Ballgame’s Points

Let’s get this straight.  The Angels are the only team with a winning record in the regular season (56-44) against the Yankees over the last decade.  They are the one club that has bumped New York from the playoffs twice in that same time period. Individually and collectively, they’ve gotten to the Yanks one [Read More...]

Two questions emerged from the Yankees’ 13-6 pasting of the Red Sox Thursday: 1) Is John Smoltz finished? 2) With the Sox fading fast and the Rays making a push, is it time for some good old-fashioned panic to engulf Boston? In Smoltz’s case, enough of an answer came Friday, when the Red Sox designated him for assignment, [Read More...]

With exactly one week before the MLB Trade Deadline, Roy Halladay — the biggest prize available — remains a Blue Jay, and general manager J.P. Ricciardi indicated Tuesday the club is unlikely to deal the ace. Naturally, that statement can be chalked up as GM jockeying, and Ricciardi is one of the best in the business [Read More...]

Bill O’Reilly was standing next to third base as the Mets were taking batting practice before Thursday’s game vs. the Dodgers at Citi Field. The real “no spin zone”, however, was a few paces away over in the visitors dugout, where manager Joe Torre was engaging a group of reporters — a handful of whom he [Read More...]

Has anyone else noticed how machine-like the Red Sox have become? To this team, obstacles don’t register and negative storylines carry minimal weight.  Losses — when they come — seemingly dissipate into thin air while victories are greeted with little fanfare (like, for instance, any of the eight wins in eight tries they’ve piled up against [Read More...]

After lots of networking and prodding, I was given the opportunity to cover a Mets-Phillies game last week for MLB.com.  The story I ended up writing was on Ken Takahashi, the New York relief pitcher who served up the game-winning homer in extra innings to Raul Ibanez.  The link is below. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090612&content_id=5283844&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Coincidentally, Takahashi was one of [Read More...]

I know, it doesn’t look good. Manny tested positive for a banned substance and is not appealing the automatic 50-game suspension he received as a result. The statement he issued was opaque and dodgy, which is not a surprise considering it was likely penned by Scott Boras. The media response has been ferocious, with everyone from hot air [Read More...]

Heady times in Boston once again. The Red Sox and Yankees are set to tango at Fenway in their inaugural ‘09 series beginning Friday. The Patriots will be on the clock Saturday, as the 2009 NFL Draft fires up. And once the Celtics take care of the Bulls, both the Green and Bruins will [Read More...]

Need a comprehensive preview of the 2009 MLB season?  Want to know who’s going to make it through the gauntlet that leads to October?  Itching to find out which teams will rise out of nowhere to become legitimate threats?  Wondering how all the hardware will be distributed? Well then, please read on. AL East Champions — Boston [Read More...]

The 2008 Red Sox were a deep and balanced team that fell just shy of the World Series.  If it weren’t for some big-time pitching from Matt Garza and David Price in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Rays, the Sox probably would have hung their third pennant in five years. Understanding how close they [Read More...]