Chicks and Sticks

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Fouk Yu!

Trinity here. You know what I find fascinating about baseball players? The facial hair. I'm not normally a facial hair kind of person, but watching ballplayers with their ever-changing beard holds some kind of strange sway over me. I don't know what it is. You can tell a lot about a player by his facial hair, though. Take, for instance, wee Dustin Pedroia (who, incidentally, is in these awesome commercials for MLB '09 The Show). You know how you can tell that Dusty's having a hitting streak? He stops shaving. The further up his cheeks the stubble goes, the longer he's gone without an out. And then there's Dan "Pirate Hair" Haren, who seemingly doesn't shave unless he loses. As good as he is, that usually results in a mountain man look - complete with neck beard - that makes you wonder sometimes if he's going to start showing up on the mound in a flannel shirt and work boots.

*sings* He's a lumberjack and he's okay; he pitches all night and he works all day...

While we're on the subject of facial hair, I should mention that Josh Beckett and his soul patch are having a decent spring training so far. But the real focus here is poor Kevin Youkilis. Youk...well, he's not doing so well, and not only is his ego taking a beating this spring, but so's his chin. I present to you...

The Incredible Shrinking Goatee! (Or the Incredible Expanding Chin, whichever you prefer)

This is Youk last year. Good year for the Greek God of Walks:

Notice the multitude of chin hairs. Clearly, this is a happy Kevin Youkilis.

Next we have Youk at the start of spring training:

New season, new look. He dubbed this the "Youk-Fu." Clever.

And then this happened. Says Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal:

"Something was bothering Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis Saturday morning.
His walked at a serious pace into the clubhouse after leaving the batting cage, threw his bat into his locker and yelled a couple of curse words before storming off to the back room.
He emerged a little while later without his signature goatee."

Oh, Youk-Fu. We hardly knew ye. So what happens the next time Youk has a bad day? No more eyebrows? That's pretty much the only hair left on his head.

In other news, does anyone have 8.5 million dollars I could borrow? Manny Ramirez is selling his Boston condo and apparently my Baseball Boyfriend is his neighbor. This is the perfect opportunity for Beckett to discover that I exist! Just have to scrape up a huge wad of cash...

I'll get right on that.

Friday, January 30, 2009

This where you get tickets to the bandwagon? One please.

It's slightly unusual to be posting on a baseball blog when the state of Arizona is currently football crazy (I don't know if you've heard, but the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl), but there's been a lot of talk about bandwagoning recently because of it. You know what I say to accusations people only like the Cardinals because they're winning?

So what? That's what I say. So what?

By that definition, I am a bandwagon jumper. Yeah, you heard me. I'm a bandwagon fan. Definition of one, actually. My foray into true baseball fandom began during the 2007 postseason when the Diamondbacks went to the NLCS and the Red Sox won the whole shebang.

In the 2008 season, I watched all but a handful of the Diamonbacks' games on television, saw three games in person at Chase Field and flew across the country to see the Red Sox at Fenway.

So what's so wrong with the bandwagon? The 2007 postseason put the taste of the sport in my mouth, reminded me how it felt to cheer for something. It flipped a switch.

I love the game of baseball. I love it just as much as I would if I'd been following it my whole life. This is my sport so thank goodness for the bandwagon.

If a succesful team brings people to the sport, then I approve. Some of them may discover a passion. Some of them may just remember how it feels to root for a team and they'll look back on that team fondly. Happy memories are never bad, no matter how genuine some people feel they are. People will remember this Cardinals team well and maybe they'll remember sport in general as well. Maybe if they have free time, they'll swing by Chase and catch a Diamondbacks game or check the Cardinals score in the newspaper next year. Anytime a local sports teams win, it's good for all the others, it's good for improving the reputation of Phoenix as a sports town.

I'll never follow football like I follow baseball, but I hope like hell the Cards win. It's never wrong to have a reason to celebrate.

Okay, now that sanctimonius preaching is over, there is baseball on the horizon. Got the Dbacks Hometown Tour and FanFest coming up and Spring Training is on the way. I'm hoping to post some kind of retrospective/preview in the next few weeks.

Rumours of our death have been greatly exaggerated.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Winter Meetings

There are rumors swirling about a possible Eric Byrnes/Julio Lugo trade. I don't know how to feel about this. First, a collision of my two favorite baseball teams is just weird. Second, do we want Mr. E6, himself? I have no problem getting rid of Eric Byrnes. The fanbase will miss him, but I wasn't watching the team when Byrnesie had his 'career year.' In my opinion, we're paying him $10 million a year to strike out/pop up to the infield. I also wonder how much of his season-ending injury was caused by him pushing himself too hard and refusing to admit there was a problem.

In the end, this will all probably boil down to rumor. Byrnes has a no-trade clause so they can't send him anywhere without his approval, though playing for a major-market team may be attractive (I wonder how long it will take them to start saying he's Byrnesie being Byrnesie and if NESN will give him a TV show?). Another snag: the Dbacks reportedly signed infielder Felipe Lopez to a one-year contract, clearly to fill the hole at second base. This leaves little room for Mr. E6 Lugo, since he's for damn sure not about to replace to Stephen Drew at short.

The only remaining possibility for a Red Sox trade is to throw a catcher into the mix. The Sox are in the market with one and now that we've got a spare now that we snatched up catcher James Skeleton off the rule 5 draft (I think I might start calling him Jolly Rodger - he's super thin, so Skeleton is appropriate and skeletons make me think of pirates). If a catcher does go, I'm hoping it'll be Miguel Montero (sorry Miggy). I love Chris Snyder with every fiber of my being, he's got a great bat and calls an excellent game. Personally, I think the Dbacks have a brighter future with Snyder behind the plate. Not only that but the guy will literally bust his balls for the team.

Oh, and people need to stop talking about Conor Jackson as trade bait right now. That shit ain't funny.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Things I wish would happen

You know what would be awesome? If the Rays played the Red Sox in the ALCS. Think about it. Baby Drew and Justin Upton could fly out for the game together and then, when someone asks them who will win, they get into a total slap fight.

"My brother's better than your brother!"
"Nah uh! My brother could totally kick your brother's ass!"

It would be epic.

Though it's only the fourth inning, the Rays/White Sox game has been spectacular. Someone finally told the city of Tampa Bay that they had a baseball team and the surprised spectators are in for what could be a really fun slugfest.

In yesterday's action, I know I usually have an irrational hate on for the Phillies but I think I might be pulling for them after watching Hamels utterly dominate the Brew Crew. Dude brought it.

Dodgers shocked the Cubs at Wrigley. I considered becoming selectively deaf to the words: Chicago, Los Angeles, Cubs, Dodgers, curse and Manny.

Red Sox showed the Angels why post-season is a brand new bag. Also, has anyone ever performed a genetic analysis on Jacoby Ellsbury? I'm not entirely sure he's human.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

There's only one Soxtober

Be prepared, y'all. It's October, the Red Sox are in the playoffs, and Char is a traitor. Things are gonna get ugly up in here. Char, I'm telling Jacoby Ellsbury on you.

She says I have to make my October predictions, so. Red Sox! No, I'm not predictable in the least. And to be quite honest with you, as much as I love my boys, I'm a little iffy about their chances in the postseason. Three of our October superstars aren't playing at 100%, and that's a huge deal. Beckett has a strained oblique and won't pitch until Game 3 of the ALDS. Drew and Lowell are both on the ALDS roster, but Drew has a back injury and Lowell a hip injury. Obviously they're both healthy enough to play, but are they firing on all cylinders? That's my concern. But we all know what kind of stuff the October Sox are made of. Dustin Pedroia played the entire postseason last year with a cracked hamate bone in his left hand, and who can forget Curt Shilling and the infamous bloody sock? Even JD "Made of Glass" Drew isn't letting his injury sideline him. Go Sox!

I think that the entire tone of the Sox postseason is going to depend on how Jon Lester does tonight. Lester seems to be a sink or swim kind of pitcher. Either he dominates or he tanks. Hopefully he's got his good stuff with him tonight.

Possibly significant stats:

Number of times the Sox have met the Angels in the postseason: 3
Number of times the Sox have knocked the Angels out of the postseason: 3
Sox postseason record against the Angels: 10-3

Not so significant stats!

Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe writes:

"For what it’s worth, here were the Red Sox' records this season when …

Drew and Lowell both appeared: 45-42

Lowell appeared, Drew didn’t: 19-9

Drew appeared, Lowell didn’t: 13-7

Neither Drew nor Lowell appeared: 18-9

Absurd conclusion: Drew and Lowell shouldn’t play.

Actual conclusion: Stats make no sense. I give up."

I'll be watching the Rays/White Sox closely, too. I honestly can't decide which would be a worse matchup for the Sox. We're 4-3 this season against the White Sox and 8-10 against the Rays, but the White Sox are a pretty formidable opponent and we all know that October baseball is a whole new ball game.

My predictions:

ALDS:
Sox vs. Angels - Sox
Rays vs. White Sox - Hm. Probably the Rays

ALCS:
Sox vs. Rays - You know, as much as I'm inclined to say Sox, there really is a good chance that our October could end here. I still think that we could pull it off, though, assuming nobody goes down with an injury in the ALDS.

NLDS:
Dodgers vs. Cubs: I'm saying Dodgers just to make Char mad. ;) And they have Mr. October himself, Manny Ramirez.
Brewers vs. Phillies: Phillies

NLCS:
Dodgers vs. Phillies: This is a hard one, but I think I'm going to say Phillies.

World Series:
I have no freaking idea. All I really have to say is that I love that there's NO CHANCE the Yankees will be here this year. That's what I'm talking about!

My October's broken

Today is going to be so awesome. I'm on my weekend and I've got playoff baseball all day. It would be even better if the Diamondbacks were in it. I also have a bit of a moral dilemma: It's the Dodgers against the Cubs. Unfortunately, they can't eliminate each other, so who do I root for? I hate both teams. Might as well throw my support in behind the Cubs. They're going to knock out the Dodgers anyway. But I won't like doing it!

I don't see a repeat for the Red Sox this year. I have a very strong feeling that the Angels will knock out the Red Sox. The biggest question in my playoff prediction to me, is probably Angels vs Rays, if things go the way I think it will. That's going to be very interesting. If the Rays can beat the Angels, I think they win it all.

Trinity may disown me, but I have to say I'm rooting for the Rays all the way. Closest thing to having the Dbacks in it.

You know, I hate the Cubs and I want to see the Rays take the whole thing, but part of me almost wishes the Cubs would win it all so everyone will just shut up about the Cubs curse already.

Playoff predictions:

NLDS:

Dodgers vs Cubs: Cubs
Phillies vs Brewers: Phillies

ALDS:

Red Sox vs Angels: Angels
Rays vs White Sox: Rays

NLCS:

Cubs vs Phillies: Cubs

ALCS:

Rays vs Angels: Rays

World Series:

Rays vs Cubs: Rays