Andrew at Defensive Indifference lists the 10 sports figures he blogged about most in 2007, as requested by the incomparable Jamie Mottram. As I did last year, I’m again participating in this project (thanks, Jamie!). Following Andrew’s lead, here is my list, in alphabetical order:

Barry Bonds. His stories pretty much write themselves.
Miguel Cabrera. Anyone who gets scolded by Ozzie Guillen for being too fat is okay in my book.
Fausto Carmona. One of the biggest surprises of 2007.
Daisuke Matsuzaka. Not as good as the hype, but still pretty good.
Gil Meche. Irresponsible spending almost got the Royals out of last place.
Jake Peavy. …read more

Uh-oh. The Red Sox aren’t going away.
You had to figure the Indians were hosed when the series returned to Fenway. On the one hand, they’ve never lost a postseason series to a team from Boston — they swept the Red Sox in three games in ‘95 and beat the Braves in six in the ‘48 World Series. On the other, the Indians historically haven’t had a lot of success in New England.
Game 7 starts at 5 p.m. PT on Sunday. Jake Westbrook and Daisuke Matsuzaka hook up in one final game to determine which of these teams advances to the …read more

Meanwhile, back in the ALCS, we still have to figure out which team the NL champion Rockies will face in the World Series. The Indians have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Red Sox. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Cleveland, first pitch 5 p.m. PT.
Kenny Lofton provided the big blow in Game 3 with his two-out, two-run homer off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the second. Lofton apparently didn’t get the memo that it’s no longer 1995.
On the other side, Boston desperately needs someone other than Josh Beckett to pitch a good game. Tim Wakefield will be the latest to …read more

Hey, everybody, they’re still playing games. The ALCS shifts to Cleveland, where Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Jake Westbrook at 4 p.m. PT. The general strategy for Boston is to keep the ball out of Eric Gagne’s hands, specifically his right hand.
And in the evening game, Colorado looks to complete the sweep at Coors Field. Rookie Micah Owings starts for Arizona, while Franklin Morales gets the call for God’s team. First pitch is at 7 p.m. PT.
Sounds exciting, huh?

Only American League games on Friday. If you just can’t get enough of the designated hitter experiment (or big-market teams), this is your lucky day!

Yankees at Indians, 2:00 p.m. PT — Andy Pettitte has the postseason experience (18-6, 4.08 ERA over 34 starts), but Fausto Carmona has been a monster in ‘07. One relative weakness of Carmona is his record against left-handed batters. Granted, most pitchers would kill for a .275/.333/.377 line against anyone, but if you’re looking for something that the Yankees might be able to exploit, this is as good a bet as any. Pettitte, meanwhile, stumbled down …read more

{democracy:23}

Another day, another poll. Today we’re looking at the American League Rookie of the Year, an award I haven’t talked too much about in this space. My preseason pick was Royals third baseman Alex Gordon, and although he finished with respectable numbers, he’s not my choice.
Neither is Tampa Bay’s Delmon Young. I expect him to win the award because of his big RBI numbers, but I’d go with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. In addition to outhitting Young this year, Pedroia also plays second base.
Beyond Pedroia, you could make a decent case for Baltimore right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, although the fact that he …read more

That’s the question Jackson Broder asks at East Windup Chronicle. He profiles several hitters and pitchers playing in Japan’s NPB who could make the jump to North America.
Kosuke Fukudome of the Chunichi Dragons has been getting a fair amount of play as a potential impact outfielder should he cross the pond. Jackson compares him to Bob Abreu, with the caveats that Fukudome recently underwent elbow surgery and that some of his power could be lost in translation on moving to MLB (sometimes you get Hideki Matsui, sometimes you get Kazuo Matsui).
The pitching side is less clear. As Akinori Otsuka, Shingo …read more

So many games to choose from on a Friday. What to do…
American League

Red Sox at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT — Not that the Red Sox need my help in the hype department, but a battle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Erik Bedard could be a lot of fun to watch. Bedard has emerged in a big way this season. He’s fourth in the American League in ERA, first in H/9, first in K/9 (11.20!), and first in strikeouts. With all due respect to perennial favorite Johan Santana, Bedard and Oakland’s Dan Haren have to be the front-runners for this year’s Cy …read more

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t make this up. Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka is releasing a CD.
Wait, he sings?
Well, not quite. The CD, called Music from the Mound, “features a compilation of Matsuzaka’s favorite and inspirational songs from various American, English and Japanese recording artists.” One original song — “Gyro Ball” — includes guest performances by former members of the J. Geils Band and Extreme.
Yeah, if anything will give a CD credibility in the 21st century, it’s the folks who brought us “Freeze Frame” and “More Than Words.” Rock on…

The thing about most “rookies” is that they aren’t being paid like all-stars or playing in an insane sports market. Sure, a guy like Alex Gordon faces a little pressure from hype, but he’s in Kansas City and there isn’t a contingent of foreign media following his every move.
Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled again on Thursday night against the Mariners. The problem? According to manager Terry Francona, it’s a matter of command:
They didn’t knock him all over the ballpark. It goes down for me to command. When he commands, he will go very deep into a game. And …read more