Youk Hopping

There I go, falling off the blogging wagon again. Honestly, I've absorbed the entire Oakland series through osmosis. As with the Celtics in the playoffs, I'm aware that they lost yesterday and the basics of what happened (in the C's case, not close; in the case of the Sox, frustratingly close, Tim Boggar is the worst, Hermida hit a homer and what is up with John Lackey? And so on.). I know the pertinent facts, but there's not much I have to say about them you wouldn't see elsewhere.

So let's fall back on a photos and links post, since what other people are talking about is really what I've been paying attention to this week.

A work colleague sent me an email today, which is what actually finally inspired me to fire up Typepad. 

Stupid Fenway photo trick: So in reading your Sox blog, I notice how you’re into photographing nuances of player movements and positioning. Last year my cousin (Red Sox diehard cousin from Ohio, we go to Fenway at least once a year) pointed out that Youk takes a hop on every pitch. You ever get him in midair?

Would be interested in seeing any of these you’ve captured.

I wrote back,"LOL, *do* I?" (In retrospect, that sounds more flippant than I meant it -- like half the crap I say, really -- I was truly el oh elling at my tendency to photograph the same thing over and over again, something Sam and I joke about whenever we go to the ballpark.)

(Yes, technically he's a baserunner here.)

And for that matter, I also have Youk hopping with Pedroia:

Pedroia with Kotsay:

...or perhaps you'd prefer just Pedroia by himself:

And now, the links:

• Japanese female knuckleballer Eri Yoshida made her US debut last weekend: Joy of Sox had a nice post on that.
• I agree with JoS entirely that Tim Bogar is ripe for canning, but I also think Tito's response may be due to a 'cry wolf' factor, given that certain elements around here hysterically call for people's firing even without this amount of evidence to back it up. I'm sure it usually falls on deaf ears in the Sox clubhouse at this point, to our detriment when it really is warranted.
• Meanwhile, Soxaholix has been especially epic this week.
• Otherwise, all the talk has been about Jim Joyce's blunder in what should've been a perfect game by Detroit's Armando Galarraga. It's been an emotional issue even for those who probably couldn't have picked Galarraga out of a lineup last week, touching as it does on the issues of instant-replay use in baseball; a slump for umpires so far this season with blown calls; and most importantly, offers a chance to trash Bud Selig. Some say (or imply) that Joyce's apology, however heartfelt, is just not enough. Others say Galarraga and Joyce's actions since the call have been an object lesson in grace. Curtis Granderson, at the end of a lovely post about Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement, said it made him "proud to be a Major League Baseball player."

Comments

[Pam]

The pic of Pedroia and Youk hopping together is priceless!