Time to talk a little ball....

Okay, this girl definitely has some thoughts about baseball today, and now seems the perfect time to express them. (Right before I dive into my sushi lunch...!)


1. Mark Kotsay/JD Drew. Pretty darn interchangeable it seems. Not a bad thing - though it seems that from what I've read about Kotsay, he's a bit more versatile as a utility player which is a good thing. Not that we need another first base option (we have Sean Casey who is great!) but I suppose incase there are other injuries abound in the field. I'm still banging the "we need pitching" drum.


2. What are the Yankees thinking? Clearly I'm unable to hear the game as it's happening today because I work in a building that doesn't support radio when not sitting by a window, and also because they block most websites functionality if they contain java, flash or any type of active control so I can't watch any "pitch by pitch". I did read that Kotsay just hit a double, which is great news. Now if I can only get a score.... But I digress.


My point to this blurb is that they're clearly struggling at this stage of the season, and while one should never give up...my heart breaks when I see a really talented player like Hideki Matsui (whom I love, love, love) limping!! If he's not ready to come back, why risk damaging him further?! And it sounds to me as if they're rushing Joba Chamerlain's rehab as well. I'm sorry, while I don't care for the kid's personality -- he's a talented pitcher. Why risk damaging him further?


Oh, one more thing....the only upside for me on not being able to watch today's game is that I don't have to feel physically ill every time Jason Giambi comes into camera view. (Shudder.)


3. Let's hope nice guys don't always finish last.... You know, I know that statistically we've seen a very solid comparison between the loss of #24 and the gain of #44. That is really good news, and he's seemingly a very nice guy who fit right in to the dyamic of the team. At least from the superficial view that we the fans get to see. But what this girl misses is the freespiritedness of certain players that we've been fortunate enough to see over the last few seasons. Getting glimpses of the comradery in the duggout, fun handshakes -- silly antics, and other fun things that really showed the silly side of this team. Did it all go with Manny? Was he the last of the bunch? No, maybe not...but we haven't seen much of that lately.


One of the main contrasts between the Sox and the Yankees (in my mind) over the last few years has been the team comraderie -- or lack thereof in New York. The Yankees, while full of some of the most dynamic talent ever assembled on one team, just can't seem to get it together to win. You have to ask yourself "why is that"? A very obvious point to me is the lack of cohesiveness amongst the players in the Yankees organization. To me, it's abundantly clear when seeing shots of the duggout - there's no playfulness, no joking. It's all individual groups (cliques?), and straighfaced. Granted, I don't watch the Yankee's on their own network so maybe NESN is just showing shots at inpportune times; but I have some friends who are staunch pinstripe supporters and even they agree that the "team" is far from that.


I guess what I'm saying bottomline, is that I hope the Sox -- while all a bunch of seemingly nice guys -- don't lose that spark between them that gave us the fans - a glimpse into their world as a team, with a genuine enjoyment of the game.