Return Of The Boogie

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. I have to be up front and honest with everyone, I was diagnosed with an illness called "being lazy." I have no real excuse for my failure to post daily other than the fact I just haven't felt like it. I haven't seen many Yankee games of late. I catch bits and pieces, but it's just a busy time of year. I usually blog when I'm at work, but even that's been a little hectic of late as well. But I'm going to make it a point to be here for the stretch run and into the playoffs.
How can you not like the position the Yankees are in? 10 games up on the Red Sox with 20 games to play. The magic number is 10 and is going down faster than my cousin in the season premiere of Nip/Tuck. *rim shot* For those that don't know, and I wouldn't think any of you do, my cousin Brianne is an actress. If you watch Nip/Tuck, you'll get the reference. But anyway, life is good on the good ship Yankee. Tonight marks the return of Hideki Matsui to the Yankee lineup. Woo hoo! Man it's hard to believe that the Yankee lineup just got better. But it did! The team with the best record in the AL just got better. How awesome would it be to clinch our 9th straight division title this weekend against Boston? That would just be the icing on the cake. With any luck, I'll get to see them clinch in person next week when the Yanks come to Toronto. I'll be there for the series and I'm already chomping at the bit to get there. It's going to be a good time.
I must confess that one of the things that brought me back to blogging today is the recent gibberish that David Ortiz was so grateful to impart on the world. He was getting hammered every which way on XM baseball talk today. Does he really think that baseball is all about power numbers? When talking about Derek Jeter, Ortiz says: "He's done a great job, he's having a great season, but Jeter is not a 40-homer hitter or an RBI guy. It doesn't matter how much you've done for your ball club, the bottom line is, the guy who hits 40 home runs and knocks in 100, that's the guy you know helped your team win games." If any of you out there watch "Big Brother All Stars," you have no doubt seen the antics of Chilltown's Dr. Will and Mike Boogie. They make phone calls to each other using their hands and it always results in them laughing so hard they fall out of their chairs. After reading Ortiz's comments, that's basically how I reacted when I read the story. Ortiz's view on this is laughable.
"It doesn't matter how much you've done for your ball club"
It doesn't? Being the MVP is all about how much you've done for your ballclub. That statement is absurd.
"the guy who hits 40 home runs and knocks in 100, that's the guy you know helped your team win games."
To a point that's true, but what about the guy that gets on base over 40% of the time, hits close to .350, steals 30 bases, scores 100 runs, and is knocking on the door of 100 RBI while batting primarily in the 2 hole? You know that's the guy that helped your team win games too.
Ortiz goes on to spout off more absurdities: "Don't get me wrong -- he's a great player, having a great season, but he's got a lot of guys in that lineup. Top to bottom, you've got a guy who can hurt you. Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be."
Picture more of me laughing on the floor. Does David Ortiz realize that the only reason he does so well is because he hits in front of Manny Ramirez? I wonder what David Ortiz would be like without Manny in the lineup. Oh yeah, he'd be playing to a level that would cause his team to waive him, a la the Twins. Until Ortiz teamed up with Manny, he never hit more than 20 taters. Put Ortiz in another lineup and you'll see the numbers drop. And if you put Jeter in the Red Sox lineup, God forbid, he'd likely be hitting in front of Ortiz and Manny. Imagine those numbers. Dare I say .400? Jeter is a career .317 hitter. He'll succeed in any lineup thank you very much.
I really hope Derek Jeter wins the MVP award just so people realize that it's not all about power. A base hit can knock in runs just the same as an HR can. stealing second might set your team up to score on a single and start a rally. Does Ortiz know how this game works?
You have to love Jeter's response to Ortiz's comments: "I don't have to do it in his lineup. I'm not thinking about winning the MVP. I'm just thinking about winning the division. No one's focus here is on individual awards. We've got something to play for." And that my friends is precisely the reason why that the Yankees are about to win their 9th straight division title. Do you think Jeter really cares if he wins the MVP? It's all about playing through the last out of the World Series. And that's why he is the Yankee captain.
"We've got something to play for."
The fact of the matter is, the Red Sox and David Ortiz have nothing to play for. They've resigned themselves to the fact that their season is over. It'll be interesting to see how Ortiz does next year if the Sox trade Manny. You heard it hear first. The Sox will without a doubt trade ManRam at the end of the year. Power numbers are going to plummet.
If Ortiz were to win the MVP, which is possible as I'm not saying he's not deserving, there is one thing that Derek Jeter will always have over Ortiz every day of the week from now until the end of time, and that's class. Derek Jeter is now and will always be one of the game's classiest players. David Ortiz, umm, not so much. Big Papi? More like "Big Baby." Waa waa waa. Your season is over. Deal with it. See you in April.
J-Boogie