Gabe Kaplan? Aint he kinda old to be playing MLB?

http://www.tradingcards.co.nz/images/kotter.jpg

Does anybody else think that it is just plain wrong that the NCAA Final and MLB Opening Day occur on the same date?

Tigers at Toronto
 

Opening Day.
7-0
3 HR
bottom of 7th
How 'bout those Tigers! :)

YU.P., Pudge hit one also.
mick

Know what, Mick? The Tigers could really surprise this year. Fairly weak division, extra year in for the young un's, much better atmosphere and finally some hope. I think that they're heading in the right direction now anyway. You just hate to see one of the grand old franchises stumbling along in the doldrums like they were lately. Just doesn't seem right.

What's wrong with it? The BoSux do it every year. :D

Yeah, it looks pretty silly. It makes him look even more like Unfrozen Caveman Center Fielder. He came to our local mall to sign autographs a few weeks ago. My wife and daughter went down and got him to autograph a few things. The hair's about the same as it was then.

P.S. - You always like to take potshots at my man, Manny. I don't hear you talking about him doggin' it last night!! Two pretty darn good defensive plays last night. I was impressed that he worked on defense. His bat will wake up, too.

Yup.

My roommate and I were pretty shocked when we turned the game on Sunday night.

I did enjoy when the commentators put up 'before' and 'after' pictures and said that they weren't sure it was actually Johny Damon.

From the Boston Globe....


Hair's Johnny: Damon shocks
His appearance sets him apart
By Bob Hohler, Globe Staff, 2/26/2004

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- "Bless you," Johnny Damon said yesterday as he entered the Red Sox clubhouse. "Bless you all."

Heads turned as Damon, fully bearded, with his brown hair flowing to his shoulders, submitted one of the best impersonations of Jesus of Nazareth this side of "The Passion of the Christ." But no one knelt before him.

This was just Damon after all, as colorful and unconventional as ever. Good thing he doesn't work for George Steinbrenner, who would promptly dispatch him to the barber.

"[General manager] Theo [Epstein] told me I can keep it," Damon said of his look, one of the wildest in the game. "I don't think we want to compare ourselves to the Yankees. We'll do everything the opposite of what they do."

__________________________________________________ ____

Based on the last sentence, I guess this means that they don't want to win championships, since the Yanks win them and the BoSox don't. Kinda taking it to extremes to not be like the Yanks. :)

And what's with Pedro's fro? It looks like he stashed a poodle under his cap!

P.S. - You always like to take potshots at my man, Manny.

[/B][/QUOTE]Hey, I just repeat what your Boston newspapers report. I kinda like this one where they talk about Manny's annual summer 4-day vacation to the Dominican. Of course, that's just an aside to the respect that they show for Pedro's professionalism.

http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/wi...blog/04_06_04/

Hey, Pedro was wrong. Nobody (except maybe Francona :rolleyes: ) is gonna deny that. And he didn't even pitch all that badly, except for the 2nd inning.

As for Manny, I think the writers like to find anything they can and blow it up. Anybody who can say something bad about him after he obviously worked hard in game 1 isn't objective. And the crack about his vacation cruise is obviously sarcastic.

For some reason, Boston writers love to turn on Boston's sports stars and hammer them. Pedro gets frustrated and does something stupid, and on sports radio the next day, they're calling him the Dominican Diva. Wait, wasn't that Manny last year?

Rick Pitino did a lot of really bad things while he was with the Celtics, but he was right about one thing. The negativity in the Boston sports scene sucks.

Manny and Pedro have both been tremendous assests to the Red Sox, and both have let their professionalism slip at some point. Manny has gotten a lot better, I think, regardless of what the sports "reporters" think. We'll have to see about Pedro. He may already have decided that he's done in Boston, b/c they only picked up his option instead of giving him a new long-term deal.

Certainly agree with that. NY tabloid writers are bad too, but certainly not as bad as Boston. They eat their own.

As for Pedro, I hate to say it (and I said it last year), but he's beginning to remind me more and more of Ron Guidry. Absolutely untouchable for a while, but then the body gives out and the arm goes. I really can't see anybody, including Boston, offering him more than 2 years guaranteed, and certainly not at anything close to $18M per. Unless George does it just to piss Boston off.

Figured I'd throw up the ol' AL East standings:


EAST........W.L...PCT...GB
Tampa Bay..2.1....667..-
Baltimore..1.1....500..0.5
Boston.....1.1....500..0.5
New York...1.2....333..1.0
Toronto....0.2....000..1.5


(Sorry about the crazy formatting)

Of course, as a Red Sox fan, I'll be taking this post down come the All-Star break, but for now it's interesting to see that the Yankees are in 4th place in the AL East. Steinbrenner hasn't fired anyone yet? :eek!:

One more note about Manny. . .
 

Hey, you see Manny run out an easy pop-fly in the second inning tonight? Deep fly, but no way was it going out. Center fielder goes back and . . . OOPS!! Lost it! Manny ended up on second. Of course, that's what should happen on that play; but Manny's taken heat for not running out routine plays. Not tonight, tho! Nice to see, for those who like to bash him!

Manny can't be a happy camper though, even though you'd never know it. He has to know that the Sox have been trying to dump him and his humongous contract. Same with Nomar. I don't think that the Bosox front office did the smartest thing by even acknowledging what they were trying to do with these guys. If you were Nomar, would you play hurt for a team that was trying to trade you in your walk year?