Baseball Hall of Fame Visit October 2014

It's been awhile.

I know it's been some time from the last time that I posted... almost six months.  Yikes.  If you are an avid follower, I apologize.  Where have I been?  Well, I'll explain that more below.

My boyfriend and I in front of Baseball Hall of Fame

Right now, I want to share my experience at the National Baseball Hall of Fame from this weekend.  If you have not had a chance to get to the Hall of Fame and museum, you need to get there.  Seriously, it has something for every baseball fan, whether an avid fan or a novice.

Baseball Experience Room

We started our experience with a short, 15 minute or so movie in the "Baseball Experience" room.  It started with the presenter asking the crowd who we are all rooting for to win the World Series.  The crowd was pretty much split in thirds between the Orioles, Royals, and Cardinals.  When the presenter asked about the Giants, you could almost hear crickets through the silence.  The short movie showed the history of baseball (very quickly) and some highlights throughout the years.

Ted Williams .406

Bill Mueller, 2 Grand Slams in One Game Opposite Sides of the Plate

Jason Varitek, most no-hitters caught; Kevin Youkilis- most consecutive errorless games by a first baseman

The photos above are the records held by former Red Sox players.  As you can see from the photos, the Red Sox are well represented in the Hall of Fame.  Whether it's Ted Williams and his .406 average, Bill Mueller hitting two Grand Slams in a game on opposite sides of the plate, Jason Varitek catching a record 4 no-hitters, or Kevin Youkilis setting the record playing 238 errorless games at first base.  

2013 World Series Ring

2013 Red Sox Memorabilia

Johnny Gomes, Boston Strong

2013 Red Sox World Series Champions

2013 Red Sox World Series Memorabilia

We were lucky to get the the Hall of Fame before the 2013 Red Sox World Series exhibit was going to be history.  Last year was such a special year for the Red Sox- worst to first.  Of course, they now have gone from worst to first to worst again, but maybe we'll continue the trend next season.

Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth, 1927 Barnstorming Tour

Photo from LegendaryAuctions.com

The first photo above is from the Hall of Fame and shows Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth during the 1927 Barnstorming tour.  This photo was taken in Fresno.  This photograph meant a lot to me because my great-grandfather, Al Van Camp, played on the Bustin' Babes barnstorming team during that year.  The second photo above is a photograph of the barnstorming teams in Des Moines, Iowa.  My great-grandfather is just to the left of Babe Ruth.

Display of how Ted Williams believed he batted

Ted Williams Bat

Ted Williams Memorabilia 

Display of Red Sox locker at Hall of Fame

Above are some of the Red Sox memorabilia throughout the Hall of Fame museum.  There was tons of Ted Williams displays, rightly so.  The above photograph shows the "Red Sox" locker in the room displaying a locker for every team.  Inside the locker are Curt Schilling's shoes from the "Bloody Sock Game," Koji Uehara's glove, Jason Varitek's captains jersey, and a 100 Years of Fenway Guitar.

Greg Maddux

Frank Thomas

Tom Glavine

Tony LaRussa

Bobby Cox

Joe Torre

Above are the displays for the 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees: Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe Torre.  I linked up each person's Baseball-Reference page for your reference.

The Hall of Fame

Carl Yastrzemski

Carlton Fisk

Dennis Eckersley and Wade Boggs

Jim Rice

Ted Williams

Joe Cronin

Jimmie Foxx

Tris Speaker

The above photographs are at the plaques of former Red Sox players who have made it into the Hall of Fame.  I included Dennis Eckersley in this, even though he went in as an Athletics, for the reason that I believe his stats are pretty 50/50 between the two teams.  Who will be the next Red Sox player inducted?  My bet is on Pedro Martinez.  (I apologize for the weird spacing above; the website won't let me delete the space.)

Now... where have I been the past six months?  My former job made me pretty exhausted.  I would leave for work between 7:00-7:30 and not return home until about 5:30-6:00.  My job exhausted me to the point that I was falling asleep on the couch before 9:00 most nights.  I had no energy to do anything besides work really.  This past summer, my boyfriend and I moved from Connecticut to Western Massachusetts.  After the move, I quit my job and am currently looking for something local.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a career change, but that's a scare step for me.  

I know these are not excuses to not continue to write, as I really do love writing.  Let's just forget this past season happened- the Red Sox season and me not writing.  Fresh start for all involved.  

Random Thoughts

* The 45-second standing ovation Kevin Youkilis received in his return to Fenway last night was great. It shows Youk that the fans did appreciate him, and he’ll always be regarded with respect despite playing for the “wrong” Sox. Sometimes, a change of scenery is good. In Youk’s case, I think that’s what he needed.

* Ortiz pulled his Achilles rounding the bases on Gonzalez’s game-winning homerun last night. Ortiz said it was pulled and nothing popped, and Valentine said Ortiz will be out for a few games. An MRI is scheduled for today. Yes, losing Ortiz is tough, especially since he’s been the team’s most consistent bat all season. However, Pedroia will be back on Thursday, and this will allow some other players to get a bit of a rest. The Sox will work with a “fluid” designated hitter for a few days. I’m guessing Shoppach and Saltalamacchia will share duties of catching and DH-ing for at least one game.

* Crawford was 1-for-3 with 2 runs in his return for the season. HE’S HITTING .333! Break out the champagne! In all seriousness, I’m happy for Crawford. I think he needed to come back and produce from the get-go. Hopefully, he’ll continue hitting like he was in the minors (I believe he had a .306 BA), and the mess from last year will be quickly forgotten.

* Aaron Cook continues to impress. Last night, he pitched 7.0 innings, gave up 5 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs. He walked and struck out 0. His season ERA is down to a very respectable 3.34, even in the limited time he’s pitched. Does this mean the Sox keep him and trade away someone like Morales?

* The Sox are said to be actively pursuing Ryan Dempster of the Cubs. I’m all for this. One, Depmster has a ridiculous 1.86 ERA. Two, he’s Kevin Millar’s best friend. I’ve seen Dempster a few times on Intentional Talk, and he’s hilarious. I think the Sox need someone who can come in and loosen the team up a bit. There’s no one who is said to be the “fun” one on this team, and I think the Sox need that. They need someone to keep the clubhouse light, to have fun with the media. The fact that he’s Millar’s best friend, well that’s just a bonus.

Welcome Back Youkilis... and Crawford

The White Sox are set to play a four-game series against the Red Sox starting tonight, which means the return of Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis is flourishing with the White Sox, something I’m happy about, even if it is against one of my least favorite teams. It’s now become clear that Youkilis needed out of Boston and things were not good between him and Valentine. I’m excited to see him back at Fenway, to see the crowds reaction, and to see which Red Sox players reach out to him.

Youkilis wrote a letter thanking various people, like the Red Sox organization, Terry Francona, his family, and the fans. Click on this link: http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/20866/kevin-youkilis-letter-to-red-sox-nation to view a copy of the letter. It was a classy gesture. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Youkilis in Boston many times in the future, probably at Patriots games.

Carl Crawford is set to make his return to the Red Sox today after spending all season on the disabled list. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not his elbow will hold up the rest of the year. I hope he’s back and silences the critics. Seriously, this guy was amazing with the Rays for so many years, comes to Boston and has a below average year and is injured for half the second year. He’s bound to bounce back, and I’m excited to see him do it.

Jacoby Ellsbury returned on Friday, and was 6 for 14 with 2 doubles. His average was raised to .275 for the season (I think he has a total of 10 games at the moment). He didn’t have a steal or even an attempt, but that will come. He needed to come and be comfortable at the plate, and he looks like he is just that. I can’t wait until Ellsbury and Crawford are both threats for stolen bases.

Clay Buchholz returned to the Red Sox on Saturday and made a respectable start for a loss. He went 6.1 innings, gave up 4 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8. He also hit a batter. That’s a pretty solid start by for any starter (despite the runs), but especially from coming off the disabled list because he was hospitalized for esophagitis.

But, the important thing was that for the first time all season, I thought Buchholz looked healthy. He looked like he had gained about twenty pounds, which is significant since Buchholz always looks so thin. Buchholz is listed as 6’3” and 190 lbs, but I don’t think he’s every looked like he weighs that much. I have a brother who is 6’3” and is very thin, and he doesn’t weigh anywhere near 190 lbs.

The important thing is the injured Red Sox players are returning; and so far, they are producing. Today brings a whole new batch of Sox players returning, Crawford from the DL and Youk back to Boston as a “rival.” Baseball seems to be fun again for these players, and I think that’s exactly what this team needs.

* I had to note that I knew someone at every game of the Rays-Red Sox series, which is pretty remarkable for living in Iowa and the game being played in Tampa Bay.

Youk No More

Photo from USAToday.com

We all knew it was coming. We knew it was coming soon too. But the shock that Kevin Youkilis is no longer a member of the Red Sox still hasn’t worn off. Kevin Youkilis is now a member of the Chicago White Sox.

Ever since Kevin Youkilis went on the disabled list earlier this season and Will Middlebrooks took 3rd base by storm, I think most fans could agree it may have been time for Youkilis to go. Everyone knew there were problems between Youkilis and Valentine, and Youkilis had been oft-injured the past few seasons (he’d missed 132 of the past 396 games, exactly a 1/3). Youkilis is only 33 though, which shouldn’t be considered “old.”

Kevin Youkilis was nicknamed “The Greek God of Walks” (long before “Moneyball” came out too). He was a “dirt dog,” always playing with grit, scrappiness, and a dirty uniform. He was one of two remaining members of the 2004 World Series team (David Ortiz being the other). On September 7, 2007, he played in his 179th consecutive game at first base without committing an error, breaking the record previously held by Mike Hegan (Youkilis’s record of 190 games was eventually broken by Casey Kotchman, however). In 2008, he game in third in AL MVP voting (behind Dustin Pedroia and
Justin Morneau).

Some of my favorite Youkilis moments and accomplishments:

On August 8, 2005, Youkilis, Adam Stern, and Gabe Kapler set an American League “record” for the most Jewish players to take the field for the same team during the same game. He was also one of three, Jewish players in the 2008 All-Star game (Ryan Braun and Ian Kinsler were the other two); and in 2009, he was one of three players to play on the USA WBC team (Ryan Braun and John Grabow beingt he other two).

On being called “The Greek God of Walks,” Terry Francona has this to say: I've seen Youkilis in the shower, and I wouldn't call him the Greek god of anything.

In June of 2008, Manny Ramirez apparently took a swing at Kevin Youkilis in the dugout, and the two had to be separated. When asked about the scuffle, Youkilis’ reply was: We have two different approaches to the game. Winning and losing isn’t life and death to Manny. The next month, Ramirez was traded.

And probably my favorite Youkilis moment was from last year was during the 13-inning, rain delayed game in 2011 against the Angels when we got the great moment of a bunch of Red Sox fans, who we can assume were drunk, at 2:30AM, serenading Youkilis with Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” Unfortunately, MLB has taken down the video on youtube. But, you can click on this link to watch a fabulous commercial featuring Youkilis and the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq7O_C8edy8

Yesterday, I went to Scheel’s with some members of my family. On the way home, my brother told me that he wanted to take all the Youkilis shirts to the front of the store and tell the manager they might want to sell them at a discount. Less than an hour later, Youkilis was officially a member of the Chicago White Sox. (For the record, my brother owns a Youkilis shirt, though he had given it to his girlfriend).

I didn’t get to watch the game yesterday (though GameDay and WEEI’s radio broadcast were pretty much on during the whole drive/shopping experience yesterday), but I did find Youkilis-last-game highlights on youtube, courtesy of NESN. Please click on this link to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWP4smEFt1k

The Red Sox needed to get younger, which was evident from the beginning of the season. Will Middlebrooks is clearly the better choice for this Red Sox team at 3rd base, but it’s still a shame a major player of the Red Sox for the past 8 years had to be moved to accomplish this. On Friday’s Twitter-Mania post, I’ll have tweets regarding Youkilis’s departure from the Red Sox.

Even though the Chicago White Sox are my least favorite team (yes, even below the Evil Empire), I might just have to suffer through some of Hawk Harrelson’s commentating to watch Youkilis play one of these days. And for the record, the White Sox go to Fenway in three weeks for a four-game series. I’m guessing Youkilis gets a standing ovation in his first at-bat.

Some Tidbits

* Ellsbury reportedly has better range of motion in his injured shoulder. He is no longerwearing a sling, but instead is wearing a brace. He is on the road trip with the team.

* Seems like Pedroia may have found a substitute for the backgammon he used to play with Francona before games. Before yesterday’s game, he was in a fierce round of “Words With Friends” with Adrian Gonzalez. While Gonzalez won the game yesterday, Pedroia leads the season series. I think this is good to see; builds team chemistry.

* Crawford went 0 for 3 yesterday in extended Spring Training as DH. Matsuzaka gave up 3 runs in 2 innings in Single-A Salem last night; he was clear to pitch 80 pitches however. Aaron Cook gave up 1 run on 8 hits in 7 innings last night in Triple-A; he is now 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA.

* When I was checking to see how Cook did in Triple-A, I was surprised to see Reid Brignac’s name in the Ray’s Triple-A line-up. If you recall, Brignac was the one who fell on top of Ellsbury to cause Ellsbury’s shoulder injury.

* The Red Sox are now 5-10 after their win against the Twins last night; they had the same record last year at this point. If you recall, the team then was the hottest team in baseball… until September.

* Besides a shaky performance by Lester last night, there were some positive aspects of the game that the team can build on. Ortiz had had two hits and is leading the American League with a .441 batting average. Salty had two hits, including a 2-run homer, and Sweeney, who is batting .400 for the season, also had two hits. Bard got two outs with a runner on third in a relief stint, and Aceves got a save (and didn’t give up a run!). Gonzalez had a sac fly as well. This could be the team-building game the Red Sox were looking for…

* Maybe the change in scenery was good for Byrd; he got a hit last night! For the season, he is now hitting .085 for the season (though, .250 with the Red Sox).

* Cody Ross leads the team with 5 home runs after hitting two last night. He hit one to left and the other to right.

* Also in Cody Ross news, I was informed he has a blog on ESPNBoston, or rather a diary. It’s actually called Cody Ross Diary. I think I’m going to have to check that out.

* I was watching a little of the Yankees-Rangers game last night because the Twins-Red Sox game was blacked out here. The broke in to show Jed Lowrie, now of the Astros, hitting a home run; he’s batting .250 for the season with 2 RBIs. A quick look at the other former Red Sox players who were traded in the off season: Josh Reddick is hitting .250 with two home runs and three RBIs with the A’s. Kyle Weiland is 0-3 with a 6.62 ERA and a 1.755 WHIP.

* Youkilis is officially related to Tom Brady. Youk married Brady’s sister, Julie, on Thursday in a small ceremony at the home, according to reports. They are reportedly expecting their first child together as well. It would be kind of strange if Youk gets traded or doesn’t resign with the Red Sox, wouldn’t it?

* Derek Lowe is reporting that his 2004 World Series ring and a gold trophy were stolen from his home in Ft. Myers, Florida. Also missing are women’s shoes, purses, and two gold necklaces. His housekeeper reported the items missing. I find this a bit interesting…

Fire Out?

It seems that all the controversy with Valentine calling out Youkilis may appear to be over. According to The Boston Globe, Cherington, Valentine, Youkilis, and Pedroia all appear to be over the whole incident. It is interesting to point out that Cherington had to get involved.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look at the previous post under “The Ugly.” It sounded ugly, but how should we, the fans, take Valentine’s remarks? Was Valentine simply implying that Youkilis didn’t look like the player we’ve been accustomed to seeing over the years in the first two series of the young season? Maybe.

As a spectator, Youkilis didn’t look as locked in as he has in the past. This is not saying that he wasn’t “physically” or “emotionally” in the game. Youkilis has always been one of the most emotional players on the field. You can definitely tell when he’s upset and when he’s excited.

If Valentine was stating that Youkilis didn’t look as he has in the past, I agree with that. Of course, every player goes through slumps, and Youkilis just happened to start out in a slump. We’ve all seen our favorite players in those ruts that they don’t appear as engaged as they are when they’re hot. To me, that’s how Youkilis looked at the plate.

Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, the NESN commentators, were quick to note when Youkilis hadn’t had a hit in the first series and his strikeouts. This is their job; they’re supposed to point these things out. However, Valentine’s job is to be behind his players. He’s not supposed to say his player isn’t “physically or emotionally in the game.”

Valentine quickly clarified his statement and apologized, in person, to Youkilis. Youkilis replied after today’s 1-0 loss to the Rays that he and Valentine were “fine.” And what about Valentine’s relationship with the unofficial captain of the team, Pedroia? Valentine stated, “(Pedroia) said we’re cool.”

Valentine has made it very apparent in his short tenure with the Sox that he enjoys talking, which can get him into trouble. I was a little surprised that Cherington got involved, but I guess that’s his job as the GM. Cherington made some good points with his quotes in The Boston Globe, though it seemed to be a bit of a PR move:

I think as with many things in baseball and life, the more you get a chance to talk about it and understand what people mean were and how they perceived something, that’s what allows you to get past it. Kevin and Bobby spoke. I spoke to Bobby, I spoke to Kevin.

What needed to be said has been said and we’ll move forward. I was surprised to see the quote. I didn’t see the interview live, but I had it in that context. I was surprised because that’s not something Bobby had expressed to me. And we’ve all seen Kevin play for a long time and never wondered why he wasn’t into the game. He plays hard every day. That’s why it’s important to talk about it. I understood better what happened and we were able to talk through it.

[Valentine] hadn’t seen the same player on the field that we have all seen in the past. So he acknowledged that first of all, and said it was not the best way to express it. He told the same thing to Kevin and apologized. He had a chance to explain what he meant. I think we’ll all learn from it and handle it differently next time.

I’m hoping that the Red Sox can put this whole thing behind them and move on from this embarrassing situation. They almost swept the Tampa Bay Rays (taking 3 of 4), and Bard, their 5th starter, pitched a heck of a game today. I think Valentine may have kept Bard in for too long: Bard- 7.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts, 115 pitches. Bard gave up his run on a bases loaded walk to Evan Longoria in the 7th inning. He was pulled afterwards.

Bard’s outing today and the offensive beating the Red Sox gave to the Rays in the previous three games are definitely things to be happy about and build on. I see a lot of potential with this club. Hopefully, our manager can just let the players play and get behind them, not cause more problems.

** I don't know how much longer I will be continuing this blog.  It was brought to my attention that I don't have any follows and the people I thought would read my blog are not.  So, this week I'm going to take some inventory on how much time I spend on the blog, how many people are viewing it, and if it's doing what I hoped it would do.  I plan on making a decision by this weekend.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Red Sox are on a three-game winning streak heading into to their early (10:05 Central time) game for Patriots Day. Instead of recapping the three games, I thought I would give a few observations and tidbits from what transpired this weekend:

The Good

* The Red Sox are winning, so that’s the main good thing to come out of this weekend.

* Josh Beckett found his groove again. For Fridays game, he went 8 innings pitched, giving up 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 1.

* The Red Sox owned Tampa Bay in the 8th inning. On Friday, they scored 8 runs, and on Saturday, the scored 5 runs

* The offense really started coming around these three games:

Gonzalez: 5/13 with a double and an RBI

Youkilis: 4/10 with 3 RBIs
Ortiz: 9/13 with a home run, 4 doubles, and 8 RBIs
Ross: 3/10 with 2 home runs, a double and 8 RBIs
Aviles: 5/13 with 2 home runs, a double, and 2 RBIs
Shoppach: 4/7 with 3 doubles, 3 RBIs, and a stolen base (his first attempt in the Majors… ever. It was nic-named “The Stop, Shop, and Roll” on Twitter).

* The bullpen was great (minus Melancon on Friday who gave up a home run):

Morales: 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 BBs, 1K

Atchinson: 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 1K

Padilla: 1 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 0 BBs, 2Ks
Aceves: 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 BBs, 3Ks

 The Bad

* For some reason, Valentine is not playing Sweeney, who, if memory serves me, has not gone a game he’s played without a hit. In the two games he played this weekend, he went 2/7 with 2RBIs.

* As much as I like McDonald, he’s cooled way off since Spring Training. This weekend, he was 1/9 with a double. With Ellsbury out (more on that in The Ugly section), I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of McDonald.

* While Beckett seemed to have found his groove, Buchholz and Doubront still have some work to do:

Buchholz on Saturday: 7 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. (Also worth noting, that while I wasn’t able to watch most of this game, I did check the score in the 3rd inning. It was 5-0 Rays. Luckily for Buchholz, the offense clicked later in the game.)

Doubront on Sunday: 5 IP, 9 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts (Doubront did great until the 5th inning, when he gave up all 4 runs).

 The Ugly

* The Red Sox will be without Ellsbury an estimated 6-8 weeks because he has a subluxed right shoulder. A shoulder subluxation is when the shoulder doesn’t completely become dislocated. I wrote briefly about how the injury occurred on Friday. The word “surgery” hasn’t appeared associated to Ellsbury’s name as of yet, and it could just require rest and rehabbing.

* Valentine is causing controversy with Youkilis. Valentine made the following comment to WHDH’s Sports Xtra show Sunday night:

I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason. But [on Saturday] it seemed, you know, he's seeing the ball well, got those two walks, got his on-base percentage up higher than his batting average, which is always a good thing, and he'll move on from there.

When Youkilis was asked about the comments this morning, he replied with:

I’m more confused than anything because everyone knows I go out and play the game as hard as I can. It’s just my style of play. I was never blessed with the raw tools and I’ve always had to use playing the game hard and with full effort my whole life.

Valentine stated that he met with Youkilis and offered him a clarification and an apology. For what it’s worth, Youkilis was not in the line-up today for what Valentine called a “groin injury.” When asked about the clarification and apology, Valentine stated:

Kevin came in this morning and I thought it was about his groin. I thought he was going to tell me how his groin was, and I said, `Hey, how’s the groin?’ and he said, 'Well, all right, but what’s going on?'

When he told me that people called him and told him that I said things that he didn’t like, I totally apologized. I said the last thing in the world I want you to think is that I'm doing anything to criticize you. I was giving an answer to a question and I should've been more specific and said your physical was about your swing and your emotional was not being happy when you don't hit a ball off the wall.

I don't know if he accepted my apology, but it was very sincere. The last thing in the world is that I didn't want him to think that this was anything but an answer to a question that seemed to be jabbing at him. I was just trying to smooth it over and I guess that I didn't.

I’m not sure how I want to read into this. I want to think that everything’s going great with the new manager, but it just may not be that way. Pedroia said it best, I think:

I don't know what Bobby's trying to do, but that's not the way we do things here. Maybe that stuff works in Japan.

Ugly indeed.