Black Widow
10-19-2008, 06:25 PM
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — West Newbury native and pro wrestling star John Cena is among the stars who show up on the Jumbotron in between the second and third inning rooting on the ... Tampa Bay Rays.
Was it a joke?
No. Cena was part of the campaign, which included CNBC's Keith Olbermann, ESPN radio's Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, Orlando native and boxing champ Antonio Tarver.
But Cena?
He has been on the Best Dam Sports Show Period touting his love of Boston sports.
There is an explanation. He lives in Tampa.
Cena must be panicking after last night's 4-2 Red Sox win forced Game 7 here tonight.
Oops, he did it again
B.J. Upton tied an American League playoff record with his seventh home run of the post-season on a 3 and 2 count in the first inning off Josh Beckett last night.
What's even more remarkable than the record — Troy Glaus had seven HRs in 2002 — is that fact that he hit only nine homers in 145 games, yet now has seven in nine post-season games.
"He has got an incredible swing," said Rays consultant Don Zimmer, watching 24-year-old Upton take batting practice before the game. "He's figuring out how powerful he is. He's still a kid, too."
Pena tag trumps Coco bunt
The first play of the game last night appeared to be Coco Crisp's first-pitch bunt single down the third base line.
But it didn't take long for that to be negated as Rays starter James Shields threw to first, catching Crisp leaning. But the key was the tag by Carlos Pena, who gloved Crisp's back for the pickoff.
With the Rays fans standing for every pitch thereafter, Dustin Pedroia (popup) and David Ortiz (strikeout) went down easily.
Zimmer spins tales of the Sox
When Don Zimmer took over as Red Sox manager in 1976, replacing the fired Darrell Johnson, he didn't have a hitting coach.
But he had two guys on his staff, a bullpen coach named Walter Hriniak and a base coach in Johnny Pesky.
"Basically, the guys went to one or the other," said Zimmer, a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays, before yesterday's game with the Red Sox. "I had no problem because both guys knew what they were talking about. Some guys liked one way and some others liked it another way."
Zimmer told a funny story about Hriniak, a longtime North Andover resident who was noted for his tireless work throwing batting practice.
Hriniak was a proponent of Charlie Lau's theories, with an emphasis on swinging down. Well, Sox legend Ted Williams, who was a regular at spring training with the Red Sox for nearly three decades, used to work with hitters, too.
His theory of hitting? Swing up at the ball!
"So one day in Winter Haven, Walter comes up to me and says, 'Zim, I'm working with the guys, telling them to swing down. And Ted is telling them to swing up. What are we going to do? How can I go against a legend?' " recalled Zimmer. "I said, 'Walter, compromise. Tell everyone to swing level.'"
Asked which method he preferred, Zimmer was ambivalent.
"I don't care. They both work," said Zimmer. "As long as a guy hits, I don't care how he does it. I do know Walter Hriniak was a great coach. He loved to teach hitting. It was his passion. A lot of guys swore by him. Look at some of the guys he worked with, (Carlton) Fisk, (Dwight) Evans, the list is endless. You don't coach as long as he does without being a great one. Walter is one of the great people of baseball."
Rays attempt to turn loss into win
The Tampa Bay Rays, at least publicly, took the silver lining route to explaining the out-of-body experience at Fenway Park.
Their take?
They didn't lose a heart-breaker on Thursday night. They actually won two out of three games at Fenway Park.
"We knew going in that we were just trying to sneak one out," said pitcher Matt Garza. "We were just trying to sneak one out.
"For us to take two in Fenway and put ourselves in the driver's seat, that's all we could ask for. Winning would have been great, but we knew this Red Sox team wasn't going to go quiet, so we said, we've got two. We're still in the driver's seat. We've got six and seven at home, and we like our chances."
They probably don't like their chances quite as much after last night.
Maddon: Veterans help ease the pain
Before last night's game, Joe Maddon reiterated the bounce-back theory he has seen all season.
"No, I want to handle it like we've handled all other difficult situations this year. I thought we reacted to it properly. Our guys were upset, but they got over it rather quickly, which was good," said Maddon. "Coming on the plane, I liked them. Today in the clubhouse, I liked them. I do like the idea that we have enough veterans within the group now that they can take the message out there from us as a coaching staff.
"Of course we're going to talk to the guys in passing, in the food room, as they're just walking through the clubhouse, et cetera. That's how it should work."
Cora: Saggese could hit
Red Sox utility infielder Alex Cora has a history with an Andover Little League legend.
Cora played at the University of Miami with former Little League World Series star, Ricky Saggese, whose family moved to Florida when he was 13.
"Ricky could always hit," said Cora, a native of Puerto Rico. "We were on some great teams together at Miami. He had some tough injuries (knee). It slowed him down a little. He was a great teammate. I loved playing with him."
Slept like a baby
Rays manager Joe Maddon said sleeping was not a problem when he got home in Tampa early in the morning from their Game 5 debacle in Boston.
"I went to sleep (at 7 a.m.), and slept really well, actually. I just had to set the alarm to get up to here," said Maddon. "I got up about 1:15 (p.m), was not able to get the bike ride in. But, yeah, I slept — you can't not sleep well. You get on the plane at 2 in the morning, you land at 5 a.m., and then to get back and just get some sleep was kind of nice."
Is Kazmir back?
One of the under-the-radar stories from Thursday night, for obvious reasons, was the performance of Rays starter Scott Kazmir.
He allowed only two hits over six innings. That performance proved Maddon, to be a sage, as he predicted his struggling former "ace" would come through.
"First of all, nobody is talking about how well Kaz pitched (on Thursday)," said Maddon. "That was a great performance by Kaz. It's unfortunate the way the game played out, but Kaz did a great job with the two hits over six, and that permits Shieldsy (James Shields) to come back (on Saturday)."
Maddon was there in '86
The Rays manager has seen improbable/miracle comebacks before. In fact, he was an Angels scout in 1986, when Dave Henderson hit the 2-run homer to tie the game versus Donnie Moore and force extra innings in Game 5 of the ALCS.
"I was sitting behind the first base dugout area underneath the overhang, and everything was going swimmingly, and all of a sudden the one-handed home run to left center, and things changed. I do remember that," said Maddon.
"But quite frankly, as I've said before, every situation is unique unto itself, and it always depends on how you react to the moment, always."
A long time coming
How rare was Thursday night's comeback in Game 5, an 8-7 Red Sox win.
Well, on only four occasions in the regular season have the Red Sox ever come back to win when trailing by 7 or more runs in the seventh inning or later.
The last was June 18, 1961 vs. the Washington Senators at Fenway Park.
Red Sox are third, a distant third
The Red Sox entered last night's game tied for third all-time in post-season victories with 78, tying the Oakland A's. While that might sound impressive, it is behind the St. Louis Cardinals, who have 98, and the New York Yankees with ... gulp ... 202.
eagletribune.com
Was it a joke?
No. Cena was part of the campaign, which included CNBC's Keith Olbermann, ESPN radio's Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, Orlando native and boxing champ Antonio Tarver.
But Cena?
He has been on the Best Dam Sports Show Period touting his love of Boston sports.
There is an explanation. He lives in Tampa.
Cena must be panicking after last night's 4-2 Red Sox win forced Game 7 here tonight.
Oops, he did it again
B.J. Upton tied an American League playoff record with his seventh home run of the post-season on a 3 and 2 count in the first inning off Josh Beckett last night.
What's even more remarkable than the record — Troy Glaus had seven HRs in 2002 — is that fact that he hit only nine homers in 145 games, yet now has seven in nine post-season games.
"He has got an incredible swing," said Rays consultant Don Zimmer, watching 24-year-old Upton take batting practice before the game. "He's figuring out how powerful he is. He's still a kid, too."
Pena tag trumps Coco bunt
The first play of the game last night appeared to be Coco Crisp's first-pitch bunt single down the third base line.
But it didn't take long for that to be negated as Rays starter James Shields threw to first, catching Crisp leaning. But the key was the tag by Carlos Pena, who gloved Crisp's back for the pickoff.
With the Rays fans standing for every pitch thereafter, Dustin Pedroia (popup) and David Ortiz (strikeout) went down easily.
Zimmer spins tales of the Sox
When Don Zimmer took over as Red Sox manager in 1976, replacing the fired Darrell Johnson, he didn't have a hitting coach.
But he had two guys on his staff, a bullpen coach named Walter Hriniak and a base coach in Johnny Pesky.
"Basically, the guys went to one or the other," said Zimmer, a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays, before yesterday's game with the Red Sox. "I had no problem because both guys knew what they were talking about. Some guys liked one way and some others liked it another way."
Zimmer told a funny story about Hriniak, a longtime North Andover resident who was noted for his tireless work throwing batting practice.
Hriniak was a proponent of Charlie Lau's theories, with an emphasis on swinging down. Well, Sox legend Ted Williams, who was a regular at spring training with the Red Sox for nearly three decades, used to work with hitters, too.
His theory of hitting? Swing up at the ball!
"So one day in Winter Haven, Walter comes up to me and says, 'Zim, I'm working with the guys, telling them to swing down. And Ted is telling them to swing up. What are we going to do? How can I go against a legend?' " recalled Zimmer. "I said, 'Walter, compromise. Tell everyone to swing level.'"
Asked which method he preferred, Zimmer was ambivalent.
"I don't care. They both work," said Zimmer. "As long as a guy hits, I don't care how he does it. I do know Walter Hriniak was a great coach. He loved to teach hitting. It was his passion. A lot of guys swore by him. Look at some of the guys he worked with, (Carlton) Fisk, (Dwight) Evans, the list is endless. You don't coach as long as he does without being a great one. Walter is one of the great people of baseball."
Rays attempt to turn loss into win
The Tampa Bay Rays, at least publicly, took the silver lining route to explaining the out-of-body experience at Fenway Park.
Their take?
They didn't lose a heart-breaker on Thursday night. They actually won two out of three games at Fenway Park.
"We knew going in that we were just trying to sneak one out," said pitcher Matt Garza. "We were just trying to sneak one out.
"For us to take two in Fenway and put ourselves in the driver's seat, that's all we could ask for. Winning would have been great, but we knew this Red Sox team wasn't going to go quiet, so we said, we've got two. We're still in the driver's seat. We've got six and seven at home, and we like our chances."
They probably don't like their chances quite as much after last night.
Maddon: Veterans help ease the pain
Before last night's game, Joe Maddon reiterated the bounce-back theory he has seen all season.
"No, I want to handle it like we've handled all other difficult situations this year. I thought we reacted to it properly. Our guys were upset, but they got over it rather quickly, which was good," said Maddon. "Coming on the plane, I liked them. Today in the clubhouse, I liked them. I do like the idea that we have enough veterans within the group now that they can take the message out there from us as a coaching staff.
"Of course we're going to talk to the guys in passing, in the food room, as they're just walking through the clubhouse, et cetera. That's how it should work."
Cora: Saggese could hit
Red Sox utility infielder Alex Cora has a history with an Andover Little League legend.
Cora played at the University of Miami with former Little League World Series star, Ricky Saggese, whose family moved to Florida when he was 13.
"Ricky could always hit," said Cora, a native of Puerto Rico. "We were on some great teams together at Miami. He had some tough injuries (knee). It slowed him down a little. He was a great teammate. I loved playing with him."
Slept like a baby
Rays manager Joe Maddon said sleeping was not a problem when he got home in Tampa early in the morning from their Game 5 debacle in Boston.
"I went to sleep (at 7 a.m.), and slept really well, actually. I just had to set the alarm to get up to here," said Maddon. "I got up about 1:15 (p.m), was not able to get the bike ride in. But, yeah, I slept — you can't not sleep well. You get on the plane at 2 in the morning, you land at 5 a.m., and then to get back and just get some sleep was kind of nice."
Is Kazmir back?
One of the under-the-radar stories from Thursday night, for obvious reasons, was the performance of Rays starter Scott Kazmir.
He allowed only two hits over six innings. That performance proved Maddon, to be a sage, as he predicted his struggling former "ace" would come through.
"First of all, nobody is talking about how well Kaz pitched (on Thursday)," said Maddon. "That was a great performance by Kaz. It's unfortunate the way the game played out, but Kaz did a great job with the two hits over six, and that permits Shieldsy (James Shields) to come back (on Saturday)."
Maddon was there in '86
The Rays manager has seen improbable/miracle comebacks before. In fact, he was an Angels scout in 1986, when Dave Henderson hit the 2-run homer to tie the game versus Donnie Moore and force extra innings in Game 5 of the ALCS.
"I was sitting behind the first base dugout area underneath the overhang, and everything was going swimmingly, and all of a sudden the one-handed home run to left center, and things changed. I do remember that," said Maddon.
"But quite frankly, as I've said before, every situation is unique unto itself, and it always depends on how you react to the moment, always."
A long time coming
How rare was Thursday night's comeback in Game 5, an 8-7 Red Sox win.
Well, on only four occasions in the regular season have the Red Sox ever come back to win when trailing by 7 or more runs in the seventh inning or later.
The last was June 18, 1961 vs. the Washington Senators at Fenway Park.
Red Sox are third, a distant third
The Red Sox entered last night's game tied for third all-time in post-season victories with 78, tying the Oakland A's. While that might sound impressive, it is behind the St. Louis Cardinals, who have 98, and the New York Yankees with ... gulp ... 202.
eagletribune.com