Wednesday, March 28, 2007

UGUETH URBINA IN JAIL

Former Sox closer Ugueth Urbina has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in Caracas, Venezuela for attempted murder of several men who were employees on his ranch. Urbina was acquired in a trade by the Sox in 2001 and pitched through 2002, racking up 49 saves with the team.

Ugueth's claim to fame is that he is the first MLB player ever to have the initials U.U.U. His middle name is Urtain.

I'm organizing a strike force to free Ugueth. So far I've got Rolando Arrojo, Rich Garces, Hipolito Pichardo, Bill Pulsipher, and Sun-Woo Kim on board. Any more volunteers?

NADA ADO ABOUT COCO

I don't know what the title of this post really means, it just sounds funny.

The overreacting wannabe muckrakers at Boston Dirt Dogs once again are trying to create something out of nothing. Moreover, the not-so-brights of the Boston sports media are following suit, trying to break the newest controversial story along the same lines as Keith Foulke's Burger King debacle.

Here is what Coco Crisp said. These are excerpts from a Gordon Edes article which can be found Here

Edes: Looking forward to showing people in Boston the real Coco?

Coco: I don't really care what the people think about me. Or you guys [the media] or anything like that. I just go out there and play and have fun. Hope the rest of the people enjoy watching me.

But as far as me wracking my brain about what anybody thinks, I don't do that. I hope they enjoy watching us play as a team, I do something, they enjoy that part of it. But I don't care if people think I suck, or they think I'm good. I just go out there and have fun, and hopefully the ball falls in.

Don't get me wrong, I like the fans.

Edes: You really don't care if people think you "suck"?

Coco: No. I don't care. I go out there and play hard. If people think I'm good, then thank you. If they think I suck, then thank you anyway. I don't really care. Go out there and play hard and try to do my job and have fun with it. Hopefully, I do well at it.

Fans are pissed at Coco for saying stuff that is really inconsequential. Let me try to clue Red Sox Nation in on what he seems to be trying to say. He is going to do the best he can whether or not he gets standing ovations or earth shattering boos and jeers. He doesn't care if he's loved or hated, he's going to do his job.

Isn't this what people want????? Quite honestly, I don't want a ballplayer on the Sox who plays the game hoping to be cheered. I want a ballplayer who plays the game hoping to be the most productive. I don't want a ballplayer who needs to be motivated by booing in order for him to get off his ass and perform. We had that in Kevin Millar, and Kevin Millar sucks!

We had a guy in Keith Foulke who really hated being booed, and we tore him down for it. We have a guy in Crisp who claims he doesn't care if he's booed, and we're tearing him down for it.

Crisp did not come out and say "I don't care about the fans" or "I'm in it for me and me only." He simply said that what the fans do is up to them and he doesn't care if he's booed or cheered.

GET THE F OVER IT!!!!!

2007 PREVIEW, PART 4: THIRD BASE

Mike Lowell was a pleasant surprise last season, and was perhaps the best part of the Josh Beckett deal. He'll be starting at third base this season, and should be anchoring the 6th spot in the lineup behind the heavy hitters. He had 20 HRs, 80 RBI, and 68 extra base hits for us last season. And if you want my honest opinion, he was slightly misused by Francona. Lowell would often be hitting after Varitek or some other offensively inferior hitter, which I think cost him (and the Sox) some production.

Lowell is a solid player, which is why I like him. He's far from a star, but he comes in and does his job, and does it well. In that respect, he reminds me of Bill Mueller. Winning teams may seem to be built around stars, but they're built on the foundation of good, solid players. Just look at the NY Yankees from 1996 to 2000.

I think Lowell will have a productive 2007 season. He'll hit around .280 to .290. He'll also hit 25 homers, and knock in 90 runs.

But let's say he struggles and/or gets hurt. We've got Eric Hinske on the bench who can come in for him, Alex Cora can play third base, and we all know Kevin Youkilis can, too. So we've got some insurance, there.

I think Hinske might come in for certain situations against RHP. But normally, I'd expect/hope to see Lowell batting 6th behind Ortiz-Ramirez-Drew. That'll give us a good L-R-L-R combo in the middle of the lineup.

25 MAN ROSTER "SET"

It isn't completely official, but it is quite clear. The Red Sox have set their 25 man roster.

C - Jason Varitek
C - Doug Mirabelli
1B - Kevin Youkilis
2B - Dustin Pedroia
3B - Mike Lowell
SS - Julio Lugo
IF - Alex Cora
IF/OF - Eric Hinske
LF - Manny Ramirez
CF - Coco Crisp
RF - J.D. Drew
OF - Wily Mo Pena
DH - David Ortiz

SP - Daisuke Matsuzaka
SP - Curt Schilling
SP - Josh Beckett
SP - Tim Wakefield
SP - Julian Tavarez
CP - Jonathan Papelbon
RP - Brendan Donnelly
RP - JC Romero
RP - Hideki Okajima
RP - Javier Lopez
RP/SP - Kyle Snyder
RP/SP - Joel Pineiro

So the Sox decided to go with 12 pitchers, which I think is the right thing to do for now. They also decided to go with three lefties. I would not be shocked if that number decreased as the season wore on and things became clearer as to who was pitching well and who wasn't.

Mike Timlin will start the season on the 15 Day DL, but the Sox believe he will be activated sometime around April 10. Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, and Jon Lester will start the season in AAA Pawtucket. Hansen and Delcarmen each had disappointing springs, and Lester is still kind of rehabbing from cancer. I think Lester will be in the starting rotation by the All-Star break.