Middlebrooks Playing with Two Broken Ribs

The Red Sox have dropped six of their last seven and the bandwagon is quickly emptying out. Bad luck, sloppy play, poor pitching and injuries have been the main issues. One of those injured is Will Middlebrooks. He is hurt much more than he or the Red Sox have led you to believe. An inside source has told me that Middlebrooks has two broken and separated ribs. The third baseman was and is hell bent on playing through it. Apparently he was able to convince the Red Sox to let him play but also to keep the details of his injury quiet.

Middlebrooks is the ultimate gamer and feels the team needs him out there. The Red Sox do not have many options to replace him at this point. Middlebrooks wanted to keep it quiet because he did not want to be questioned on a nightly basis about playing with two broken ribs.

I applaud Middlebrooks for his toughness and his desire to not let the team down. This could very easily backfire in a number of ways. It sets Will up to really be crucified by the media and fans. He already was struggling but a healthy Middlebrooks could easily turn it around, an injured one may not. He could then be easily labeled a flash in the pan when the truth is that he wasn't healthy.

 The other scenario is the pain becomes too great, does further damage to his ribs and has to miss significant time. He will then be labeled soft or the new J.D Drew. I can already see the message board goons calling him Wilma Middlebrooks. After all, the ill informed will rationalize that all he had was bruised ribs. Ask Jacoby Ellsbury about perception and reality.

 Coming out and being honest about it would be best for all parties involved. A short trip to the DL so his broken ribs could heal could be exactly what he needs physically and mentally.

 To his credit, Middlebrooks seems to understand how this can backfire but it does not seem to bother him. He joked about how he was already struggling and hearing it from the fans. He believes in himself though and is only worried about the team. He truly believes that him being out there playing through it gives the Sox the best chance to win.

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Upton and Hamilton Injured, Red Sox Struggle

The virtual 2013 Red Sox are playing like the experts predicted and nothing like the actual Red Sox. The AL East standings so far in this Out of the Park Baseball simulation league are shaping up the way many of the experts predicted the real season to go. The Blue Jays are in first place and the Yankees and Red Sox are battling for the basement. The Red Sox problem has been lack of offense and struggling starting pitching. Jackie Bradley Jr. was impressive in his brief stint with Sox to start the season but was sent back down to make room for David Ortiz. Bradley has continued his great play in Pawtucket. It is becoming clear he is one of the best outfielders in the Red Sox organization as he is outplaying Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino. Is there a trade market for any of these guys right now? Not really. We will wait and see.

The Braves are not quite as dynamic as the actual counterparts and were dealt a serious blow with an injury to Justin Upton. Upton was injured in the field and it was determined he fractured his ankle. He will be out 4 months.

The Angels were also dealt a blow as Josh Hamilton broke a bone in his elbow diving into a base. He will be out for at least 5 months.

The images below are the standings, Red Sox team stats, Josh Hamilton, Jackie Bradley Jr and Justin Upton profiles. Please click on pictures to make them bigger.

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Amazing Polo Debut

As I try to get over the struggles of Jackie Bradley Jr. , I am reminded of Willie Mays and how he struggled to start his career. Things turned out ok for Willie. That leads to our featured painting of the day which is titled Amazing Polo Debut. Click on the picture to enlarge.

It's Monday night, May 28, 1951, and rookie Willie Mays, 20, has just launched a first- inning pitch from Boston Braves southpaw Warren Spahn toward the left field roof at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan. It is Mays' first home at-bat for the New York Giants, his first big league hit and the first of 660 homers in his amazing Hall of Fame career. "For the first 60 feet," Spahn supposedly mused, "it was a hell of a pitch." Mays had been summoned to the Giants a few days earlier and had gone 0-for-12 in a series against the Phils in Philadelphia. After this solo HR off Spahn he went hitless in his next 14 at-bats, but it hardly mattered to Giants' manager Leo Durocher, who knew talent when he saw it. Spahn, 30, will go on to post his third straight 20-plus win season en route to a 363-win Hall of Fame career. Walker Cooper is Boston's catcher.                    
ON SALE NOW

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Otis Nixon Leading the 1991 Braves

April has come to an end in the 1991 Out of the Park Baseball simulation season. The Braves lead the NL West, which is not a surprise. What is a surprise is how they are doing it. They continue to do it with offense and leading the way is Otis Nixon. Otis is getting on base, stealing bases and scoring runs. If the MVP was handed out today he would be the 1991 NL MVP. Not a bad start to the final season on his Braves contract. Somewhere a very young Scott Boras smiles. The best stat for Nixon? 23 stolen bases in just 21 games. Below are the Braves team page and Otis Nixon's player page. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. By the way, check out that Otis Nixon facegen. Unreal!!! Any wonder why I love Out of the Park Baseball so much?

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Bringing Back Tony Conigliaro

A year ago Gordon Edes wrote a great piece on the upcoming Fenway Park 100 year celebration. He wrote as if history was different, kinder to Tony Conigliaro. In Gordon's piece Tony C was the star of this alternate history celebration. He was the last guy announced, the greatest living Red Sox player. How good was Conigliaro? That is such a sad question. It wasn't fair what happened to him. I was born 7 years after Tony was beaned in the face by Jack Hamilton. I have seen some video footage and have heard countless stories from people who saw him play. He was great at a young age and he was a local kid. He should have been legend. Instead, what might have been is legendary.

Out of the Park Baseball lets us change history. It is what the game is made for in my opinion. One of the many things that makes the game great. It is time to bring back Tony C. It is 1964, he is a teenager and he is about to begin what could be a legendary career.

I will let history re-write itself and blog about it here. Follow along at The Tony Conigliaro Simulation. Follow along on twitter @thepeskypole6