Hit & Run: Seriously, I’m OK, you guys!

(Photo: Getty Images)

First of all, many thanks to my friends (including Games Mistress and various members of Red Sox Nation) for pulling me out of my Pinstriped Spiral of Gloom last Friday morning after receiving word that Mariano Rivera suffered a season-and-possibly-career-ending torn ACL last Thursday while shagging fly balls in Kansas City. Honestly, there is nothing like a devastating injury to a beloved future Hall of Famer to remind you who your truest friends in baseball are. Red Sox fans and I may be bitter frenemies when wins are on the line, but when something like this happens, we all feel for the biggest fans of the affected team and athlete. So thanks you guys – you are the best!

And what a difference a day made. It wasn’t long until Rivera’s competitive nature bounced back as he declared to reporters “I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters. I’m not going out like this.” So it won’t be long until you can go back to hating my kind again, Red Sox Nation (know that I say this with love). It’s been reported that three doctors at two hospitals examined his knee today, so hopefully surgery and rehab go smoothly enough to get him back on the mound in 2013. Until then, it’s the Soriano-Robertson Show from here on out.

Cool Sports Stuff You Probably Didn’t Get for Christmas

There were a lot of sports-themed gifts given in my family this year. I received a set of Cardinals pens and my first official Jets shirt (right at the time when I was most mortified to be a Jets fan, but that’s another story), my boyfriend received a few Saints items, and a lot of orange changed hands among the 3/5 of my immediate family who attended Oklahoma State.

But, as often happens, it was only this week that I discovered a few awesome sports related items that I really wish I’d known about in early December.

Signs Your Baseball Team May Not Make the Playoffs

1. It’s two weeks before Labor Day and your team has already been mathematically eliminated.  Obvious, but no less true. Sorry, Wandy.

Beauty Hurts: Disabled List Hotties

Is it just me, or does the disabled list seem a bit full for only six weeks into baseball season? Maybe it’s because my Cardinals are already missing their ace pitcher, 2/3 of the starting infield and just barely avoided being without their entire outfield in today’s game.  But it isn’t just St. Louis, many of our favorite baseball hotties are currently out of action. Starting with …

David Wright

Out Until June 1

Sports Fan Conundrum: Am I Really That Biased?

How can you hate when he loves the game so much?

A lot of controversy has surrounded a couple of my favorite athletes recently.  First, it was the Tiger Woods’ accident and, most recently, his “transgressions”.  Then it was the 2-game suspension handed to Alex Ovechkin for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina’s Tim Gleason.  Many folks have had harsh words for both of these guys, but I’ve been trying to avoid the frenzy surrounding both incidents.

The whole thing has made me wonder whether I am blinded by sports-related bias.

Hot Stove Hotties

Each week this Hot Stove season, we’ll look at some done deals and juicy rumors involving our favorite MLB hotties. If you want a comprehensive rundown of rumors, go to MLBTR. If you want the pretty, stay right here!

The Royals took the spotlight this week by trading for speedy center fielder Coco Crisp. Kansas City gave up Ramon “RamRam” Ramirez, a reliever who throws a “power change” (seriously) and had a great 2008 season. He also has a perfectly spherical face, which makes me smile every time. Here are Coco and RamRam in their new uniforms.

Coco Crisp, the newest Royal; Ramon Ramirez, the newest Red Sock.

So What’s the Big Deal With This Josh Beckett Situation Again?

You all know that I’m fairly new to baseball, finally picking a team to follow and hopefully becoming a fan. And with my new found enthusiasm of the sport I’m following the major headlines around the league and all that jazz. So can someone please explain to my feeble baseball mind why Josh Beckett not pitching for the Red Sox on the team’s dime is such a big deal? I get the whole wanting your best pitcher to start opening day and all that, but if he’s having spasms and shouldn’t travel 14 hours to pitch in a glorified exhibition, why is everyone making a fuss? I would think that the Sox and their fans would rather he stay out and get his back injury straight for, you know, the entire season and not just one game.

So I’m asking, why all the hubbub? Besides the standard it’s the Sox so ESPN has to cover every little detail about every little thing every player does while on the team. I mean, there’s gotta be an explanation, right?

East Teams: Loving The Taste of Chalk

Six out of the eight games in the regional was played Thursday and all the higher seeds won. Except 9-seed Marquette who lost to 8-seed Michigan State. And let’s be honest, there is no way in hell that’s an upset. Too bad we won’t be seeing Jerel McNeal anymore this season. Stupid opposable thumbs and their injuries. Anyhoo, here are how the six games broke down yesterday:

• Carolina was given a scare by Eastern Kentucky in the second half when the Colonels pulled within four points, but the Tar Heels pulled away after that eventually winning by 21.
• Marquette never got in to the game.
• Boston College let Texas Tech hang around way too much in this game, but in the end they finally took over.
• Georgetown, Washington State, and Vanderbilt showed Belmont, Oral Roberts, and George Washington exactly how the big boys roll.