Blogging ... at The Ballyard

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178228742010-01-27T22:36:24.404-05:00Blogging ... at The BallyardObservations and opinions about the grand game of baseball, with a particular emphasis on the Cape Cod Baseball League and other New England regional gems (including the independent Brockton Rox and, of course, the Boston Red Sox). From the mind of author and radio personality Steve Weissman!Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-75231558880780619662010-01-27T22:36:00.001-05:002010-01-27T22:36:24.463-05:00Red Sox Q

Red Sox Q&A as spring training beckonsPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-74456601496402808672010-01-23T11:59:00.001-05:002010-01-23T11:59:57.529-05:00Brockton Rox hosting open tryout May 1-2, 2010

Brockton Rox hosting open tryout May 1-2, 2010Posted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-86660533458436799872010-01-19T17:00:00.001-05:002010-01-19T17:00:52.172-05:00For all the talk, Red Sox roster not especially homegrown

For all the talk, Red Sox roster not especially homegrownPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-43197741399093236752010-01-12T10:17:00.001-05:002010-01-12T10:17:52.975-05:00McGwire 'fesses up but strikes two poses

McGwire 'fesses up but strikes two posesPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-21756184356089889282010-01-07T08:45:00.001-05:002010-01-07T08:45:54.836-05:00Red Sox lint in the cranial vent: Beltre, Ellsbury, Kotchman

Red Sox lint in the cranial vent: Beltre, Ellsbury, Kotchman & morePosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-52852465554595625742010-01-06T16:42:00.001-05:002010-01-06T16:42:04.079-05:00Andre Dawson makes Hall of Fame: Red Sox fans celebrate?

Andre Dawson makes Hall of Fame: Red Sox fans celebrate?Posted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-30339621401057664072010-01-06T09:47:00.001-05:002010-01-06T09:47:27.412-05:00Red Sox sign Beltre, shift Ellsbury and fulfill resolution for defense

Red Sox sign Beltre, shift Ellsbury and fulfill resolution for defensePosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-62016679111196884392009-12-31T11:08:00.001-05:002009-12-31T11:08:56.463-05:0010 Red Sox resolutions for 2010

10 Red Sox resolutions for 2010Posted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-66011109215037512852009-12-18T10:40:00.001-05:002009-12-18T10:40:32.127-05:00Cape League expands playoff format, adds twin bills to schedule

Cape League expands playoff format, adds twin bills to schedulePosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-5974494060937398962009-12-17T13:33:00.001-05:002009-12-17T13:33:11.049-05:00Red Sox not alone in reshaping AL outlook

Red Sox not alone in reshaping AL outlookPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-20976190269248391712009-12-15T12:07:00.001-05:002009-12-15T12:07:13.739-05:00Boston getting good deal on new pair of Sox

Boston getting good deal on new pair of SoxPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-54512347933727788742009-12-10T12:06:00.001-05:002009-12-10T12:06:24.488-05:00Memorable monikers from Red Sox present and Cape League past

Memorable monikers from Red Sox present and Cape League pastPosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-50899209480476134122009-12-10T10:27:00.001-05:002009-12-10T10:27:01.378-05:00Red Sox sending Lowell to Rangers?

Red Sox sending Lowell to Rangers?Posted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-7321834112347858972009-12-08T17:33:00.001-05:002009-12-08T17:33:06.655-05:00Red Sox maintain silence in the face of Yankee noise

Red Sox maintain silence in the face of Yankee noisePosted using ShareThis

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1161349342731136902006-10-20T09:02:00.000-04:002007-01-08T22:52:34.126-05:00Cards Beat Mets in Dramatic Fashion: “That’s Baseball!”

If I heard it once, I heard it three dozen times as I went inside the Cape Cod Baseball League while researching my recent book about the league: something unusual, or unusually dramatic, would occur, and the players would explain it by saying, “That’s baseball!”I mention this because there may be no better way than that to sum up the just-concluded National League Championship Series, the

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1160052608174810602006-10-05T08:50:00.000-04:002006-10-05T08:57:02.533-04:00First Thoughts as to Whom the Sox Should Keep

Completing the thoughts for this week are the first musings as to whom of the possible departees the Red Sox should keep, and whom the club should allow to go. In alphabetical order, I give you the following:• Alex Cora, Utility: A smart, steady player who can play multiple positions well and might teach Dustin Pedroia a thing or two while sitting in the dugout. He’d be great to have around if

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1159883074102019932006-10-03T09:44:00.000-04:002006-10-03T10:00:15.733-04:00Let the Roster Speculation Begin!

It’s Day Two of the Boston Red Sox’s 2007 season, and already the speculation has begun as to who from the ’06 squad will return in ’07. While it’s too early to travel terribly far down this path, it is interesting to see which players on the current roster have contractual ‘outs’ (either via free agency or buyout clauses) that make it easy to move them down the road. Here’s a preliminary stab at

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1159802193773686942006-10-02T11:15:00.000-04:002006-10-02T11:45:39.956-04:00Silver Linings in the BoSox Final Cloud

The 2006 Boston Red Sox season mercifully is now behind us, and thanks to injury and what GM Theo Epstein described as “some weaknesses” in the team, the Sox finished in third place (behind New York and Toronto) and missed the post-season for the first time since 2002.For all the frustrations and medical bills, though, the end was more satisfying than it could have been. So while the talkradio

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1158933082689793922006-09-22T09:51:00.000-04:002006-09-22T10:26:11.986-04:00Papi Pops Two; Is Sox Top Bopper

David Ortiz last night hit his 51st and 52nd home runs in a win against his former Minnesota Twins, and in so doing, he broke the 68-year-old Red Sox club record for home runs for a season. While certainly statistically significant – at least for members of Red Sox Nation, if not for baseball fans as a whole – Big Papi’s achievement was equally notable for the sidebars it suggested. For instance:

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1158326123922540872006-09-15T09:14:00.000-04:002006-09-15T09:15:23.923-04:00Sheffield at Fenway in ’07?

As Red Sox Nation turns its lonely eyes to next year, an interesting question arises: how might Gary Sheffield look in Boston’s home whites?The current Yankee slugger apparently is ready to come off the disabled list, but there’s no obvious place for him to play in the Bronx, and it says here that the Bombers won’t pick up his contract option for next year this being the case.Sheffield’s usual

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1158265836306588162006-09-14T16:26:00.000-04:002006-09-14T16:30:36.340-04:00Can We Peg Plethora of Muscle Pulls to Amphetamine Ban?

– One Baseball Fan Wants to Know –Is it me, or have more players than usual actually been put on the shelf this baseball season with various sorts of muscle injuries? Maybe the reporting is better, or maybe I’m just paying more attention than I have in the past. But it seems to me that the ‘dog days’ of the 2006 season have been especially hard on players – and this, in turn, has me wondering if

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1157666821752272162006-09-07T18:07:00.000-04:002006-09-07T18:11:11.043-04:00Some Red Sox ‘Ones’ that Got Away

– Four Arms, a Catcher, and a Shortstop Who Might Have Made a Difference –Consider the accomplishments this season of the following players, who either were Red Sox farmhands at the end of last season or were with the club when it broke camp back in March:- Anibal Sanchez, now with the Florida Marlins, last night threw the major league’s first no-hitter in more than two years.- Hanley Ramirez,

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1156795853959293352006-08-28T16:09:00.002-04:002006-08-28T16:15:41.703-04:00Survivor, AL East: Outspend, Outlast, Outplay

The Boston Red Sox lost another winnable game last night in Seattle, and after nearly two months of such nonsense, it’s clear that the team just can’t continue to contend. The recent rash of injuries has been just too costly to overcome in terms of player performance and player replacement. But what’s particularly frustrating is that the Yankees were similarly decimated earlier in the year, but

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1156273747109112362006-08-22T15:05:00.000-04:002006-08-22T15:21:09.236-04:00Red Sox Seal the Deal: Welcome to Next Year!

OK, so the Yankees just embarrassed the Red Sox by sweeping five games at Fenway Park, and now stand 6½ games in front of the Olde Towne Team. But that’s all right, you console yourself; they’re only 4 games behind the White Sox for the wild card, and once NixWakeItek gets back, they’ll make up that little ground for sure. Heck, if they get really hot, they could even still pass the Yankees

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17822874.post-1156165295488874442006-08-21T09:01:00.000-04:002006-08-23T11:45:29.566-04:00Clinging to Cape League Memories While BoSox Season Slides

As the news from Fenway continues to disappoint (“Can’t anybody here play this game?” – Casey Stengel), let’s continue to celebrate this year’s Cape League season and stay in our “happy place” for just a little while longer …Nice to Meet You!- Mike Bordick, one-time member of the Y-D Red Sox who played 14 years in the big leagues and has given back to his Cape League team to the point where a

Steve Weissmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10320206326772245382noreply@blogger.com1