Big Papi Helps Propel The Sox To Victory

MLB.com David "Big Papi" Ortiz comes through big for the Boston Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers in game 1 of their double-header this afternoon. Ortiz is usually known for his clutch hitting out of the designating hitter's position, but Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, decided to use Ortiz as a pinch hitter in the top of the 9th inning with the game tied at 3. The Tigers had put in their closer, Jose Valverde, in attempt to keep the game tied. Before the at bat, Ortiz had only faced Valverde one time in his career in which he hit a home run. Ian Brown, a writer for mlb.com, wrote an article about what happened during the game. Brown really puts what happened during the game into perspective as he writes:

The moment came with one out in the top of the ninth, when manager Terry Francona sent his star slugger up as a pinch-hitter. All Ortiz did was rake a go-ahead solo homer to right-center against Tigers closer Jose Valverde, leading the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader.

Ortiz was able to come off the bench, and do what he has always done since becoming a member of the Red Sox in 2003. When Ortiz was told that he was going to pinch hit he explains, "Just go in the cage get some swings in and make sure you’re loose-make sure you're ready to go. I know Valverde, he's got a good fastball. He's got a split-finger, but it's not like I have too many options when you come off the bench to pinch-hit. So, I just went for one pitch and he gave it to me." This has to excite Red Sox Nation due to the fact that Ortiz had one of the slowest starts of his career one year ago. With all of the weapons that the Red Sox have, and the emergence of Big Papi, the Sox should definitely be a strong contender in the American League "Big" East.

A Home Plate Collision Gone Bad

The San Francisco Giant's catcher, Buster Posey, is out for the season after a collision with the Florida Marlin's player, Scott Cousins, during a play at the plate during Wednesday night's game. Posey suffered a fractured fibula in his leg during the collision due the his cleats being stuck in the dirt during the time of impact. In an interview with “MLB.com”, Giants head coach, Bruce Bochy, believes that, “Its a part of baseball. I understand that guys run into catchers. I do think we need to consider changing the rules here a little bit because catchers are vulnerable...”

On one hand, I agree with Bruce Bochy that catchers do need some sort of protection from these type of brutal plays at home plate. But, on the other hand, these type of plays have been happening since baseball began. I know it might sound bad, but these type of head on collisions are part of baseball's rich tradition. If you think about it, it really comes down to who really wants to win. Will the catcher be able to stand his ground and not allow the runner to score? Or will the runner be able to crash into the heavily equipped catcher and jar the ball loose from his group and score the run. As gladiator-like as that sounds, it has always been a really exciting aspect of the game for the fans.

This kind of surprises me that Bruce Bochy would make a statement like that knowing that he used to be a catcher himself sometime ago. I understand that he would be a little upset about losing his star catcher possibly for the season, but I believe that he has to understand that it is part of the game. It is as part of the game as bad calls by the umpires, taking a guy out at 2^nd base during a double play attempt, or the song, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” that is sung during the 7^th inning of every game. As unfortunate as the injury was, you just can't start changing the rules of the game that have been in place for the last 100 years.

Jose Bomb-Tista

Jose Bautista is on pace to hit 64 home runs this year after he hit his Major League leading 19^th home run against the New York Yankees last night. Bautista has even missed 9 games this season due to injury, so one would think that his home run total could be a little higher. Also, he finished with a Major League leading 54 home runs one year ago.

Jose Bautista had 116 strikeouts and his batting average in '09 was only .260 which is really a mediocre batting average for a Major League Baseball player. However, he has become a better overall hitter that the Toronto Blue Jays were looking for in their lineup this year. Yeah, sure the Jays were happy with Bautista's power production from a year ago. But it doesn't matter how many home runs one player hits as long as it is helping the team win ball games. The Blue Jays did have a pretty good season last year with a record of 85-77, but failed to make the playoffs due to them being 10 games behind the Wild Card winning Yankees.

This season, he still has the outstanding power, but now he is a much better overall hitter with only 23 strikeouts and an incredible batting average of .353. His amount of production has definitely helped the team win ball games this year with their current record being 24-23, and more importantly only trailing the first place Yankees by only 1 and a half games. Bautista was able to keep the home run pace all year last year, but will he be able to continue to hit home runs, keep his batting average up, and keep the strikeouts down in 2011? Also, will anyone else on the Blue Jays step up like Jose Bautista did last year? Well, the season is still very young, so only time will tell.

Hello Baseball Fans!

Greetings. I have played the game of baseball since I was 5 years old, and I have never stopped loving it ever since! I was born in Connecticut, and I lived the first 8 years of my life there. If you live in Connecticut, you basically have to make a choice as far as what team you will choose to cheer for. Half of my family are New York Yankee fans and the other half are Boston Red Sox fans. I on the other hand chose to go a different route...I became a Cubs fan! My family did not like this decision, but I blame it on the great Ryne Sandberg! He was my childhood idol growing up, and it was pretty cool that WGN would show the Cubs games almost everyday. My Grandmother used to take me to go see the Cubs everytime that they played at Shea Stadium against the New York Mets. However, I moved down to Tampa, but I was still a huge Cubs fan until the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were incepted in 1998. My knowledge for the game of baseball has grown over the years, and I hope to have some great discussions over the topics that I post in my blog.