Results tagged ‘ Shane Victorino ’
The World Baseball Classic produces a Classic
I cannot tell you how happy I am that baseball is back. I woke up at 9 am today (I don’t know why) and watched four editions of ’30 Clubs in 30 Days’ (yes, I am addicted). I have to say, I really enjoy watching that show, but my favorite part of the show isn’t the analysis.
Towards the end of the show, they do a little segment on the history of the club. It’s short, but I swear, every time it gives me goosebumps! The clubs that were analyzed were the Blue Jays, the Reds, the Braves, and the Rays.
I loved seeing familiar faces in the form of Kevin Millar (Blue Jays),
Bronson Arroyo (Reds),
and Derek Lowe (Braves). I had not known that Millar had signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays. That’s crazy– a minor league deal!! I can see him being similar to the Sean Casey of last year. What a great guy to have coming off the bench.
Mark called this a long time ago, but I’m starting to agree with him– the Reds are looking great this year! I don’t think that they can win the division, but after watching that show, I can see them getting third place! I think they have one more year to go until they become like the Rays of 2008.
Bronson Arroyo is such a great guy to have on their staff too. He has made so many starts for the Reds– more than anyone else around the Majors! He may not be the best pitcher in the world, but he still eats up innings, and that’s important.
Plus, he is pretty serious about his music!!
Baseball References of this week
I’ve wondered why I feel so strongly about the past of baseball, even though I never live through it. It’s painful for me to watch highlights from the 1986 World Series, I feel so happy when I see clips of Carlton Fisk’s 1975 home run, and I feel so strongly about Pete Rose even though I haven’t seen him play. So why do I care so much?
Well, in my math class, we ended up talking about the String Theory one day. I don’t completely understand it, but from what I do understand, somehow, I could have been at those games– in a different dimension. So instead of just experiencing them vicariously, perhaps I really was there. That’s a bit of a stretch I know.
In my history class, we were talking about World War II, and the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. So what do I write in my notes? The battle of Okajima. So this is what I’m thinking about 24/7. Even as I was writing this entry, I put Iwamura instead of Iwo Jima initially.
In chemistry, we were learning about The Shield Effect. I had no idea what it was (and I barely understand it now), and when my teacher asked someone to explain it, I thought to myself:
‘Well, I can’t explain the Shield Effect, but I would love to talk about the Schilling Effect’. Curt is pretty aware of his effect as well. He wants to help a team get to the World Series. In fact, he specifically mentioned the Cubs and the Rays. What about helping the Pirates to a winning season?
World Baseball Classic
Well, after the three episodes of ’30 Clubs in 30 Days’ that I watched, I turned to ESPN (for the first time in months) to watch Team USA play Team Canada. That was one hell of a game if you guys didn’t get to see it.
The starting lineup for Team USA was loaded:
1. Dustin Pedroia (2B)
2. Derek Jeter (SS)
3. Chipper Jones (DH)
4. David Wright (3B)
5. Kevin Youkilis (1B)
6. Adam Dunn (RF)
7. Ryan Braun (LF)
8. Brian McCann (C)
9. Shane Victorino (CF-RF)
Starting pitcher: Jake Peavy
The starting lineup for Canada had some familiar faces as well:
1. Barnwell (SS)
2. Russell Martin (C)
3. Joey Votto (DH)
4. Justin Morneau (1b)
5. Jason Bay (CF)
6. Stairs (RF)
7. Teahen (3B)
8. Weglarz (LF)
9. Orr (2B)
Starting pitcher: Johnson
Jake Peavy had a bit of a rough first inning– I’m pretty sure that he loaded the bases. He settled down the second inning and had a great 1-2-3 inning, but gave up a home run to Joey Votto in the third inning.
Let me tell you guys something, Joey Votto looks really good. I can see him having a really nice season for the Reds.
It was really interesting for me though, to be rooting against Jason Bay. Kevin Youkilis scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Brian McCann to Jason Bay. I bet they’ll be laughing about that later.
Youkilis produced the second home run of the game by hitting a home run to right-center field. Not to mention the fact that his beard is coming back. I love seeing the Youk-Fu in the pictures though.
Brian McCann and Adam Dunn also hit home runs to make the score 6-4. In the bottom of the ninth, Joey Votto struck again with a double over the head of Shane Victorino to score Russell Martin.
Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Joey Votto was on second with Jason Bay at the plate. There were two outs, and the co
unt was 3-2… talk about a conflict! Don’t worry though, I ended up rooting for my country. That’s the beauty of baseball right there. Jason Bay represented the tying run of the game. Had he hit a ball into deep right, the game would have been tied, the entire tournament could have been different! That is one of the many things that I love about baseball.
unt was 3-2… talk about a conflict! Don’t worry though, I ended up rooting for my country. That’s the beauty of baseball right there. Jason Bay represented the tying run of the game. Had he hit a ball into deep right, the game would have been tied, the entire tournament could have been different! That is one of the many things that I love about baseball.
-Elizabeth
Playing in Puddles
Everyone was really excited for Game 5; Cole Hamels, and Scott Kazmir were pitching, and it was a potential clinching game (in Philadelphia nonetheless). Kazmir got racked in the first inning, pegging Chase Utley in the ribs. Has anyone noticed how close he stands to the box, and how he actually steps into the box? No wonder he’s the single batter who has gotten hit by pitches the most. KInd of like how Jason Bartlett totally leaned into a pitch in Game 7 of the ALCS. Then, Shane Victorino comes up and hits a two run single. Cole Hamels is pitching well, until the Rays start stringing some runs together, and finally one came off of a hit by Evan Longoria. It took long enough.
My question is this. So, a baseball game is official after 5 1/3 innings right? So, if the Phillies had still led 2-1 after the bottom of the sixth, well, would they have won? What a cheap and sucky win that would’ve been! I would’ve been so annoyed. So now, game 5 is going to continue with the Phillies coming up in the bottom of the sixth. The Rays got SO lucky because now Cole Hamels isn’t going to be pitching anymore. I wonder if the teams are going to continue to their next starters, or just use the bullpen. According to Selig, he would’ve just kept the game in a rain delay until it was appropriate to resume play. I like that idea, and I think everyone should too. No one wants to win a World Series due to a rain delay. If it had gone less than official game standards, by the rules, it would’ve started over. So this is the first time in history that a World Series game has ever been suspended, that’s pretty sick. I can’t wait until I find out what’s going to happen with the rotations and what not. I’m sure the Fox announcers will address this topic until it dies.
On another note, the Sox picked up Virgil Velazquez on irrevocable waivers issued by the Tigers. He’s had somewhat of a rocky start of his career, and he didn’t see any playing time with the Tigers this past season. So, hopefully, the Sox will see what he can do in Spring Training, and then proceed to put him in the bullpen (most likely)
-Elizabeth
elidreesox
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