Category Archives: Red Sox

David Ortiz: Vacancy or No Vacancy?

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imagesDuring spring training David Ortiz never proved himself to be healthy and that left the Red Sox with a couple of options as to how to fill the void left by Big Papi’s absence. They could have gone with the veteran option of keeping Ryan Sweeney or Lyle Overbay on the roster, but instead the Red Sox decided to, at least the time being, ride the Jackie Bradley, Jr. train. Bradley, Jr’s. spring proved so overwhelming that he not only earned the spot of the roster, but made it so he couldn’t be ignored and sent to AAA.

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Bunting for a Hit 2013: Week 13

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imagesThe baseball season is upon us and there has already been some great action. Clayton Kershaw not only starts opening day for the Dodgers, but throws a complete game shutout and provides all the offense his team would need with a homer run to lead off the 8th. The Astros started their new life as an American League team with a win over their cross state rival Texas Rangers. Bryce Harper started his sophomore season with a bang, actually 2 bangs, as he homered in his first 2 at bats, providing Stephen Strasburg with plenty of support as the Washington Nationals began their run at a World Series title. Continue reading →

Bunting for a Hit 2013: Week 11

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1363531056909The week “Oz The Great and Powerful” comes out who gets in a hot air balloon accident? Donte Stallworth. I don’t think this is coincidence and I plan on going over those credits with a fine tooth comb to find out if he is actually a producer of the movie or a part owner of 1 of the special effects companies used to create a 2013 Oz.

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Sully’s 7: Review of the 1st 7 picks of the 2005 Red Sox Draft

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HqwC2RtdEntry sports drafts are a primary foundation to building a winning sports franchise. For those of us that play fantasy we know how important a solid draft can be in building our teams. For us fantasy players the stakes can be high, in terms of payouts for winning, in the big leagues each draft pick means a financially controlled player for a certain number of years. If you “hit” on players in a draft, these players can become a financially cheap core to build around. Adding talent through trades and free agency to augment and enhance the skills of your home grown talent makes for a continually successful franchise. If a team “misses” on multiple draft picks it can be a huge stumbling block to overcome in winning games on a regular basis. The same can be said for your fantasy team, with the small caveat that you aren’t going to lose your job because you made shitty draft picks. Continue reading →

Bunting for a Hit 2013: Week 10

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NFL free agency begins today, after the legal tampering period, which is an oxymoron because if its legal its not tampering, but “legal tampering” sounds edgier and is a better sound bite than “early negotiating” period, so the NFL sticks us with that term. On the other end of the spectrum in terms of edgy news, soon some white smoke will emerge from the Vatican and the Catholics will have a new Pope. How do they top the last guy who was a Hitler Youth Alum? Beats me.

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Off the Wall: Jon Lester

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imagesJon Lester has led quite the life especially when you include his, at times, brilliant baseball career. The highlights include dominating high school baseball in Washington State, culminating in being named the Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2000. He was then drafted in the 2nd round of the MLB entry draft by the Boston Red Sox and signed a contract that included a signing bonus of $1 million dollars. He was named Red Sox minor league pitcher of the year in 2005 and made his MLB debut in the 1st half of 2006. Late in the 2006 season Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and missed the final month of the season. He was treated successfully and returned the Red Sox rotation in July 2007, less than a year after his diagnosis. In the clinching game 4 of the 2007 World Series  Lester started, pitched 5 and 2/3rds innings and got the win. Back to full strength in 2008 Lester won 16 games, threw a no hitter and on the heels of such a successful season was awarded with a new 5 year, 30 million dollar contract. Over the first 4 years of that contact Lester has been 58-39, with a 3.74 ERA, has pitched over 800 innings and has consistently been one of the most durable starting pitchers in the MLB. Now I’m going to tell you why the Red Sox need to trade him. Continue reading →

Jay’s Confessional: Baseball

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Sully’s note: This is the first article published on Hooking Foul not written by me. I’m very happy to have it be from Jay who, while he hasn’t written anything for the site until now, has been an integral part of HF since its inception and his influence can be seen everywhere.

1273275993557-300x240It’s time to come clean, I love baseball. Yep…love it. Watch it damn near every day in season, take part in several fantasy leagues and proudly (well, somewhat proudly) wear a baseball cap nearly year round. While I realize that it’s wildly unpopular among the nerderati to take part in anything “sportsball” related, I just don’t give a fuck. While I’ve never been one to follow the crowd, I can’t help but find it incredibly tedious to have to defend my love of the game. Continue reading →

Bunting for a Hit 2013: Week 9

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Buzzer beaters exist at every level of basketball. They combine all the elements needed to create the most dramatic second in sports. The feeling of certain victory on 1 end, on the other the feeling of hope coupled with a desperate attempt at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Never before have I seen this scene played out more dramatically, than it was in a high school game between New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon. Watch this video and try to argue against me.

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