Random Thoughts (July 21, 2008)

After telling you on Friday that I was going to spend the weekend in Chicago, highlighted by a trip to Comiskey Park (it's actually called U.S. Cellular Field but I prefer to go with the original name) for a White Sox game Saturday, I know you probably lost sleep waiting for a recap from me. Well, I had a blast in Chicago -- by far the best non-tropical city to visit on vacation -- and I had a very good time at the ball game. I have never heard anything good about Comiskey -- it is across town from the vaunted Wrigley Field and it was the last park to open before the Camden Yards-inspired retro ballpark boom -- but I had a great experience. There were no lines, making it easy to get into the park. The concourses were spacious, allowing me and my friends to navigate our way to the seats with no problems. There were plenty of beer and food stands. The seats -- located behind the White Sox bullpen in left field -- were fine and we had a nice view of the field (helped out by moving down a few rows before the first pitch). The beer and food vendors were all over, allowing me to stay in my seat the entire game. My one complaint is that the only beer available was Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft, although the price ($6.75) for a cold 16 oz. bottle wasn't too bad. All things considered, I give Comiskey Park a B+... The Weiners Circle, a Chicago tradition (search it on YouTube sometime), made my Sunday morning a little harder to handle. Hot dogs loaded with tomato slices and a full pickle are probably a never good idea, especially at 4 in the morning... It seems that the Red Sox have not come back from the All-Star Break. Too bad for them because the Angels did... It is clear to even Stevie Wonder that the Red Sox bullpen is their biggest weakness. Other than Jonathan Papelbon, the guys running out of the bullpen on any given night are struggling. On paper, a set-up crew of Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Mike Timlin, Craig Hansen, Javier Lopez and David Aardsma looks pretty good. In reality, it has not been the case. The Sox are getting desperate. They have, at least temporarily, converted successful rookie starter Justin Masterson into a reliever. Masterson will join the team in Seattle for tonights game. The Masterson move, to me, is coming at a time when Theo Epstein will be forced to decide whether or not to make a move for a relief pitcher. Epstein famously dealt prospects David Murphy, Kason Gabbard and Engel Beltre to the Texas Rangers at this time last year in exchange for Eric Gagne. At the time it looked like a great move for the Red Sox. They added a former Cy Young winner to their bullpen and were not forced to deal away any player considered to be a top prospect. Well, as we all know, the Red Sox went on to win the World Series in spite of Gagne's contributions. Gagne was 2-2 in 20 appearances with Boston and sported an ERA of 6.75 in 18 2/3 innings. Gagne was even worse in the A.L.D.S. and A.L.C.S. before submitting just one (scoreless) inning against Colorado in the World Series. Murphy has been a key contributor to a very good Texas offense in 2008. He is batting .269 with 13 HR, 60 RBI and an OPS of .766. Gabbard has been a solid starter, going 2-3 with a 4.82 ERA in 12 starts before having season ending elbow surgery. As for Beltre, the 18-year-old was just named to Baseball America's hot prospect list and even though he is the youngest player in the Single-A Midwest League, he is having a very good year at the plate (.285/7/33/.734). This is important because it shows the high cost of making a trade out of necessity. The Rangers were able to add two major league players and a prospect who has the makings of a superstar in exchange for a relief pitcher who hurt much more than he helped. As desperate for an arm as the Red Sox are, is it worth the cost? Tough call for Theo... Padraig Harrington won the first non-Tiger major held since 1996 in capturing his second consecutive British Open championship. Surprisingly, he is the first European to win golf's oldest major tournament in back-to-back years in over 100 years (James Braid of Scotland in 1905 and 1906). For all the talk about whether or not the fans would watch golf without Tiger Woods in the lineup, this was a very interesting tournament. 53-year-old Greg Norman was the leader for three rounds before Harrington took control yesterday. Amateur Chris Wood of England finished tied for fifth place. U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate was in the mix before finishing tied for nineteenth. Congrats to Harrington and congrats to golf... Tom Brady is awfully happy this morning after Miami Dolphin pass rushing expert Jason Taylor was dealt to the Washington Redskins late yesterday. Taylor was known for treating perennial Pro-Bowl left tackle Matt Light like Reggie White treated Max Lane in Super Bowl XXXI, blowing by him with ease on his way to a punishing blow on No. 12. Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo can now feel Brady's pain... With the struggles of Jacoby Ellsbury at the lead-off spot, Terry Francona might want to take my advice for his lineup when David Ortiz returns from his wrist injury on Friday against the Yankees. 1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B 2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Manny Ramirez, LF 5. J.D. Drew, RF 6. Mike Lowell, 3B 7. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF 8. Jason Varitek, C 9. Jed Lowrie, SS There is still a hole at the bottom of the lineup but a 1-6 of Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz, Ramirez, Drew and Lowell should be enough to carry Ellsbury, Varitek and Lowrie... Enjoy Jon Lester tonight...