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Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will try to earn his paycheck today. His $103 million paycheck. That's right, the Red Sox paid $51 just to to have the privillege of talking to Dice-K last summer, and then subsequently paid $52 million more just to sign the guy. That makes tonight's do-or-die start in Game 7 of the ALCS worth that much more to both the organization and the pitcher.


In the early goings of the season, Matsuzaka looked like the investment was paying off. 7-2 towards the end of May, opposing batters just couldn't figure out the mysterious "gyro-ball" (if it really exists). Then, things sort of equalized. Dice-K finished the year with a 15-12 record, including a fairly abysmal September, in which he had a 7.62 ERA, giving up 24 earned runs in 5 starts and 28.1 innings.

The playoffs haven't been much better.

Matsuzaka's post-season ERA stands at 6.75, with an 0-1 record, which would be 0-2 if not for Manny Ramirez's 9th inning grand slam heroics which cost the Angels a victory in Game 2 of the ALDS. Dice-K followed this with a 4-2 loss to the Indians in Game 3 of this series, giving up all 4 of those runs in less 4.2 innings of work.

In short, Matsuzaka has been anything but dependable of late for the Sox. Who knows what we'll see tonight? He has the advantage of pitching on 5 days rest, but even at that, nothing is certain in Game 7 of the ALCS.

It'll be nice to pitch at Fenway, with the faithful cheering (or jeering?) at his every move.

No pressure, Dice. You just have to earn your $103 million in one night with all of Boston, and most of the rest of the country, watching.

Labels: ALCS, Angels, Baseball, Boston, Dice-K, Kevdog, Matsuzaka, playoffs, Red Sox

A bar is a good place to watch a baseball game. Especially when you are in Boston and the Red Sox are on. The fans know what they are doing. They love the team, they love the game, and, sometimes more importantly, they hate the Yankees.

I was watching Game 2 of the ALDS in such a setting. Sox fans everywhere, and me, the lone Angels fan. We arrived just as the Yankees/Indians insect-infested game 2 was coming to a close in the 11th inning. When Travis Hafner hit the RBI single with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th to win the ballgame, the bar went nuts. It was an amusing atmosphere to be in. Now, onto the Red Sox/Angels.

Boston took a 2-0 lead early, and I quieted myself and enjoyed my company. But when the Angels took a 3-2 lead in the 2nd, I cheered, even clapped outloud, as if forgetting my surroundings. Some fans glared. One apparently muttered expletives toward me. Oh well. The game went on.

When the now famous Boston fan stole a foul ball right out of Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' glove, the Sox Nation cheered louder than the Yankee loss. Danny Vinik was immediately thrust into Boston stardom. The fans absolutely loved him. They played the replay about 15 times, each time garnering a cheer louder than the previous one. It was pretty amusing for such a minor play. Unfortunately, that minor play would lead to a run scored, and arguably had an effect on the final score of the game.

If you paid attention at all to the series, you know what happened later. The Angels squandered their chance with 2 runners on in the top of the 8th when Papelbon struck out Figgins, leading to the bottom of the 9th. With Julio Lugo on second and 2 out, Angels star closer Francisco Rodriguez chose to intentionally walk David Ortiz to get to Manny Ramirez. Manny took a 1-0 pitch deep over the Green Monster, game over, fans in the bar cheered even louder than the first 2 times, and all I could do was smile and laugh. It's hard to go into someone else's place and cheer for your team, against them. The last thing you wanna do is cry about it when your team loses. Best to keep your mouth shut.

While a depressing finish for an Angels fan, I respected the Boston faithful. They know how to cheer, when to cheer, and what to cheer about.

Labels: ALDS, Angels, bars, Baseball, Danny Vinik, Kevdog, Manny Ramirez, playoffs, Red Sox

I was on hand to see the Angels lose to the Baltimore Orioles last night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The game wasn't terribly entertaining. The Angels got to within 3-2 to make it halfway exciting, before Ramon Hernandez hit a 3-run homerun to give the Orioles a lead that the Angels couldn't overcome.

The Angels fell 6-3, but with their win today, they took the series 2-1.

Camden Yards is a great park. The warehouse has become somewhat iconic in baseball, especially after Cal Ripken's streak was posted on it in the mid-1990s.

What was interesting, though, was how FEW fans there were in the ballpark. A quick glance at the boxscore shows that there were a whopping 26,235 fans in Baltimore last night. Camden's capacity: 48,262. That's 54.4% of the capacity. Sad. On a Saturday night. Note that the above picture was not taken last night.

When the Angels made their mini-run in the 6th inning, I stood up and cheered with my Angels hat on. No one blinked. Not a single person cared that I was rooting against their home team. No hecklers, no bad looks, no nothing. Why? Because there was no one there, and the people that were there couldn't care less. This isn't east coast baseball at its finest. Fenway Park is a 180 degree difference. Fans look at you funny and yell at you if you've got a hat on that doesn't have a big "B" on it. Even recently at a Padres game, there were some Padre fans heckling the opponents' fans. Good for them.

The park was great, but the fans were a disappointment. Lesson learned? Save the $3.50 Ticketmaster fee, show up to Camden Yards on game day and buy tickets at the Box Office. There will be plenty of seats available.

Labels: Angels, Camden Yards, Kevdog, orioles, Ripken

Stat of the day: Since the start of the 2005 season, the Angels lead the Majors in wins with 232 through Saturday, followed by the Yankees and Red Sox, tied at 228. The A's and Mets are tied for fourth with 220.

Labels: Angels, wins