilis do something to annoy them? Or were they just that negative?

Youkilis himself noticed it, obviously, and in a recent interview with a Chicago sports radio show made the following illuminating comments

First he said;

''I just think that sometimes in that environment in Boston, sometimes the media can get on you and expect you to have a career year every year."

Then,  on the differences in Boston and Chicago media, he said;

"The minute you get to your locker and you come to the field and the door's open til the minute you leave and all around. It's just a media-driven baseball town. Here, it's just kind of happy-go-lucky. If you're the player of the game, they come to your locker. If you're not, so be it, you just get on with your life and go home. There's just no added stress here, in that regard. Sometimes it can just wear on those teams in the Northeast."

As frequent followers of the Red Sox know, Youkilis is not an exception. The Boston sports media loves to drop the hammer down on Red Sox players and managers too. The unbelievable witch hunt that followed the regrettably 2011 collapse is obviously the case in point.

However it is not only veteran players and managers who are in their sights. Rookies with less than 20-30 at bats are not safe either.

Take for example the excellent looking Mauro Gomez.

Before last night’s loss to the Yankees, Gomez was batting .500 with a 9 of 18 showing, including some really big clutch hits. Orsillo and Remy on NESN were heard musing that perhaps this kid could eventually take over the DH spot from Big Papi. Judging by the way he swings his big bat, that’s not a stretch at all.

Of course, none of this is good enough for the ‘Knights of the keyboard’, as Ted Williams disdainfully dubbed the Boston area sports writers. No, Mauro Gomez’s ability with the bat does not protect him from the usual blissful mockery the Boston sports media likes to rain down on anyone not called Dustin Pedroia. Instead of focusing on his hitting ability, the scribes from Ye Olde Towne, have instead been absolutely lambasting him for his play at third base.

Here’s the thing, anyone who knows anything about the Red Sox farm system knows that Gomez is a DH or first base type player. He is selflessly playing out of position at third base because Will Middlebrooks is injured.  The writers who have been sarcastically lashing Gomez online in articles and through Twitter are conveniently neglecting to reference that fact as they gleefully tear the young man’s defence apart.

There is a reason many players would not dream of coming to Boston, no matter how big a truck of John Henry’s money the team backed up to his house. That reason is the often despicably negative Boston sports media. Call it what you want, dress it up any way you like, the Boston sports media takes great pleasure in ripping players apart. For players who have been subjected to their ugly brand of journalism, not having to deal with them on a regular basis is a breath of fresh air.

Just ask Kevin Youkilis.

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Baseball Ireland A-League weekend wrap up May 19th-20th

The weekend just past saw a full slate of league games in the Irish baseball league. Beautiful Corcaigh Park, the home of Irish Baseball, saw the 2011 Champion Dublin Spartans host the Greystones Mariners. The Mariners banged out an impressive 10 hits on their way to a very respectable 5-2 win over the Spartans veteran side. The Spartans are now on a surprising 4 game losing streak, whilst the Mariners announced they will be pushing for the playoffs this season, sitting on a nice 3-2 record after 5 games.

In Shankill at ‘BlackSox Park’ the Munster Warriors and the BlackSox played a double header, with the Sox taking both close fought encounters. The Sox won the first game 7-5 and the second 6-4. The Sox are now 5-1 and second in the league to the Dublin Hurricanes. 

The Dublin Hurricanes

                                                     

The latter traveled up North to play the Belfast Northstars. The game was a well-played, tight affair with the score at 4-3 ‘Canes in the fourth inning. The ‘Canes bats erupted however and the Dublin team ran out 16-4 winners on the day. The Hurricanes are on a stunning run dating back to last season. In 2011 the ‘Canes won all 15 of their league games, and they have started 2012 5-0, meaning they have now won 20 league games in a row over two seasons.

The ‘Canes face a big challenge in two weeks’ time against the Greystones Mariners. Next week the A-League sees action between the BlackSox and Spartans, Saturday morning at BlackSox Park in Shankill, and Munster will be desperate for a win against Greystones, the game being played at Corcaigh Park in Dublin.

You can view the schedule and the league tables for both the A and B leagues on the Baseball Ireland website Adult league page. For more about the Irish National Baseball facility at Corcaigh Park click here.

If you are interested in playing baseball in Ireland, go to this page and contact the League Coordinator. Most other baseball Ireland related queries can be answered starting at that contact page.

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Baseball Ireland - we do it wetter

                                      

Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon might be losing it

It would appear former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is starting to channel the spirit of Rickey Henderson, the current reigning champion of speaking of one’s self in the third person. Either that or he has basically completely lost it. On Wednesday Papelbon sat in for a scheduled Boston station radio interview. He made some, well, interesting comments. Enjoy the pick of the bunch, below.

On the Red Sox training staff (telling him what to do every day)

"The previous trainer there tried to tell me everything and that he knew everything about me. It's just not the case. I know myself. I know how to get through a 162-game season. The trainer don't know how to do that and the trainers here (in Philadelphia) have been phenomenal. They understand that I am going to be successful because I know how to be successful. I still did things my way when I was there in Boston. I just had someone chirping in my ear the whole time."

This is easily something you could believe attributed to fictional superstar Kenny Powers;
‘’ They understand that I am going to be successful because I know how to be successful.’’

Did you feel (bad) about leaving the Red Sox after the chaos of the collapse last September?

"I don't feel bad. No. Cinco is gutless man. I don't feel bad for people."

You would assume he meant ‘heartless’ perhaps, but, onwards and upwards…

On his ability and confidence to close?

"I am confident in my ability and ain't nobody going to tell me what to do. Nobody tells Cinco what to do."

Nobody puts Papelbon in a corner! One thing does have to be said, Papelbon is fiercely loyal to his former team mates in Boston.

What did you think of the Red Sox clubhouse? Does it need to be blown up after what you saw last year?

"That starting staff is some professional pitchers man. I don't care who you are in the big leagues. You are going to go through rough patches, especially in that division, but the thing is that personally I would want those guys to go to war with to go through those rough patches cause they know how to get out of it. There is no doubt about that."

For the complete interview including sound bits, check this site out

The Terrific Ten: IrishCentral's MLB top ten power rankings May 16th 2012

Here we go. Our sometimes weekly, occasionally accurate, often controversial, Top Ten MLB rankings. Assuming this article leaves you feeling confused, angry and upset, as it often will, the comment section is open and available for your top ten!

Please note, this is a Top Ten with a twist. This list details one through ten the ten most likely teams to win the World Series, not the current ten best teams. Consider that before you charge into the comments section all bluster and anger!

For example, and we hate to break this to your Baltimore fans, the Orioles are not going to win the World Series. They will appear in many a MLB power ranking, just not this one. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. No chance at winning the big one so, no Orioles.

We fully expect our top two to play the World Series against each other. So confident, are we, that we will put their World Series and NL and AL Championship odds beside them, despite the fact you cannot place a bet in the United States, even though you can own a gun. Go figure.

Right, let’s chop it up.

1. Our current most likely AL representative: Texas Rangers, 23-12. 21/10 to win the AL and 7/2 favorite to win the World Series.
As long as Josh Hamilton stays healthy, the Rangers are a monster. He is the leading light in a powerful offense that is devouring the AL’s pitching, and spitting it back out disdainfully. Texas leads the majors in runs scored, averaging half a run more per game than the next-best offensive team. It all starts with Hamilton, who in one single game last week blasted four homers and a double, tying the all-time AL record with 18 total bases in a game and becoming just the 16th player ever to hit four homers in a game. Texas are about to embark on a cupcake portion of their schedule also. Their next six opponents are the Royals, A's, Astros, Mariners, Jays, and Mariners again. Of course, waiting in the distance, those cold September and October months that Texas will no doubt get a taste of, but will they be able to handle it? Playoff pitching, cold weather, balaclavas and Nolan Ryan's enormous head  freezing to death angrily in the front row.

2. Our current most likely NL representative: Los Angeles Dodgers, 23-11. 13/2 to win the NL and a great value 14/1 to win the World Series.
Matt Kemp this, Matt Kemp that. Kemp’s injury is a minor setback. He will be back soon. It is not a season ending injury. The Dodgers are built on solid pitching, a couple of big bats (Don’t forget Andre Ethier!) and tight defence. Their starters have been superb in 2012, led by Clayton Kershaw, and their closer, Kenley Jansen, who is averaging almost 14 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. Outstanding.

3. New York Yankees, 19-15
No doubt there are issues. Their closers keep getting hurt (Rivera, now Robertson). Their first baseman can’t hit (Mark Teixeira is in one of the worst slumps of his career). They are patched together in places. However, their 57 year old shortstop, held together with glue and sellotape, is batting Ted Williams, and they are having absolutely no problem scoring runs. Also, you are completely deluded if you think the Yankees aren’t going to go out and trade body parts, money, scrap metal and whatever else they have left in their minor league system for a shut down starter or two before the trade deadline. That’s just who they are.

4. St. Louis Cardinals, 20-14
Have you ever heard of Lance Lynn? No? In your defence, not many had prior to 2012. He is currently leading the Cards in wins (6), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (44). The kid can deal. Their rotation is solid, and Adam Wainwright will boost that to 'great' when he gets back to his usual self. The fun really starts with their offence. Rafael Furcal is absolutely murdering the baseball right now, while Carlos Beltran has a jaw dropping 13 long balls already. Carlos, who knew?!

5. Tampa Bay Rays, 21-14
How the Tampa Bay Devil Rays manage to lay in the weeds just out of the Zeitgeist is anyone’s guess. They are basically a stacked baseball team now, devoid of any of the trappings of the under-dog role they used to play so well. Maybe it is something to do with the absolutely pathetic attendances they get down there in Tampa. 9,000 people at a Major League ball game? Still, dangerous in October when the bandwagon fans show up.

6. Atlanta Braves, 22-13
Can a team win a World Series on the strength of its bullpen? Sounds ludicrous, but the Braves are going to give it a shot. When Atlanta take a lead from the sixth inning on, the game is effectively over. Their setup guy, Jonny Venters, would close for most MLB teams, and is averaging an absolutely disgusting 14.49 strikeouts per 9 innings. Swing and a miss. Their actual closer, young, inferno-baller Craig Kimbrel, is clocking up an average of 14.79 strikeouts per 9. That's just Dutch porn filthy. You better get ahead of the Braves, or you are going to be swinging and missing a lot.

7. Washington Nationals, 21-13
Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg may get all the column inches, but Gio Gonzalez is the real story in Washington. He has a pretty little ERA of 1.94 in over 40 innings pitched, and is averaging a hefty 10.80 strikeouts per 9 IP in 2012. If he can cut down the walks a little (17 to date) he can throw his cap in the NL Cy Young ring.

8. Miami Marlins, 18-16
Miami got off to a stuttering start, but alarm bells must be ringing with baseball 'purists' everywhere, as the Marlins cruised past .500 and start to look like a potential playoff threat. Fun fact, Carlos Zambrano, yes, that Carlos Zambrano has an ERA of 1.88.

9. Los Angeles Angels, 15-20
They might be way under .500, but over the course of the season, they have a better shot at winning the big prize than the Orioles. Even Baltimore fans know that.

10. Boston Red Sox, 15-19
Last week everybody hated Josh Beckett. This week everyone loves him. Welcome to Boston.

Hideki Matsui signs for the Tampa Bay Rays and watches a lot of porn.

Two-time All-Star and MVP of the 2009 World Series Hideki Matsui  is now a  part of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays' organization. Matsui signed a minor league deal with the (Devil) Rays and will join the organization's extended spring program Wednesday in Port Charlotte. Matsui, who turns 38 in June, hit .285 with 173 home runs, 753 RBIs and 248 doubles in nine big league seasons, seven with the New York Yankees. The home runs and RBIs are the most by a Japanese player in major league history.

Right, enough with the pleasantries. Whilst this is a nice little MLB story, and we all hope Hideki makes it up to the ‘bigs’ and loses a few baseballs in the cavernous, largely empty stands in Tampa, much bigger related news is afoot.

In the latest issue of GQ, the following quote was attributed to Matsui.

That’s right. Hideki Matsui owns 55,000 adult movies.

A couple of quick fire and (as much as possible) PG thoughts on this alarming disclosure. First things first, as those noisy NFL Sunday guys say, C’Mon man! 55,000?! Is this like one of your buddies saying, ‘Dude, I had like, 75 Tacos last night’. We all know he did not have 75 Tacos last night, but he probably had more than usual. So whilst 55,000 is probably an exaggeration, it is safe to say that Hideki Matsui might own more adult movies than, you know, most people.

Secondly, has Matsui or his accountant ever heard of the Internet? Rumour has it there might be a few adult movies on that. How has anybody who cares about Matsui’s finances not tipped him off to this? ‘Eh, Hideki, nice collection and all, but, have you ever heard of the Internet? I think we can really save some extra walking around money with just a smidgen of online research on your part’.

Third, who gives out adult movies as gifts?! How profanely awkward is that? ‘Hey so, I picked this out for you, it has some boobs in it, I thought you might like it’. So many questions. Does the adult movie selected for you say something about what the person giving you the gift thinks of you?

You know what, let’s stop right there. Too dangerous. Let us all just agree that it is great to see Hideki Matsui swinging his bat again, and the fact is, whilst there is really no logistical way (I mean, where do you store 55,000 adult movies?!) he actually owns 55,000 adult movies, there is no doubt he probably owns more than 'most'.

And let's just leave it right there!

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