Editor’s Note: This is the MVN debut of Kristy Fasano, a new Yankees writer over at The Bronx Block. Kristy is “crossing enemy lines” and analyzing the 2008 Boston Red Sox team. Today’s feature covers the everyday players for the local nine. Part two will be posted tomorrow and cover the starting pitchers and select members of the bullpen.
In the Fasano household I was brought up to think that you weren
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Kristy, unlike most Yanks fans, was actually able to effectively analyze her team’s arch rival Iistead of writing it off as a joke or mockery.
I think that the article was well researched and articulately written, and this young lady is one of very few that makes Yankees fans look respectable.
You on the other hand, Dave B, slight her efforts, and degrade her in true Yankees fan fashion…you make us Boston fans look bad.
While you may disagree with some of her opinions, show some respect (no, your “due” respect isn’t much).
And if your having a problem with throwing up in your mouth, you should probably try a salad every once and a while and lay off the Big Macs and Krispy Kreams.
Kristy sounds alot like Boston fans. Except we look for Manny, JD&Julio, and Jacoby to have an even better year, and for Youk to solidify himself at 1b with both bat and glove. This is, after all, the world champion team that is returning, almost intact, and with alot more confidence . . . kind of like the Yanks of old that we hated to admire. And Kristy spoke the truth about the Captain, Mike, Dustin, Coco and Papi. Thank you both for the view.
Kristy: great job! I agree with the general consensus here. Come’on guys, if we wanted an in-depth analysis of the Red Sox, we would have a Red Sox writer do it!!
There is only so much you can read about one player or one team before it all becomes mundane. I appreciate Kristy’s efforts to show a different light on the local nine. Well done!
With all due respect, this made me throw up in my mouth a little. I can’t stand hearing a Sox fan discuss the Yanks or the Yanks discuss the Sox. All it turns into is uneducated garbage. I become Woody Paige when i talk about the Yanks.
Furthermore, this idea that Drew only had one hit all season is so dumb its mind blowing. The guy was a flat out STUD in September. For every Drew hater, look up the stats and marvel. He out hit everyone on this team not names Big Papi. People would make you think Drew was a bum, but the guy was above-average this year. Not by much, but still. If you could take out the month of May, the guy was really good.
You guys better jump on the Drew bandwagon while you still can. Mark my words, he will be a 7-8 win player next year.
I was under the impression this was supposed to be more light-hearted and funny than an in-depth analysis of the team. No reason to throw up.
I would like to state for the record, changing my name to Shane Ortiz did nothing for my home run production.
I agree that the roll call is cooler then people singing Neil Diamond…I could do without Sweet Caroline. The sing-along was good in “Beautiful Girls”…does not work for me in baseball.
Dave B. I agree that Drew was pretty good outside of May…I do think when you sign a contract like his people have a right to expect a little more then he produced, I think that is why people were/are so bitchy. I expect him to be better this year as well.
Drew was good in all months but May AND July. If he can do what he did in the other moths he’ll probably be worth the money.
The roll call is definitely cool… but I wouldn’t trade Sweet Caroline. It’s a great song that fans love.
Nice idea, bad execution. Other than effectively saying Youk wasn’t very good (with no facts presented as to why this is the case) she didn’t tell us anything that I haven’t heard from Sox fans including the gratuitous shot at Manny’s heart.
Roll call is pretty much the undisputed champ though I gotta say the “Tulo!” chant with the clapping in Colorado was fantastic.
I love that rationale. If you could take out his bad months, if he had 6 months like his best one, he would have had a really good year. He was below average in April, May, July, and AUgust. Drew had a poor year, and if he had not hit that Grand Slam, and the Sox had lost in the LCS, there would not be one Sox fan on the planet defending JD. Baseball is great because redemption can come in one moment, with one swing or pitch. But that does not mean we have to ignore the facts, everything that occured prior to that swing. Drew was signed to protect Papi, and he failed. 11 hrs, 64 rbi, and slugging and OPS numbers almost 100 points lower than his career numbers. A bad year.
Kristy, great stuff, looking forward to working with you over at The Bronx Block.
Eh, I can’t take the shot on Manny. He played more games than any member of the Red Sox from ‘03 to ‘05, and had the number one number of games played for the team at least one of those years. He may have loafed in ‘06, but he was clearly injured in ‘07.
I love the guys that correct grammar in comments. Like i’m sitting around proof reading what i write.
I completely disagree with the idea that this was objective. To be honest with you, i don’t even know the point of this article. It doesn’t have any anaylisis.
Kevin Youkilis is “nothing i worry about.” (remember this)
Everyone is “more clutch than Alex Rodriguez
wow, so much for just reading something different just for the fun of, well, reading something difference for once ….
It’s nice to see the passion that is evoked when discussing the Red Sox or the Yankees-no other baseball teams can bring out a fraction of emotion that these teams do.
Yes, Dave, this article was absolutely biased. It was meant as a Yankee fans perspective of the Red Sox-how could it not be? It was also meant to be lighthearted…thank you Shane for noticing that.
…and yes, as a Yankee fan, in a tight situation I would rather have Youk up to bat than Manny. You said Manny was “slightly” better- well in a clutch I would take “slightly better” over “slightly worse” any day of the week. The “he is not afraid to crash into the wall..” comment was meant to be a positive on the effort Coco puts forth on defense.
..and no doubt Arod was a major contributor to the Yankees playoff spot- but unless you have toiled mercilessly in post season after post season watching him underperform, I am not sure you can adequately understand any Yankees fans stance on Arod. And I really only put that comment in there so Red Sox fans could really see that I meant this article to be jocular.
I am glad you are such a staunch supporter of your team…even in Drew’s case. It would make rivalry’s a whole heck of a lot less exciting if two sides couldn’t be argued.
As for the Woody Paige comment, thank you. Woody is one of my absolute favorites, and I can no longer watch First Take(Cold Pizza..) now that he isn’t on it…Now, had you called me Skip Bayless…then I would have been insulted :-)
Don’t worry, Yankees’ fans…I think Schilling and Wakefield are both eligible for Social Security come August, and Manny and Big Papi aren’t far behind. Odds are two or three of them will spend much of the year on the DL.
Wow, if anything happens to Schilling or Wakefield that would be terrible…we might have to call up Clay Bucholz (assuming a Becket, Dice, Schill, Lester, Wake rotation to start the season)
As a female Red Sox fan, it was refreshing to finally read a women’s perspective on this sport. I know that this website carries a handful of women writers, but in general it is hard to find an intelligent women who can articulate a sporting opinion that stretchs farther than the traditional “Red Sox Suck” argument. I thought your argument had merit, depth, and although I am not a Yanks fan, I was impressed to read an article from a woman that rivals the boys.
The other thing I did not like–the Ortiz ‘roids/HGH thing…it seems purely incendiary…not “a joke”, nor anything with evidence to back it up. Fine, you have your suspicions. Sure, it’s definitely crossed my mind he could be on something, but this kind of sideswipe seems just a bit ironic coming from, no offense, a Yankees fan.
All we ever ask for is a chick who can understand sports. Here we have a girl, who just happens to be a Yankee Fan….2 strikes??? Maybe….but I have to admit that I am a little turned on by her ability to state her postion & stand by it. Sounds like the type of girl that can keep up with the guys regarding sports….I’d take her to a game anytime….
Eh, my issue is mostly with the Ortiz argument. He’s never been linked in any way to anything. He was injury prone when he was younger and he was forced to hit to his weaknesses due to the way the Twins approach things. When he got healthy and started ignoring the instructors, he started hitting (his last year in Minnesota was similar in stats to his first in Boston) … I just think the whole Ortiz/steroids thing is completely unfounded and only brought up by Yankee fans to feel better about themselves.
(If one wants to use the argument that he was injured when he was younger to show he did steroids… then doesn’t that mean he STOPPED using? Steroids provide short-term injury relief, but enhance long-term injury relief.)
Other than that, I didn’t have a problem with the article.
Although I’m a founding member along with Dave B for the JD Drew fan club.
I never take offense to being a Yankees fan Devine…and we’ve all heard rumors that maybe Big Papi’s heart problems are a cause of steroid use..Do I think that’s true-no. He’s fearsome at the plate, and adored by fans, teammates, writers and coaches alike…yes, I teased, but I also noted his tremendous heart…
…And thank you Lexi, your comment made me feel alot better. Its my first post out of the gate, and I have been apprehensive to say the least…
Kristy didn’t claim Papi did steroids or HGH. The whole steroids issue is getting to be absurd, so she made a joke with an absurd claim (that his name had an effect). I laughed.
As for Drew, I looked at some of his monthly splits and tried to simply estimate what he should have done compared to his career averages. And again, except for May and July, it wasn’t much different from what should have been expected. His SLG and OPS were down, but over all he hit 11 too few HRs but 6 more doubles. Perhaps I’m looking at it too simply. I won’t argue he had a good year, but it wasn’t that bad, and it does make me think he’ll perform as expected in 2008.
I got all my numbers from Yahoo! sports and if anybody is interested in looking at it I put it up at (or click on my name):
http://www.shane-brogan.com/baseball/jddrew.html
Actually Evan, you’re wrong on the Ortiz thing. I think it was lastyear an article came out about Ortiz admitting that he tried a whole bunch of ‘energy’ drinks while in the minors in the DR (I believe), and said that he wasn’t even sure what they were, so there was a slight chance he may have taken something without knowing it. I’m not saying he DID, I’m just saying that he has been linked to stuff so you can’t say he hasn’t ever, so who knows how it may have effected him.
Not to mention there are plenty of guys doing stuff but getting around the system somehow, which is why the Mitchell Report was so bogus. I think may non-Red Sox fans just find it suspicious considering how quickly he turned it around. 1 year he was smaller (not small, he’s never been like a pre-steroid Jason Giambi sized guy) but he put on a big weight gain, gained muscle, and became a great hitter almost overnight, it seems.
So until some type of fullproof test comes out (which, sadly, won’t ever happen since they won’t allow blood testing), Ortiz will be deemed innocent. I’m just saying that there’s always a chance ;)
Yeah, no offense but there isn’t much content here. You want Youk up at the plate with the game on the line? That’s funny considering he’s one of the best clutch hitters on the team. He hit .329/.429/.537 last year with RISP and almost an identical line the year before.
Don’t be jealous of Drew. You probably just don’t understand because the Yankees have had any big hits in the playoffs in some time. I’d like to know why Melky’s a fan favorite personally. He’s half the hitter Drew is and he tanks every year in the playoffs like the rest of the team.
As for Ortiz, it’s probably because there’s absolutely no reason to think he’s used PEDs. I can understand that it looks funny to you because you’re a Yankees fan. Watching players on PEDs is probably pretty normal to you. But the typical fan probably realizes that Ortiz slugged .500 with the Twins in his age 26 season. Then after coming from one of the worst hitting parks in the AL to one of the best hitting parks, and having tweaked his swing, he became better.
Come on, it’s suspicious that he’s a good clutch hitter? Exactly how do PEDs help you become a clutch hitter?
This kind of stuff’s probably better for the Yankees page.
If this is only part one, and you’re going to write another piece on the pitching, here’s some advice. Don’t say, Beckett’s a dick but he’s good, Schilling’s an ass and he’s old, Daisuke’s overrated I’m glad the Sox signed him and Buchholz and Lester are overrated and not as good as the Yankees prospects. That’s not creative, it’s not cute and it lacks content. I could write that pretending to be a Yankees fan. It requires no knowledge of the team or no unique perspective, it’s the same thing millions of Yankees fans say on the internet every day.
Try to use a unique angle or use some statistics to debate the pitching staff. That way there is some actual content to discuss.
i took the Ortiz comment as a joke about his name change, not an allegation of HGH or steroids …
Kristy – Don’t be apprehensive, you write well and knowledgably. My issue wasn’t so much what you wrote it was that I was hoping that coming from a non-Sox fan it would give me a different perspective and I didn’t see that in the piece.
Youk is the perfect example. I’m cool with you not being high on him but give some concrete reasons.
Joe,
Thank you. Constructive criticism I can handle-and it will only make me a better writer so I appreciate it. As I said, I tried to be lighthearted, but maybe instead it came off as trivial.
I don’t know how much of a different perspective I can offer considering if someone were to offer groundbreaking advice into the Boston Red Sox its going to be someone who knows the team inside and out…all I can tell you is who I fear and who I don’t.
I meant to generate conversation regarding the most storied rivalry in baseball, and meant to use this as the platform to accomplish that task. Unfortunately now I am a bit traumatized…but its nothing a few Miller Lites and some friends can’t fix… :-) And hopefully tomorrow my writing will be more on par with what you’re looking for.
Also, I didn’t give you my full perspective because I meant it to be a friendly and fun piece, but if you want details I can definitely give you that! Anyway, thanks again for the affirmation and the critique, it was helpful.
Don’t get too upset New York fans….the Boston area only won the World Series…it’s not like they went undefeated in football…oops. Well, atleast the Celtics are bottom feeders…..oops again. Wow…it must really stink right now in New York. More than normal I mean. As for the article…Woody Paige could only hope to write as well as that. I enjoyed it…and I hate the yankees (and redsox)
Ethan you crazy cat…your post in #25 was absolutely what I was going to write verbatim. ;-) That’s all I was going to say:
“Beckett
So many things wrong here:
First off, you point out all the reasons why Yankee fans are
infinitely superior to Red Sox fans, so that really got things started the right way. Nice. Sox fans are much, much more educated, well-informed and loyal than Yankee fans, that’s not even a debate. The roll call sucks. I’ll sing Sweet Caroline with 39,000 Fenway faithful any day over chanting the name of Jose Molina.
The Bruins aren’t terrible anymore. Check the standings sometime.
We didn’t lose in 2006 because Varitek got hurt. We lost because we had no pitching. Tim Wakefield was our most reliable starter, if that gives you an idea.
You want to see Youkilis up in a big at-bat because he doesn’t worry you at all? Really? He hit 288/390/453 this year with 16 HR and a 117 OPS+, and hit over .400 in the postseason. Factoring in defense, he might be more valuable than Jeter. I know, I know….Jeter > God. I forgot.
I won’t even begin with the A-Rod crap. It’s the same re-hashed undeserved criticism you hear from every drooling Yankee fan. He CARRIED your team last season. Wanna try to appreciate the fact he’s the best player in baseball instead of constantly disparaging his achievements? There’s no such thing as a player having more clutch than another player.
Manny doesn’t wear his helmet when running to first. What?
I also hope Manny does what he’s historically done in the past- PUT UP AMAZING NUMBERS.
The Red Sox spent $70 million on JD Drew for five seasons, not one. Might want to get that straight. Since when is runs batted in a statistic to judge how good a player was?
Why Ryne, why???
Wow, some even keeled, unbiased criticism from Zach. Youkilis maybe more valuable than Jeter. Good stuff.
Damn, I was originally underwhelmed with this post but its already got 30+ comments. Apparently, you are already doing something i can’t do.
I really don’t care about PED’s in the slightest. I just assume everyone was doing them and i let it rest. If Ortiz did, than what can we do. He wasn’t the only one if he had.
For what it is worth, Youks was a full win better than Jeter last year.
Eh… some of this makes no sense, and im a yankee fan. You make fun of the “Youuuuk” call, what about the rare occurrences where Mike Mussina does well and we get a “Moooose” call going? And i would definitely not want Youkilis up in the bottom of the 9th vs Rivera… hes a crazy good hitter.
Kevin Youkilis 2007:. .288/.390/.453, 16 HR, 83 RBI, 117 OPS+, 239 TB, 35 2B, 77 BB/105 K, 1st in RZR for 1B (AL), 1.000 FPCT, 7.0 WARP1, .284 EqA
Derek Jeter 2007: .322/.388/.452, 12 HR, 73 RBI, 121 OPS+, 289 TB, 39 2B, 56 BB/100 K, 11th in RZR for SS (AL), .970 FPCT, 6.1 WARP1, .285 EqA
Very, very close.
I don’t understand why people are so worked up about Jeter/Youk. They’re practically the same player who play different positions in terms of numbers. Youk has some more power, Jeter has some more contact/speed.
And saying he’s more clutch than Jeter, I don’t know, but the stats kind of swing in favor of Jeter.
First off, comparing the stats of the last year:
Jeter – 156 games, 639 at bats, 102 runs, 206 hits, 39 doubles, 4 triples, 12 HR, 73 RBI, 56 BB, 100 K, 15 SB (8 caught), .322 AVG, .388 OBP, .452 SLG%, .840 OPS.
Youkilis – 145 games, 528 at bats, 85 runs, 152 hits, 35 doubles, 2 triples, 16 HR, 83 RBI, 77 BB, 105 K, 4 SB (2 caught), .288 AVG, .390 OBP, .453 SLG%, .843 OPS.
Look at the 2, they’re practically clones when it comes to getting on base. Youk has a little more power & takes more walks. Jeter gets more hits, steals, and scores runs.
Now look at the “clutch” numbers.
Jeter:
Bases Empty – 155 games, 380 at bats, 8 runs, 117 hits, 117 hits, 27 doubles, 3 triples, 8 HR, 8 RBI, 29 BB, 59 K, 0 SB, .325 AVG, .388 OBP, .483 SLG%, .871 OPS.
Runners On – 146 games, 279 at bats, 94 runs, 89 hits, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 65 RBI, 27 BB, 41 K, 15 SB (8 caught), .319 AVG, .389 OBP, .412 SLG%, .801 OPS.
Runners in Scoring Position – 123 games, 147 at bats, 79 runs, 52 hits, 6 doubles, 0 triples, 3 HR, 62 RBI, 17 BB, 24 K, 4 SB (1 caught), .354 AVG, .426 OBP, .456 SLG%, .882 OPS.
RiSP/2 outs – 74 games, 67 at bats, 28 run, 28 hits, 3 doubles, 0 triples, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 5 BB, 8 K, 2 SB (1 caught), .418 AVG, .473 OBP, .552 SLG%, 1.025 OPS.
Bases Loaded – 34 games, 12 at bats, 21 runs, 6 hits, 1 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 SB, .500 AVG, .538 OBP, .583 SLG%, 1.122 OPS.
~~~~~~
Youkilis:
Bases Empty – 140 games, 284 at bats, 7 runs, 69 hits,18 doubles, 0 triples, 7 HR, 7 RBI, 38 BB, 54 K, 0 SB, .243 AVG, .350 OBP, .380 SLG%, .731 OPS.
Runner On – 130 games, 244 at bats, 78 runs, 83 hits, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, 76 RBI, 39 BB, 51 K, 4 SB (caught 2), .340 AVG, .435 OBP, .537 SLG%, .972 OPS.
Runners in Scoring Position – 113 games, 149 at bats, 66 runs, 49 hits, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 6 HR, 67 RBI, 25 BB, 32 K, 1 SB (0 caught), .329 AVG, .429 OBP, .537 SLG%, .966 OPS.
RiSP/2 outs – 80 games, 74 at bats, 25 runs, 20 hits, 4 doubles, 0 triples, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 11 BB, 21 K, 1 SB (0 caught), .270 AVG, .379 OBP, .446 SLG%, .825 OPS.
Bases Loaded – 31 games, 20 at bats, 15 runs, 7 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triples, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 SB, .350 AVG, .435 OBP, .550 SLG%, .985 OPS.
Based on those numbers…you really can’t say Youkilis is “more clutch”. I mean, that’s like saying Youkilis is better with men on base, yet Jeter is better with 2 outs (with everything on his shoulder).
Just thought I’d give those stats out :)
Let’s see Youk do it for a bit longer.
I’m thinking you guy’s are just a little bit sensitive. Boston had a great season and congrats. But boys and girls neither club has a team for the ages. And the young lady did a good job at the assignment she was given. Didn’t I read one of you guy’s was going to do on the Bombers? I only hope that person can be as objective.
Funny pic Ryne.
Thanks Kristy. One of the best things to come out of this discussion is a clear demonstration of just how good Youk is, and how lucky we are to have him at 1B . . . another great homie from the PawSox. As we are well set at 3rd, 2nd & OF, maybe those who want to move this gold glover around might have second thoughts, and watch him continue to improve as he stabilizes in one position in just his 3rd full year at Fenway. Good article. Good responses.
Billy, how is that different from many other players from the Dominican?
I’ll start off by making it clear I’m a Yankee fan, that makes me biased…fact. From my perspective (I’ve lived in Europe all my life), there’s ALOT I dislike about Yankee fans. But there’s also no denying they’re amongst the best in American sports. And so are Red Sox fans. Who’s better/worst don’t know don’t care. What I really don’t understand though is why so many Red Sox fans got worked up and felt like writing condesending coments about this post. Come on guys have a bit of perspective! Isn’t that what you criticise Yankee fans for not having?!
It’s a nice article. Not great, but fun. Sure I don’t think David Ortiz took steroids.. maybe he did I don’t know. But talking about that’s not so much different than the Clemens post you read here. What I’m trying to get at is that you’re CLEARLY not going to agree with a lot of what Kirsty said, and I don’t either. But ot criticise the fact she wrote it and the way she wrote is just plain silly. Did you expect her to say the ‘07 Sox were the greatest ever? Just see this as what it is:
A fun, biased, different view of your team than you’d otherwise read here. And if you’re sad enough not to aprpeciate that, then don’t read the article in the first place.
Sorry for the long comment.
Oh, and Kirsty great job, lovely article. I think most of us appreciate your effort… haters are always loud, even when they’re in the minority.
Just realised I’ve been calling you Kirsty all the time. It’s Kristy clearly…sorry!
Mike P- Thank you for seeing the article for exactly what it was supposed to be.
Oh, Kristy, I didn’t say “no offense” because you’d be offended to be called a Yankees fan. I said it because a few Yankees have been notably accused of being or verified as performance-enhancement users, and that’s why it seemed odd to me that you’d lob that grenade at Ortiz (or rather, Sox fans).
Devine, I was actually trying to poke fun at the whole situation by insinuating something ridiculous liket it was his name change that spiked his performance.
“It is funny how everyone makes a big deal out of HGH and steroids, yet nobody is questioning the name changing technique used by Big Papi.”
I am not sure if you misread my statement or I failed to articulate it properly, but that Papi was a user was never what I was trying to say…