Bryan Joiner

November 14, 2007

Josh Beckett Did NOT Get Screwed

There seems to be quite the sentiment that Josh Beckett got screwed in the Cy Young Award voting. At least 10 people have come across this humble Web site looking for justice, as their search terms would indicate. These people are wrong. Josh Beckett did NOT get screwed in the Cy Young Award voting.
You could be forgiven for thinking so, but you would still be wrong. So if you think he got screwed…

Because he had better numbers
You are wrong. I’m not going to throw the numbers at you here — you can look them up yourself. Their numbers are virtually identical, except Sabathia has 40 more innings pitched. That’s good. From April 1 to October 1, Sabathia was better.

Because he was great in the playoffs
Well, then you should be a) ashamed that you don’t realize that the votes are taken before the postseason and b) happy that those extra 40 innings for Sabathia may have led to his postseason fatigue, which, with Beckett’s freshness, directly contributed to the Sox’ World Series title. He was the best pitcher in the playoffs, by far.

Because he had 20 wins
This proves you are able to count to 20. Congratulations. But one extra “win” does not nearly make up for the 40 IP difference. Why? Because wins are often a factor of offense and the bullpen — the pitcher can lose the win when they’re no longer playing, as almost certainly happened with Joe Borowski on the mound for the Indians. Beckett won 20 games because he’s great and so are Oki and Paps. Which means the Red Sox were the better team. So wait a minute…

Because the Red Sox are the better team
They both won 96 games during the regular season, and they came down to game seven in the playoffs (which, again, don’t count for awards voting). They were comparably good, and the Red Sox were a bit better in the end. But we didn’t vote in the end.

Because you’re married to Josh Beckett
If you think this, you are my friend Kaitlin. I have two things to say: one, you are NOT married to Josh Beckett; two, if you are, please keep doing what you’re doing.

Because you’re an angry Red Sox fan
This is probably the real reason. But I want you to think long and hard about this, because it’s a question you haven’t had to deal with in a while…

What are you so angry about? We won the World Series!

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November 13, 2007

Friday Night Lights

I know such entreaties can get annoying, so this is the last time I’ll say it.

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November 13, 2007

In 27 Minutes, Josh Beckett Will Not Win The Cy Young Award

I am not going to be surprised, nor am I going to fuss about it. Nor should I: it’s the right decision. Unlike some Boston-focused columnists, the Sox’ wins are enough for me. When Pedro got screwed out of the 1999 MVP award because two people did not vote for him — well, that hurt quite a bit.

Let’s not forget what an abomination that was. Vegas Watch has that listed as the worst MVP vote in history, and more recently, it’s driven Pedro to eat. Or something.

I remember exactly where I was when I heard that. I was in my living room in my first college apartment (during my junior year), and my head about exploded when I saw the ticker. I couldn’t believe it. I was on my way out the door to O’Hare, and I would, coincidentally, miss my flight for the first time ever. The only good part is that it allowed me to go back to my apartment and complain non-stop. I haven’t stopped yet, just muted it in light of recent success.

I’m still pissed about Aaron Boone, too.

(Update: He did not win, nor did I think he deserved to win. By “the wins are enough for me,” I mean the Red Sox’ wins, not his wins, because pitcher wins are dumb.)

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November 13, 2007

Matt Clement is gone!

And there was much rejoicing.

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November 13, 2007

The importance of signing Lowell

Mike Lowell’s a free agent. Normally, I would not care. But this is not a normal year — and that has nothing to do with the World Series title (which they won!). I’m not a fan of re-signing guys based on fan friendliness, likeability or prematurely graying hair, but the Lowell signing makes all the sense in the world for the Red Sox because the Yankees don’t have a third baseman and the market for them is bad. Except that one guy, but we won’t talk about him now. If the Red Sox can sign Lowell, they will block the Yankees from doing the same.

So my next question is, what’s the holdup? It seems like both sides engaged in a little doublespeak, especially Lowell. During and after the World Series, he pledged his commitment to staying in Boston, maybe even for a lower price than he could get on the open (/Yankees) market, but the sides were unable to reach a deal. The Sox proposed three years, Lowell four. I’m not begrudging Lowell for any of this — it’s good business to leverage other offers into more money, unless you’re Stanley on The Office, where it’s just not going to work. But I think there’s a separate point in all this. For all Curt Schilling’s celebrated bluster, he put his money where he mouth is. He said he would stay for less money, and he did. If nothing else, you have to respect the man for that. As someone closer to the end of his career than Lowell, it’s of less importance to squeeze every penny out of his team (or is it the other way around, with the end of the road so close?), whereas Lowell is still in his prime earning years. But still, it’s nice to avoid the drama when you can.

I still believe that Lowell is coming back though, 100 percent. I’m not worried at all. Look at the Sox’ recent history with contracts — the Varitek contract is the best analogy, but the J.D. and Lugo contracts are good indicators as well — and it points toward the Sox throwing on an option year. The money is irrelevant, but I’d guess we’re looking at 4/$50 million.

Sheesh, that is a lot of money.

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November 13, 2007

Welcome to the Colts

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November 9, 2007

Weekend Reading

Last week, I wrote that I had purchased a book entitled The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup. I’ve read about 8 essays so far, and some of them are good. Two of them are really, really good. There’s an essay by Jake Silverstein about Ecuador’s team that is phenomenal, but the best piece of writing in there (so far) is Tim Adams’ piece on the Czech Republic, which was, wonderfully, published on Salon.com at the time of the book’s publishing. You can read it here.

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November 9, 2007

You Say You Want A Revolution…

Well, you know, we all want to rule the world. Revolution in the MLS Finals.

Here’s ESPN’s statistical rundown of the game:

I like soccer as much as the next guy who kind of likes soccer (okay, just the World Cup), but that graphic’s gotta go. And “awarded” a yellow card? I am fairly sure that’s inaccurate. Not just the terminology — it doesn’t sound like an award I want — but you do not actually receive the yellow card. Otherwise, young soccer thugs could line their rooms with them, like runner’s numbers from road races or other things people keep from sporting events (like tickets), and… yes, it’s Friday.

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November 9, 2007

To The 77 Of You (And Counting)…

So far 77 people have viewed this page today, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s by far the most for any day that I haven’t gone out of my way to publicize the content up there (in fact, I haven’t put anything up there at all really, just a link to the incredible 30 Rock episode from yesterday).

But I just wanted to thank everyone for reading. I’m just trying to create a sports blog over here that doesn’t suck.

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November 9, 2007

30 Rock

If you didn’t see last night’s 30 Rock, watch it online if you have 22 minutes and you’re at a place where you can laugh. If your conscience is not clear with such an action, read the comments.

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