Prayers For Blowouts will be featuring posts from PFB Members this summer. This submission is from Member #031, Andy Vandergriff.

Here at Prayers for Blowouts, we love hearing stories about the underdog finally getting some recognition (maybe because we are a bit of an underdog in the sports blogging world, but anyway) for their long years of struggle and labor, and what better time to do that than baseball’s upcoming All-Star Game?

Voting is already over, and people have voted for popular players that may or may not have deserved a chance to play in the Midsummer Classic, and likely left these guys at the altar for the pitiful reason of their playing in a small market. Hopefully you’ll hear of some guys you haven’t had a chance to yet, and hopefully you’ll get to see them in the All-Star Game after being voted in by their peers.

American League

1B: Russell Branyan, Seattle

Branyan has quietly put together an All-Star worthy season in Seattle this year, with a
.303 BA, 40 RBI, 19 HR and an OPS of 1.006, but it’s a little hard to get noticed on a barely above .500 team in the AL West.

2B: Aaron Hill, Toronto

Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia are getting all the attention, but Hill is having one monster year at the plate, racking up a .305 BA, 56 RBI, 19 HR and an OPS of .855 for a surprisingly competitive Toronto team.

SS: Marco Scutaro, Toronto

In a thin position dominated by Derek Jeter, Scutaro is also having a season worthy of taking a look at in Toronto, with a .279 BA, 53 BB, 33 RBI, and an OPS of .794.

3B: Scott Rolen, Toronto

There are a lot of players from the Blue Jays on this thing, aren’t there? He’s not hitting for power yet, but he is spraying the ball all over the Skydome, riding a 19 game hitting streak to a .333 BA, and a .888 OPS.

C: Victor Martinez, Cleveland

Martinez has split his time between 1B and catching and has been one of the few bright spots for a suddenly anemic lineup, turning in first half totals that include a .313 BA,
.916 OPS, 14 HR and 57 RBI.

OF: Jermaine Dye, Chicago

Jermaine Dye just keeps on hitting the ball, powering a surging White Sox team to 2.5 games back of the division leading Tigers with first half totals of: .294 BA, 48 RBI, 18 HR, and an OPS of .926.

OF: Johnny Damon, New York

It pains my soul as a Red Sox fan to admit this, but Johnny Damon is playing like an All-Star right now. After all, it is very hard to argue with the stats he’s been putting up in left for the Yankees: .292 BA, 15 HR, 47 RBI, and a .910 OPS.

OF: Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay

The husband of CCM artist Julianne Zobrist (remember, the one with the strange fake feathery eyelashes) has been turning in a solid 2009 as a utility player for the Rays, playing 6 different positions this year and hitting .297 with 16 HR, 46 RBI and an AL leading OPS of 1.051.

National League

1B: Todd Helton, Colorado

Helton had a horrendous (“How horrendous was it?” “It was so horrendous, we almost started remembering him as a former UT quarterback!”) year last year, but seems to have turned it around this year, although his power has yet to make its reappearance in a 2009 first half campaign that has him hitting .312 with 53 RBI and a .895 OPS.

2B: Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh

Non-residents of the Steel City are probably wondering how anyone from the Pirates even made an “Underdog” team, but even through the ineptness of their front office, they still have some talent there, and Sanchez is a perfect example of that, with a batting average of .315, and an OPS of .831 with 6 homers thrown in for good measure.

SS: Yunel Escobar, Atlanta

In his second full year, Escobar is continuing to be a solid at shortstop for the Braves, making them very glad that Rafael Furcal left them at the free agency altar this offseason by hitting .293 with 40 RBI and 7 HR.

3B: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco

Sandoval is looking like he wants a Rookie Of The Year award a little more than he wants another cheeseburger (which at 246 lbs and just 5’11”, might be a considerable amount) with a first half where he’s hitting at a .332 clip (6th in the NL) with 10 HR and 40 RBI and a .940 OPS.

C: Bengie Molina, San Francisco

The Molina family is having a very good year catching in 2009. Yadier is the one who won the NL All-Star starting spot this year, but it’s Bengie who is really tearing it up at the plate for the Giants this year, with 10 HR, 46 RBI and a .263 average.

OF: Brad Hawpe, Colorado

By now, you’ve probably heard that Raul Ibanez is tearing it up in Philly with an OPS of 1.027, leading all NL outfielders. But do you know who’s in second place? Brad Hawpe, with an OPS of 1.008. Hawpe is also in the top 10 in BA(.333 for 5th) and RBI(56 for 7th).

OF: Justin Upton, Arizona

After an injury-shortened 2008, no one knew quite what to expect from Upton this year, but he has shown himself to be the class of the league during the first half, batting .315, with 14 HR, 45 RBI, 49 R, and a .961 OPS.

OF: Hunter Pence, Houston

Pence is having a great first half so far for a not quite stellar Astros team, hitting .310 with 10 HR, 32 RBI, and an .884 OPS.

Now, we’re done with the position players, but there’s still plenty of underappreciated pitchers out there, so we’ll put together a pitching staff for The PFB All-Underdog Team in a couple of days.

Here at PFB we love to let our members spout off their opinions on anything and everything.

This week we were curious about what our members thought of the World Baseball Classic

(FYI…these opinions were all submitted before the USA’s dramatic comeback win last night.)

Here’s what they said…

	I have none, because I really don’t care about it at all. I find it about as compelling as the Goodwill Games.
	how many days until football starts back?
	In sports, WBC stands for both World Baseball Classic and World Boxing Council. Both are equally irrelevant.
	I think the WBC is great, it’s about time we got a grown-up Little League World Series.
	A great idea, but why does it have to happen during Spring Training, when no one’s in shape yet and when everyone’s worried about staying healthy for the season? Do it in November.
	I like the WBC. It is a chance to see some players play for pride and nothing else. Also, as we saw last year, it’s about the team and not the individuals. The team with the most MLB All Stars is not guaranteed to win (i.e. the Netherlands beating the Dominicans)
	The only thing I like about this is the fact that there are a few “no names” on the different teams that are actually pretty impressive. And I like baseball. And I’m desperate for anything that’s baseball (or football) since it’s JUST now Spring Training.
	Does anyone else think it is weird that some countries have cheerleaders for baseball?! Or, maybe we (the Americans) are the weird the ones for not having cheerleaders.
	I don’t care for the WBC at all. Three reasons: First, it takes MLB players away from their real teams in a time where they are supposed to be preparing for the season. Yes, Derek Jeter can still get his workouts done, but he’s the captain of the Yankees, and he’s not there to be a leader in the clubhouse as the team prepares for the season. Second, there’s the risk of injury while the player is away from his team. Yes, players could be injured while playing for their real team, but I’ve tried to look at this from the owners’ perspective. If I were to pay someone millions of dollars to play baseball, I’d be furious if they were injured while playing with another team. Third, it takes away from the excitement of spring training. I go down to Florida with my dad every year, and we’ve got to be careful to schedule our trip after the WBC so we don’t miss all the players that are away. That’s not usually a problem, but one year we were down there for a day or so before the WBC players got back. Those days were not nearly as great as the rest of that trip.
	Going into it, I thought it was a waste of time. However, I have really enjoyed watching the first couple games. US / Canada had me on the edge of my seat, and now I’m strongly pulling for the US to win this thing. I will be watching from here on out.
	I love love love baseball, so I’m a fan. I don’t think the US really gets into it like the rest of the world, but I think it’s a good idea.
	I have been slowly descending into rabid baseball fandom (at this rate, Bryan, you’ll need to change my team logo to the Hanging Sox by mid June), spending all of my tax refund on baseball related items; the final tally is one 59Fifty Red Sox Hat, one membership to Red Sox Nation, three tickets to go see the Red Sox play at Fenway in July, one two year subscription to ESPN The Magazine(for the Insider treatment), one 2009 Curt Schilling away Red Sox Jersey(my first jersey, and yeah, i realize he’s not with the team anymore, and yeah, i’ll argue my reasoning in the comments), and one Premium Level subscription to MLB.TV. This last thing has been my conduit to my phenomenal World Baseball Classic experience. I’ve gotten to see most of the games in all pools, and greatly enjoyed the sites outside of the Major League stadiums(Toronto was kind of a crappy site for this, frankly), from the 55,000 Japanese and Korean fans packing out the Tokyo Dome, chanting and singing, and making it feel more like a soccer match than a baseball game, to the AMAZING 11-inning thriller of a pitcher’s duel that was Dominican Republic-Netherlands II in San Juan, and the Cuban trumpeters and the flawless play-by-play of Charlie Steiner in Mexico City. I’m hoping that the U.S. games are as great, and deliver as unique an experience that the Pool games have.
	Actually into the WBC. Not sure if it’s because it coincided with our first day of beautiful weather in which i started softball practice, or if it’s because i just like watching baseball, but I’ve watched the better part of 3 games. And i plan on following team USA. Certainly better than watching spring training games.
	You know, this was the first year I had ever heard of the World Baseball Classic. I watch some of the US/Venezuela game. Personally I thought it was a waste of time, 15 to 6? I don’t know, like I said, this was the first time I had even heard about it. I could be wrong, there could be some amazing games out there. But they are anything like the US/Ven game, I wouldn’t waste my time.
	really, really, really want to get into the WBC the same way I get into World Cup soccer every four years. It’s baseball and I love baseball. But even a game loaded with Major League stars like last night’s USA/Venezuela match-up didn’t completely hold my attention. It’s a great idea and I want it to succeed. It just makes me realize that the thing I like most about baseball is following my favorite team, not a team filled with a bunch of players I would otherwise be rooting against during the regular season. The most enjoyable part of the game last night was seeing Mark DeRosa play, but even that was a bummer when I was reminded that I’m still in denial over his trade to the Indians. Ditto for Team USA’s Saturday game, which was a reality check of the Jake Peavy trade that didn’t happen. That said, the WBC sure beats a month of utterly meaningless and impossible to watch spring training games. And the Netherlands upset of the Dominican Republic was pretty awesome to read about.

Want to be a member and have your voice heard? Email a headshot and your favorite team to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail.com and you’re in!

Over at the Rabbit Room blog, pastor Russ Ramsey shares the ways he finds baseball is “loaded with significance and parallels to a meaningful life.” The whole thing is a good read, particularly this paragraph near the end:

I believe life is good.  But the goodness isn’t found in home runs alone.  It’s found over the span of a long season, one that is filled with more failure than success, more routine than exhiliration, more anonymity than recognition.  Sometimes we hit it out of the park, sometimes we strike out looking.  Sometimes we make that impossible diving catch, other times we miss the routine grounder hit right to us.  And as it goes for us, so it goes for everyone else.

You can read the whole thing here.

As for my prediction for the ALCS, I see the Red Sox/Rays series going to seven games, and I think the Red Sox are going to pull it out in that seventh game with Jon Lester on the mound. This Red Sox team is nowhere near as good as the 04 team, and maybe not as good as the 07 team either now that Darth Manny is playing for Emperor Torre. But as they showed in the Anaheim series, they can win when their best two hitters are cold (Ortiz and Pedroia) and their bullpen is good enough to hold leads and keep the score close. Then again, I’ve been waiting for the Rays to fall all summer and it never happened, so maybe I’m just underestimating them again.

Over in the NLCS it feels like the Dodgers have all the momentum heading into tonight’s Game 1 in Philly. Yes, the Phillies did handle the Brewers with relative ease, but they didn’t sweep the vaunted Cubbies, now did they? If L.A. can keep that momentum and steal game 1, I think they could win this series in 5 games. But am I predicting that? No. This Phillies lineup seems too good to be held down for a 7-game series. And don’t sleep on the fact that the Dodgers are starting right-handers in the first 3 games of this series, which has lefties Ryan Howard and Chase Utley licking their pine-tar covered lips. I think the Phillies win in 6.

Yes, I am predicting a Red Sox – Phillies World Series, and yes, that is also the matchup that I’m rooting for as a Red Sox fan who lives in Pennsylvania. What about you? Get your predictions down in writing in the comments section before the first pitch is thrown tonight.

Why is it that we like to make predictions for an upcoming sports season?

To sound smart? To say “told you so” if our guesses turn out to be right? To convince ourselves that our team has what it takes? To me, making predictions is about hope. Not necessarily about the hope of an individual team, just the hope of a new season.

In my opinion, each new sports season is great because it’s like getting your hands on the newest book in your favorite series of books. Major League Baseball has been around for a while, so this year’s book has got to be Volume 158 or something like that. (I’ll let my editor do the research)

(editor’s note: I have no editor)

Those of us who are baseball fans all read the last book that came out in the series called “The 2007 MLB Season”. It was a great book. There were good guys, bad guys, plot twists, historic moments, mysterious events that changed the course of the book (remember those flying midges on Joba Chamberlain’s neck in Cleveland?), and of course, a big finish.

Not everyone loved the way the last book ended of course, but that’s the beauty of a new season. There will be new characters introduced to go along with the ones we love and love to hate (world, meet Evan Longoria), there will be pages of comedy, tragedy, and plenty of moments that inspire (like on Page 1 of this year’s book when Ryan Zimmerman hit a game winning homer in the Nationals brand new park). Inevitably there will be plot twists we never saw coming and ultimately there will be a big ending that maybe, just maybe, will be the one you are hoping for.

With that in mind, I give my predictions for how this book, “The 2008 MLB Season”, will play out. While I’m not a baseball expert, the reality is I’m not much different than Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark, Buster Olney, or Atreyu. They don’t know how this book will end any more than I do. And even though they know the previous books in the series a lot better than I do – seeing as how it’s what they do for a living – in the end we’re all just guessing.

OK, enough with the overworked analogies and Neverending Story pics…here’s how I think this will play out

13 Predictions for 2008

1. The Yankees will win the AL East – do I really think this is going to happen? I don’t know. I’m torn between the Sox and the Yankees. While I’m not sold on Girardi as the right manager for this team, I do think the pinstripers are going to have another monster season at the plate. Cano might win the batting title, Giambi is in a contract year, Matsui and Jeter will be as solid as ever, and A-Rod will probably put up MVP numbers again. Most folks think it will come down to their young arms, and I tend to agree. So I guess what I’m saying is that Joba, Phil, and Ian might all be the real deal.

2. The Mets will win the NL East – Without Santana I’d be picking the Phillies or Braves here, but Johan will be strong in September when they need him most.

3. The Diamondbacks and Angels win the Wests – I see the Rockies regressing, and I don’t see the Mariners living up to the hype. If the Big Unit (worst.nickname.ever.) can get healthy and give the D-Backs 12-15 quality starts, he’ll be a great compliment to Haren and Webb. Over in Seattle, I’m with the chorus of experts who think the M’s won’t score enough runs to keep pace with the Angels.

4. Ryan Howard will lead the NL in homers this year – rounding out the top 5 will be Ryan Braun, Adam Dunn, Alfonso Soriano, and Matt Holliday. In the AL it will be A-Rod, Manny, Carlos Pena, Miguel Cabrera. and Big Papi who make up the top 5.

5. The Cubs will win the NL Central - and it has nothing to do with the 100-year anniversary thing. I’d consider picking the Reds as a sleeper over the Brewers to keep it close, but my buddy Geof would probably kill me. This is the one pick that most experts seem to agree on, which is probably bad news for the Cubs.

6. The Houston Astros will finish in the bottom 3 of their division – I only add this to the list because Cliff Young and Jeff Miller of Caedmon’s Call were adamant with me last month that the Astros had a shot at winning their division. I think they’ve been smoking some of their 40 Acres.

7 – The worst record in baseball will belong to the Orioles – Not only are they bad, but the rest of the division is great. I’m not as high on the Blue Jays as many are, but I’m predicting the Orioles will fare no better than a 6-13 record against any of their division foes this year.

8. The Tigers will not win their division - But they will win the AL Wild Card. Their lineup is great, and so is Verlander. But Bonderman, Willis, Rogers, and Robertson? I’m not ready to write them in for 100 wins yet. I’m going with the Indians in the AL Central, but I think it’ going to be close. These two teams might finish 1-2 record-wise in the AL.

9. The Cy Young awards will go to Santana and Halladay – I like Roy and Johan to win 21 games each and walk away with some hardware. I was tempted to pick Kazmir in the AL, but his recent elbow issues scared me off.

10. The final playoff spots will be won by the Phillies and Tigers – the fightins’ will hold off the Dodgers and Braves for the Wild Card, and the Tigers will eliminate the Red Sox in the last week of the season.

11. The Yankees and Indians will meet in the ALCS – The Yankees will out-hit the Tigers and the Indians will out-everything the Angels to meet in the ALCS. Without the midges, I think the Yankees will come out on top.

12. The Diamondbacks and Cubs will face off in the NLCS – Unless the Mets can figure out how to clone Johan this summer, they will fall to the D-Backs in 6 games. Same goes for the Phillies, who will wish they had a few more Cole Hamels when they lose to the Cubs. I like the Cubs to take care of business in the NLCS, not because I think they have a better club than the D-Backs, but because I have no desire to see a Yankees-Diamondbacks matchup in the World Series.

13. The Yankees will beat the Cubs in the World Series – If you think this whole thing was me trying to jinx the Yankees, you’re crazy. (not that I would complain if that happened). I just think Jeter, Posada, and company have one more title run in them before they start to fade into Bolivian. I hope I’m wrong. Wicked wrong.

OK, one more creepy Neverending Story pic.

Falcor says, “Enjoy Opening Day, everyone!”

(I originally posted this piece on my personal blog)

The World Series is over and the Boston Red Sox are your World Champions (although, my wife asked me last night why they called themselves the World Champions when they don’t play teams from outside North America and I didn’t have a good answer. It is a bit of a misnomer)

Though most people have already put the baseball season behind them, for the sake of closure we need to take a look at my pre-game predictions that i posted last night. I have a feeling I’m going to come out looking like a genius on this one.

1. When the Rockies scored in the first inning, they knew they had a chance to win this one. It was actually the Red Sox who plated a run in the first, and it seemed to happen in about 13 seconds. The Rockies never led in Game 4.

2. How about that one inning where Pedroia made all 3 outs? – Didn’t happen. Dustin made a handful of outs, but he scattered them throughout the game.

3. Manny’s hits > Hawpe’s hits + Helton’s hits. – Manny pulled an 0 for 4, Helton had 2 hits and Hawpe had the homerun. Wrong again.

4. The Red Sox put up runs in more innings than the Rockies did – The Red Sox scored a single run in 4 of 9 innings, with the Rockies only scoring in the 7th and 8th.

5. Not surpisingly, the Rockies used more pitchers than the Red Sox.- Not surprisingly, I’m wrong again. The Red Sox used 5 pitchers, Colorado only used 4.

6. Also not surprisingly, the Red Sox saw more pitches than the Rockies.- Also not surprisingly, I’m still wrong. The Red Sox hitters saw 112 pitches from the Rockies, while the Rockies saw 160 pitches.

7. Tulowitzki’s total bases > Lugo’s TB + Lowell’s TB- Wow. My endorsement is the kiss of death in these prediction pieces. Tulowitzki had zero total bases. Lugo had 1 on a single, Lowell had 6 on a double and homer. 0 is not greater than 7, unless you’re talking about your golf handicap.

8. Double Double Toil and trouble, the Red Sox out-doubled the Rockies again.- Each team had 2 doubles, the most important of which might have been Ellsbury’s to lead off the game.

9. Jon Lester gave up more runs than he had strikeouts.- Lester had 3 strikeouts and gave up no runs in 5 and 2/3 innings. He pitched a great game.

10.Joe Buck impaling Tim McCarver in the temple with his microphone was fascinating, if only for the sound.- Joe and Tim take a hefty beating from the sports writers online, maybe more than they deserve. McCarver does drive me crazy sometimes, but overall it was palatable.

11. Amazingly, the second out recorded in both halves of the sixth inning was on fly balls to center field.- i was half right. Ortiz grounded out to short and Helton lined out to left for the second outs in each of their sixth innings.

12. The Rockies will have more 2-out RBI than the Red Sox have HRs- It takes a lot of talent to be this consistently wrong. The Red Sox had 2 HRs while the Rockies scored all their runs with less than 2 outs.

13. The number of half innings in which 0 runs were scored will be less than 10.- Wrong. Zeroes were put up 12 times.

14. The Rockies were running from the get-go, stealing more bases than the Red Sox.- There were as many stolen bases in this one as there were streaking pigmen. Zero.

15. Manny Ramirez’s helmet fell off his head while running the bases, tripping the runner behind him and causing Tim McCarver’s brain to explode out of his head.- I think even Tim and Joe couldn’t get mad at Manny by the end of the series. Manny taking off his helmet while running to first base left them snickering and speechless.

16. The Rockies will leave more runners on base than the Red Sox have hits.- The Sox had 9 hits. The Rockies left 7 on base. I have 1 prediction right so far. Joe Buck would be disgusted with me.

17. Aren’t back to back homers fun?- They are, but there weren’t any in this game.

18. Can you believe the Patriots took the field in the 9th inning and outscored the Rockies 28-0?- It didn’t happen, but if it did, the Redskins would probably cry about that too. Listen, NFL players shouldn’t be complaining about teams running up the score. If you don’t want them to score again, stop them. It’s up to you. (and no, I’m not a Pats fan.)

19.The Red Sox walked more times and struck out more times than the Rockies.- These predictions I’ve made are historically bad. The Red Sox had 1 BB to the Rockies’ 3 and 4 Ks to the Rockies’ 7.

20. The Red Sox are your World Series Champions!- What do you know, I got the most important one right. I guess I did come out looking like a genius.

Enjoy your non-stop Yankees coverage on ESPN all week!

Will the Rockies stave off elimination? Will the Red Sox break out the swiffers?

Let’s make some pre-game post-game comments:

1. When the Rockies scored in the first inning, they knew they had a chance to win this one.

2. How about that one inning where Pedroia made all 3 outs?

3. Manny’s hits > Hawpe’s hits + Helton’s hits.

4. The Red Sox put up runs in more innings than the Rockies did

5. Not surpisingly, the Rockies used more pitchers than the Red Sox.

6. Also not surprisingly, the Red Sox saw more pitches than the Rockies.

7. Tulowitzki’s total bases > Lugo’s TB + Lowell’s TB

8. Double Double Toil and trouble, the Red Sox out-doubled the Rockies again.

9. Jon Lester gave up more runs than he had strikeouts.

10.Joe Buck impaling Tim McCarver in the temple with his microphone was fascinating, if only for the sound.

11. Amazingly, the second out recorded in both halves of the sixth inning was on fly balls to center field.

12. The Rockies will have more 2-out RBI than the Red Sox have HRs

13. The number of half innings in which 0 runs were scored will be less than 10.

14. The Rockies were running from the get-go, stealing more bases than the Red Sox.

15. Manny Ramirez’s helmet fell off his head while running the bases, tripping the runner behind him and causing Tim McCarver’s brain to explode out of his head.

16. The Rockies will leave more runners on base than the Red Sox have hits.

17. Aren’t back to back homers fun?

18. Can you believe the Patriots took the field in the 9th inning and outscored the Rockies 28-0?

19.The Red Sox walked more times and struck out more times than the Rockies.

20. The Red Sox are your World Series Champions!

I made 20 Post-Game comments before Game 2 started last night. Let’s see how they panned out:

1. Schilling’s line wasn’t bad…4 earned runs over 5 and 2/3 innings. - try 5 and 1/3 innings and only 1 earned run.

2. Who would have thought Brad Hawpe and Willy Tavares would combine for more hits than Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez? – i was close. both tandems combined for 1 hit.

3. Manny’s helmet flew off his head again. Dude needs to switch to a L from that XL. – yeah, no surprise here. As he went first to third on Mike Lowell’s RBI double in the 5th, Manny lost his hat again.

4. Thank you Willy Tavares for earning me a free taco on October 30th with that stolen base in the 6th inning. – What i meant to say was, “Thank You Jacoby Ellsbury for getting me a taco with that SB in the 4th inning.”

5. Ubaldo Jimenez was throwing some laser beams, hitting 100 MPH on the gun more than once. – He was hitting the mid 90s consistently, but I didn’t see anything above 98 MPH.

6. Boston outhit Colorado for the second straight game. – barely, though. 6 hits for Boston, 5 for Colorado.

7. Jiminez not only struck out more batters than Schilling, he also walked less. Nice outing for the rookie. – Um, wrong and wrong. Ubaldo struck out 2 and walked 5. Schilling struck out 4 and walked 2.

8. That catch by Ellsbury was amazing. – No it wasnt. He did only have one catch, but it was routine.

9. The Red Sox laid down more bunts than the Rockies tonight. – Actually, i think it was 1 each. could be wrong about that one though.

10. Ellsbury stealing third caught everyone off guard…including me. – It caught Ellsbury off guard too, because he didn’t do it.

11. Big Papi’s home run almost landed in Colorado. – The one from batting practice. I guess i should have specified that.

12. Manny wasn’t really hustling on that play. – this one was true the moment i typed it. No references needed.

13. I never thought I’d see that day that Manny Corpas would walk out of the bullpen with no pants on. – and i still haven’t, thankfully.

14. Papelbon struck out more batters than he left on base. – 2 Ks and 0 LOB thanks to the pickoff that no one saw coming.

15. Can you believe John Kerry streaked naked onto the field like that? – funny thing was, first he ran out there, then he came back to his seat, then he ran out there again. Poor guy just couldn’t make up his mind.

16.Matt Holliday busted for using a corked bat? Who would have thought. – dude went 4-4, but i just missed this one. The bat WAS corked, he just didn’t get busted for it. (i kid, of course).

17. J.D. Drew’s Strikeouts + Mike Lowell’s Walks = Torrealba’s base hits + Helton’s doubles – Lowell’s lone walk was the only non-zero in this equation. 1 = 0? not today it doesn’t.

18. Varitek hit for the cycle! amazing! – Only if we redefine “the cycle” as: Strike out looking, strike out swinging, fly out to Left Field, and a Sac fly to Center.

19. Garret Atkins should be suspended for all of next year for tripping Pedroia as he rounded third. He should be suspended for 5 years after that for pulling out a tazer and tazing Dustin multiple times in the small of his back. - Don’t taze me bro!

20. The team with the most runs won the game. – I hit this one right on the head! When you’re good, you’re good.

If I’m feeling Nostradamic this weekend, maybe we’ll do this for Game 3 or 4.

We’re about an hour from the first pitch in Game 2 of the World Series, which means that by the time you read this post, the game will probably be over. So how was it for you?

Instead of providing you with predictions and insight that will be obsolete in 4 hours, I’m going to make 20 post-game statements before the game even starts. We’ll see how many of these I can nail perfectly.

Pre-Game Post Game Thoughts on Game 2:

1. Schilling’s line wasn’t bad…4 earned runs over 5 and 2/3 innings.

2. Who would have thought Brad Hawpe and Willy Tavares would combine for more hits than Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez?

3. Manny’s helmet flew off his head again. Dude needs to switch to a L from that XL.

4. Thank you Willy Tavares for earning me a free taco on October 30th with that stolen base in the 6th inning.

5. Ubaldo Jimenez was throwing some laser beams, hitting 100 MPH on the gun more than once.

6. Boston outhit Colorado for the second straight game.

7. Jiminez not only struck out more batters than Schilling, he also walked less. Nice outing for the rookie.

8. That catch by Ellsbury was amazing.

9. The Red Sox laid down more bunts than the Rockies tonight.

10. Ellsbury stealing third caught everyone off guard…including me.

11. Big Papi’s home run almost landed in Colorado.

12. Manny wasn’t really hustling on that play.

13. I never thought I’d see that day that Manny Corpas would walk out of the bullpen with no pants on.

14. Papelbon struck out more batters than he left on base.

15. Can you believe John Kerry streaked naked onto the field like that?

16. Matt Holliday busted for using a corked bat? Who would have thought.

17. J.D. Drew’s Strikeouts + Mike Lowell’s Walks = Torrealba’s base hits + Helton’s doubles

18. Varitek hit for the cycle! amazing!

19. Garret Atkins should be suspended for all of next year for tripping Pedroia as he rounded third. He should be suspended for 5 years after that for pulling out a tazer and tazing Dustin multiple times in the small of his back.

20. The team with the most runs won the game.

Via ESPN.com, here’s Paul Byrd responding to the San Francisco Chronicle’s report that he purchased almost $25,000 worth of HGH from 2002 to 2005.

here’s essentially what Byrd says in the video:

“I have never taken any hormone or any drug that was not prescribed to me by a doctor. I was prescribed a hormone, I did inject it, and I did have the temptation to take more of it that what was prescribed so that my fastball would reach into the 90s on a consistent basis. I never succumbed to any of those temptations, I never took any more than what was prescribed me. I didn’t start to throw the ball a lot harder…I was taking it for my well-being and for general life circumstances that were made known to me…I have never done anything that has disrespected the game…I don’t want to show up at a stadium and have people think I cheated…I’m one game away from the World Series and now I’m dealing with my medical history.”

ESPN’s Buster Olney, who refers to Byrd as “…a very religious guy, a very thoughtful guy…” says that there are still some lingering questions raised by the SF Chronicle story, such as:

+ If this use of HGH is approved, why did he stop taking it?
+ Why did one of the prescriptions come from a dentist?
+ How much does he think HGH helped him as a pitcher?
+ Were there other alternative treatments for the sleeplessness and adult growth hormone deficiency than HGH, something that has been linked to performance enhancing drugs?

I really don’t think this is much of a story anymore, but I wanted to put Paul Byrd’s response out there for everyone to see. Even if Byrd had used the HGH to come back from injury, it was before baseball had banned it, so it falls into a huge gray area.

Because Byrd appears to have legitimate reasons for taking HGH, and because he stopped taking them before they were banned, and because his stuff as a pitcher never drastically changed, I don’t see anything more happening with this story. Did the HGH help him recover from the injuries that he sustained over the time frame he was taking HGH? Probably, but we don’t really know.

I’ll track the story in case anything else happens, but I think we can move on…

It was 4 days ago that we wrote about Sam Alipour’s interview with Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd that ran on ESPN.com. In the story, Byrd talked about his struggle to stay true to his Christian faith despite the pressures of the ballplayer lifestyle that included pornography, cheating by scuffing the ball, and the availability of performance-enhancing drugs.This morning, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that between August 2002 and January 2005 Byrd purchased nearly $25,000 worth of Human Growth Hormone, including more than 1,000 vials of HGH and hundreds of syringes.According to the SF Chronicle article, Byrd made 13 purchases in total over the 30 month period, the last purchase coming just one week before baseball formally banned the use of HGH on January 13, 2005.Revisiting Alipour’s piece for a moment, Byrd commented on PEDs, saying:

“Religion can go over into every area, like whether I should cheat out on the field. I write about the desire to just make money at any cost. I share about my temptation to spit on the ball, put KY jelly on it or scuff it, to win more games and make more money. That’s a big temptation for me, being a guy who throws 82, who relies on movement. You have a pull, because you have a certain window up here that stares you in the face. Are you willing to take steroids? Because that’s available. People viewed that as me being weak. Like, ‘This guy doesn’t want to win.’” 

According to Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, the writers who penned the SF Chronicle piece, “Byrd has never commented on athletes’ use of growth hormone, but he has publicly denied using steroids and said he believes they pose a problem for baseball. He also has said baseball’s problem with performance-enhancing drugs is not nearly as serious as critics say.”

As the story develops we’ll have more to say about it, but for now here’s my initial thoughts (I’m headed out the door for the day):

Paul Byrd screwed up. He joins the list of Christians that have screwed up that includes, well, EVERY Christian. This will be tough for him to deal with, but from I read in the ESPN.com interview, he should be able to get through it.Even if HGH wasn’t banned at the time, I don’t think it was right for him to be using it. But that’s something we’ll get into further as the story progresses.

I have compassion for him, while still thinking that he did something he shouldn’t have.If you’ve been in a spot like Paul is, where you’ve screwed up and folks are finding out about it, perhaps you can say a prayer for him that something good comes out of it all. If you want to pile on him, you are free to do that to i suppose.More on this as the story develops

UPDATE: Reader Brian D. alerted us to this update, in which Byrd claims the HGH was prescribed to him by a doctor for adult growth-hormone deficiency. if this is legitimate, and Byrd never abused the HGH for unethical advantage as he claims, then good for him.