YFSF

Retro Predictions

Prior to opening day, your intrepid authors were responsible to tender me their predictions for the season. Such has been the tradition for most every baseball outlet since web time immemorial, if only to show how the authors crib other sites. Due to circumstances somewhat beyond my control (it's not my fault I'm lazy), I was not able to perform my sworn duty to put those predictions into our annual summary "Predictaroo" post for then-and-future ridicule prior to the first pitch of the season. As there are no beast games today, I thought it may be good fun to post those predictions and reflect upon the virtues of their authors 69 games in.

Updated to reflect Nick's '09 predictions as well as sort the attributions properly (some of Nick's words ended up on John's section).

Just To Be Sure

Re-tweeted RAB already (what, no twitter?) but this is just too cool.

Tough Run

The Sox are on a 12 game dash through what are (were?) four first place teams - the Tigers, Rangers, Yanks, then Phillies.  What a stretch.  We wonder if this has happened before, at least since the advent of interleague play, where a team plays four consecutive series against division leaders.  Paging Elias!

Danny Almonte At 22

Julian Garcia has a story in the Daily News about Danny Almonte and his aspirations to play professional baseball.

Trade Agreement

Peavy to the Sox.

EDIT - 9:00pm:  Teams agree, Peavy rejects deal.  Still a Padre.

Take a Hike, Redux

Lest we be charged with being a partisan hack, we thought it important to offer the Boston version of Phil Mushnick's cost-comparison.

For the same cost of sitting in the cushiest spot at Fenway, one could catch a Greyhound bus to Cleveland, sit in the Diamond Box at the Jake , and have a meal at Beard Prize nominee Michael Symon's Lola. No hotel, though, you need to get right back on the bus to Beantown.

Paper Trail

The curtain has been pulled back a little further and Dan Duquette starts shoveling. Thank you, Lou.

One question: who are MLB's Jay Bybee, Stephen Bradbury, and John Yoo? There's gotta be a memo somewhere.  

More on Manny

Very interesting stuff from Mark Fainaru-Wada.  

This kind of reporting takes time.  There's going to be a steady trickle of this stuff for a while.

The Whistleblower

Kudos to Lou Merloni for going on the record, illustrating how cozily in bed Ownership (in this case the Yawkey Trust) was with the players and their drugs of choice.   We think this should be a bigger story than it is at the moment.

Every Picture

It's hard not to look at this picture by Rob Carr, which was plastered across today's New York Times Sports section, and see disdain, cockiness, anger, and release.  A-Rod, having just launched a first pitch home run in Batlimore, flicks the bat up in the air strongly (that bat is UP there), a show of stern confidence, perhaps - no, definitely - arrogance.  His face, looking clearly towards something off the field, no smile.  It is both emotional and emotionless, a really fine work of sports photojournalism, a moment caught in the context of Alex' current catharisis, injury, and return to the field.  It is a picture that offers little in the way of flattery, but it seems an honest portrait.