Sox in good frame of mind

Cavs continue to have their fun

If you are a Cavaliers fan, did you dare to dream about a season like this? A season in which your team no longer has home games, but parties and celebrations? A season where the millionaires on the bench (not sitting, because they usually stand) are having as much fun as the fans in the cheap seats? A season where your team is in the middle of the second round and is 4-0 at home in the playoffs, 39-2 in the regular season? And only one of those losses was with LeBron James on the court?

Iknow, I’m gushing. But this is a season where James threw in a 40-foot jumper - a real jumper, not a heave - at the end of the first half. It’s a season where James drove through the entire Hawks team at the end of the first quarter and executed a two-handed, reverse slam as if he were in a dunking contest. It’s a season where the fans were chanting “WALL-EEE, WALL-EEE” when Wally Szczerbiak came off the bench and delivered solid play.

It’s a season where the Cavs have won home games by 18, 12, 21, and 20 points. It’s a season where the Cavs won home games by an average of 14.3 points. It’s a season where the Cavs don’t just beat teams at home, they demoralize them. It’s a season where the Cavs have been so in control of games, they have not needed James to be on the court seven times in the fourth quarter. It’s a season where fans have fallen in love with the back court of Delonte West and Mo Williams, and their jerseys sell incredibly well. It’s where they love it when Ben Wallace scores and the Big Ben Bell gongs.

The comparison that I can make is when Michael Jordan’s Bulls played at that old, dark Chicago Stadium - and most teams were beat before the opening tap. Or if the game happened to be close, the visitor feared the last few minutes of the fourth quarter because the Bulls had Jordan - and they did not. In this case, the Cavs have an MVP in James; opposing teams do not. This is an incredible basketball atmosphere, a huge advantage as the playoffs at some point are destined to be more demanding than they have been so far.

We’ll never know if Atlanta’s Al Horford or Marvin Williams would have played if this were Game 7 . . . or even Game 6 in Atlanta. Is it possible the Cavs have become such a dominating team at home with James that Hawks coach Mike Woodson decided to let two of his better players rest their injuries - hoping to regroup at home? The theory would be that neither player is close to 100 percent physically, and two more days of rest will help them recover faster than if they played Thursday in Game 2. It all would be aimed at the Hawks being as strong and deep as possible for Game 3.

With Horford (sprained an kle) and Williams (sprained wrist) out, the Hawks were without a combined 25.4 points and 15.6 rebounds that they averaged in the regular season. One of the advantages of the Cavs knocking out the Pistons in four straight games is they were rested and healthy for this series, while the Hawks paid a physical price in terms of injuries and fatigue as they needed seven games to take out Miami. So the lesson for the Cavs is obvious: Get the job done early.

The defensive approach of both teams was so different early in the game. When Joe Johnson got the ball for the Hawks, the Cavs double-teamed hard. Delonte West opened on the Hawks’ leading scorer, but he got help - quickly. It usually was from a big man, either Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao. So Johnson faced perhaps the Cavs’ quickest guard in West, and lots of long arms from a Cavs’ big man. Johnson usually made the obvious pass out of the double team, and seldom seemed to cut to the basket or move anywhere to get the ball back for an open shot.

Hard to believe because Joe Johnson is such a terrific scorer. In the first two games, West has outscored Johnson, 27-21. Johnson is 10-of-25 from the field; West is 10-of-21. Johnson is now dealing with an ankle injury, so who knows what he’ll do in Game 3.

When James sat out to start the second quarter, the Cavs outscored the Hawks, 12-5. West had six points, Mo Williams had four. In Game 1, it was 11-4 in favor of the Cavs when James rested in the second quarter. That makes it 23-9 with no James in the first half. West had 11 of those 23 points. The Cavs exploited Mike Bibby, who is slow on defense. No matter what guard he attempts to defend, the Cavs attack him.

Ben Wallace has been moving exceptionally well coming off the bench in the first two games of the series. It appears those shock treatments he took during the break between the first and second rounds worked.

Bumping umpire may cost Mets manager Jerry Manuel

Jerry Manuel showed a little more poise and patience during his postgame press conference Thursday night than he did in the top of the eighth inning, when he screamed at and brushed up against first base umpire Bill Welkefollowing an obstruction call onJose Reyes.

“I was basically, simply, asking him to get help,” said Manuel, who was promptly ejected for the first time this season. “That was the argument.”

Welke, who confirmed that Manuel leaned in and brushed his hat after getting tossed, awarded Shane Victorino second base after thePhillies‘ center fielder got caught in a rundown and bumped into Reyes between first and second. Victorino appeared to throw an elbow and initiate the contact on the play, but Reyes was still ruled at fault for being in the basepath.

“He can’t be there when Victorino makes that turn. He’s got to get out of the way. That was the reason for the obstruction call,” Welke said. “Jerry wanted me to get help on the play, but … I moved into position to take that end of the rundown. It was my call, and there was no reason to ask for help.”

Asked if any disciplinary measures would be taken against Manuel for initiating contact, crew chief Tim Welke - Bill’s brother and the second base umpire Thursday night - stepped in and said: “We’ll have to report on that.”

Manuel’s ejection fired up the crowd of 37,295 as the Mets went on to win their fourth straight, 7-5, and it may have sent a message to his players.

Less than a week after general manager Omar Minaya questioned the team’s intensity and wondered if the Mets lacked an “edge,” Manuel went out of his way to make a big issue over a subjective call that could have gone either way.

And he did so with the Mets holding a comfortable four-run lead.

“He didn’t want the game to get away from us. He showed the emotions tonight,”Gary Sheffield said. “I’ve known him for a long time and he’s always been a fiery guy underneath the surface.”

The call still had the potential to affect the final outcome: Instead of Victorino being wiped out on a double play, he ended up scoring on Jayson Werth’s homer to left as the Phillies pulled within two. But Manuel’s ejection put the Mets on edge, reinforcing the bottom line.

“He’s just trying to do his job, get a win no matter how,” Reyes said. “That’s the key, win no matter how.”

David Wright had a similar reaction, and displayed the kind of edge Minaya was talking about.

“The definition of edge is going out there and getting a few wins, and then all of a sudden you don’t have to worry about anyone talking about edge anymore,” Wright said. “That’s a thing in the past. Go ask Omar about that.”

Wings’ patience sinks Hiller, Ducks

Why the Red Wings won: They played their puck-possession game. They had lapses, such as early in the second period when the Ducks took over and pinned the Wings in their own zone for several shifts. These produced no scoring, and when the Wings recovered the puck, they immediately moved it down the ice. Once in the Anaheim zone, they did not simply fling shots at Jonas Hiller, as they had done earlier in the series. Instead, they passed it and worked the Anaheim defense out of position until they could get high-percentage chances. Their scoring came from the players who need to tally for them, including Johan Franzen and Marian Hossa with two goals each.

Why the Ducks lost: Hiller, who had been great in the prior games, was merely ordinary in this one. Four of the five goals he allowed came from distance (the last was into an empty net). None were particularly bad goals, but he didn’t come up with the miracle saves he had been making all playoffs. On offense, Anaheim got no production from their second line. Even after Bobby Ryan moved down to play with Teemu Selanne and Andrew Ebbett, the line could not hold onto the puck long enough to generate chances, nor exploit their speed through the neutral zone. The Ducks took three penalties in the second period. The first two negated power plays Anaheim had.

Key moment: The Wings took control with two goals late in the second period after the Ducks had tied the game at 2. The second of those came on the power play. It was classic Detroit — the puck worked from corner to point and across to the other side, then flung at the net to beat Hiller. When he let in another one early in the third to make it 5-2, he was yanked and J.S. Giguere made his 2009 playoff debut.

What’s next: The Ducks gave up momentum with this loss. They need to regroup before Sunday and forget this game. Their offense needs to see production from the Selanne line. The Wings have to keep pressing. If they decide that they have solved Hiller, he might surprise them.

– Brian Kennedy

A year in the Life: Manny being Manny

A timeline of Ramirez’s eventful last 365 days:

By Doug Miller and Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

May 7, 2008: Ramirez, starting in left field for the Boston Red Sox, goes 0-for-4 with a run scored in a 10-9 Boston loss at Detroit.

May 31, 2008: Ramirez hits his 500th career home run, belting a pitch from Baltimore the Orioles’ Chad Bradford 410 feet over the wall at Camden Yards.

June 5, 2008: Ramirez and teammate Kevin Youkilis have to be separated after a heated dugout exchange in a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.

June 28, 2008: Ramirez pushes long-time Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the floor in the visitors’ clubhouse in Houston following a spat over a ticket request.

July 14, 2008: Ramirez, voted in as a starting outfielder in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, fails to show up for media availability the day before the Midsummer Classic.

July 15, 2008: Batting fifth for the American League All-Star team, Ramirez goes 0-for-2 with a strikeout. His team eventually wins, 4-3, in 15 innings.

July 16, 2008: The Boston Herald publishes the following comments by Ramirez, who is wondering what the Red Sox will do about possibly picking up his $20 million options for 2009 and 2010: “I want to know what’s my situation. I want no more [times] where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing. I think I’ve earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do.”

July 17, 2008: Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry say he is offended by Ramirez’s comments in the Herald and offers his own comments, e-mailing the newspaper with the following: “I find remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive. Manny has been a crucial part of two World [Series] championships. I do not believe we would have won either without him. He has never played a more important role than he has thus far this year.”

July 23, 2008: A few hours before a game in Seattle, Ramirez informs manager Terry Francona that his right knee has tightened up. Ramirez has the knee bandaged up in the hours leading up to the game, and although Ramirez has been bothered by right hamstring woes in recent weeks, the knee hasn’t been any kind of issue since 2006, when he had meniscus problems. “He just showed up this morning. We were kind of, weren’t ready for that,” Francona says. “He came in and said, ‘My right knee hurts.’ There was nothing on the report last night. I didn’t come in waiting for that one, so it must have gotten tight overnight.”

July 25, 2008: Ramirez misses another game and meets with Henry, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, general manager Theo Epstein and Francona about the confusion regarding the knee injury. Controversy continues to swirl in the media, with multiple outlets reporting that the Red Sox are contemplating disciplinary action — perhaps even a suspension — if Ramirez again makes himself unavailable the following day.

July 26, 2008: Ramirez pronounces himself fit to play after missing the past two games with right knee soreness and is greeted with boos at Fenway Park when public-address announcer Carl Beane announces his name during pregame introductions.

July 27, 2008: With the non-waiver Trade Deadline four days away, Ramirez says that he would waive his 10-5 rights (10 years in the Major Leagues, five with one team) if the club finds a suitable deal for him on the open market. “What I said was, if the Red Sox, if they think they could find a trade, you know, that’s going to make their team better and both sides are going to be happy, I’m going to agree,” Ramirez says, adding, “I know they’ve got me, but hey, enough is enough. I’m tired of them, they’re tired of me. After 2008, just send me a letter or whatever, you don’t even have to call my agent or whatever, ‘Thank you for everything, you’re going to become a free agent, we’re not going to pick up your option in ‘09.’”

July 31, 2008: The Red Sox trade Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal also involving the Pittsburgh Pirates. Outfielder Jason Bay is shipped from Pittsburgh to Boston and the Pirates receive third baseman Andy LaRoche and Minor League pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers along with and reliever Craig Hansen and Triple-A outfielder Brandon Moss from the Red Sox. The Red Sox agree to pay the $7 million remaining on Ramirez’s $20 million salary for 2008, and the Dodgers agree to not pick up Ramirez’s two $20 million club options for 2009 and ‘10, allowing him to become a free agent in November.

Aug. 1, 2008: In his first game as a Dodger, sporting uniform No. 99, Ramirez goes 2-for-4 as Los Angeles loses, 2-1, at home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ramirez hits into a double play with a runner on first and none out in the bottom of the ninth in front of a sellout crowd of 55,239.

Aug. 3, 2008: Ramirez goes 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and three RBIs in a 9-3 Dodgers win over Arizona, giving him a .615 batting average with two homers and five RBIs in his first three games in Los Angeles.

Aug. 11, 2008: During a game, Ramirez heads to the clubhouse at the end of the eighth inning and returns to the field late to start the ninth only after outfielder Juan Pierre and bench coach Bob Schaefer go looking for him. Ramirez jogs back to his position in left field with his jersey half-buttoned and later says he needed to use the restroom. Dodgers manager Joe Torre downplays it as a simple misunderstanding.

Aug. 14, 2008: Ramirez answers questions that have been building for weeks about cutting off his dreadlocks when he has an inch taken off the length of his hair at a Los Angeles barber shop.

Aug. 30, 2008: Ramirez helps the Dodgers snap an eight-game losing streak with a 4-for-5 night , including his 500th career double, and a pair of homers in Arizona. After going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a walk the previous night, his eight consecutive hits fall one short of Ron Cey’s 31-year-old Los Angeles record.

Sept. 10, 2008: Ramirez continues a sizzling September, slugging a pair of two-run homers to deep right-center field in PETCO Park, where hardly anyone hits one homer. His four RBIs pace the Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the Padres, extending their division lead to 3 1/2 games and trimming their magic number to clinch to 14. After this performance, Ramirez’s numbers as a Dodger read as follows: .396 average, 14 homers and 40 RBIs in 38 games, with the Dodgers having gained 5 1/2 games in the standings since the trade.

Sept. 20, 2008: Ramirez hits two more homers and drives in five runs in a 3-for-4 night as the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants at home and trim their magic number to five. Ramirez is now hitting .404 with 16 homers, 13 doubles and 49 RBIs in 47 games since being traded to Los Angeles. In that time he leads the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage (.490) and slugging percentage (.760) and ranks among the leaders in homers.

Sept. 25, 2008: The Dodgers clinch the National League West title as Arizona is eliminated by St. Louis, and Ramirez addresses the crowd at Dodger Stadium: “What’s going on, L.A.?” he says. “Thank you, all the L.A. fans for your support. Mannywood.”

Oct. 1, 2008: Playing on the road against the heavily favored Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers take Game 1 of the NL Division Series, 7-2. Ramirez goes 2-for-4 with a homer — his 25th career postseason long ball — and an RBI in his first playoff game in the National League.

Oct. 2, 2008: The Dodgers again upset the Cubs in Wrigley Field, winning by a 10-3 score in Game 2 and setting up a possible Game 3 clincher in Los Angeles. Ramirez is in on the action again, homering off Carlos Zambrano in a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance.

Oct. 4, 2008: The Dodger complete a surprising sweep of the Cubs in the NLDS, beating Chicago, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium to advance to the NL Championship Series, where they’ll meet the Philadelphia Phillies. Ramirez continues his postseason hitting streak, going 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.

Oct. 9, 2008: Ramirez goes 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, but the Dodgers drop Game 1 of the NLCS to the Phillies, 3-2, at Citizens Bank Park.

Oct. 10, 2008: The Dodgers go down 0-2 in the NLCS with an 8-5 loss in Philadelphia. Ramirez hits a three-run home run in the fourth inning in a 1-for-4 night.

Oct. 12, 2008: Back in Los Angeles, the Dodgers give their home fans a treat with a Game 3 win by the score of 7-2. Ramirez goes 1-for-2 with two runs, an RBI and two walks.

Oct. 13, 2008: The Dodgers lose a heartbreaker to the Phillies by a score of 7-5. Ramirez continues to hit, going 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and three walks.

Oct. 15, 2008: The Dodgers’ season ends with a 5-1 loss in Philadelphia in Game 5 of the NLCS. Ramirez goes 2-for-3 with a homer off Cole Hamels and an RBI in his final game of the year. After the game, Ramirez discusses his free-agency strategy: “I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I.”

Oct. 30, 2008: Ramirez files for free agency.

Nov. 5, 2008: The Dodgers offer Ramirez a two-year deal worth $45 million, plus an option year at $15 million.

Nov. 14, 2008: The Dodgers withdraw the offer of two years, $45 million, plus an option year at $15 million, as their exclusive negotiating window expires. Ramirez never responded to the offer.

Nov. 17, 2008: Ramirez places fourth in NL MVP Award voting.

Dec. 1, 2008: The Dodgers offer Ramirez salary arbitration.

Dec. 7, 2008: Ramirez does not accept the Dodgers’ offer of salary arbitration.

Dec. 9, 2008: Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, meet at the Winter Meetings, their first meeting in a month.

Dec. 31, 2008: Colletti and Boras exchange voicemails in an attempt to resume negotiations. They speak later in the week, opening a dialogue after nearly two months absent of negotiations.

Jan. 16, 2009: Coletti said “there’s a dialogue” to describe negotiations with Boras.

Jan. 26, 2009: The Los Angeles Sports Council names Ramirez’s trade to the Dodgers the top L.A. sports moment of 2008.

Feb. 1, 2009: The Dodgers make Ramirez an offer of one-year, $25 million.

Feb. 2, 2009: Ramirez rejects the offer of one-year, $25 million.

Feb. 7, 2009: Ramirez tells the Los Angeles Times “we’re in the seventh inning and I’m waiting for my pitch.”

Feb. 13, 2009: Colletti says, “there’s been some progress made, but obviously not enough” to get Ramirez signed. Torre confirms he has had several phone calls with Ramirez in recent weeks assuring the outfielder that the club wants him back.

Feb. 14, 2009: The Dodgers open the new Camelback Ranch-Glendale Spring Training complex, saving an end locker in the clubhouse for Ramirez.

Feb. 21, 2009: Colletti says talks with Boras in the previous week were “more frequent and longer in duration.”

Feb. 25, 2009: In a Dodger Stadium meeting of club chairman Frank McCourt, Colletti, Boras and associate Mike Fiore, the Dodgers offer Ramirez $25 million for 2009 and $20 million for 2010, then, at the request of Boras, make 2010 a player option.

Feb. 26-28, 2009: The Dodgers and Ramirez spend three days exchanging variations of the two-year, $45 million deal, with deferred compensation the sticking point.

March 4, 2009: Ramirez agrees to a two-year, $45 million contract, with $25 million deferred over five years and a player opt-out clause after one year.

March 12, 2009: Ramirez is scratched one hour before his long-anticipated spring debut because of a tight left hamstring.

March 13, 2009: Ramirez makes his exhibition debut, walking twice and hitting a single In three plate appearances.

March 15, 2009: Ramirez leaves a spring game early after aggravating his left hamstring injury.

March 18, 2009: Despite being held out of baseball action for at least a week because of the hamstring injury, Ramirez takes part in a promotion for DirecTV at Nichols Park in Gilbert, Ariz., home to the Arizona Cricket Club, hitting five of eight cricket pitches.

March 23, 2009: Ramirez returns to spring action after eight days off as designated hitter and goes 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a double-play grounder against the Angels.

March 24, 2009: Ramirez hits his first home run of the spring against the Mariners.

April 6, 2009: The Dodgers beat the Padres, 4-1, in San Diego on Opening Day. Ramirez goes 0-for-3 with a run scored.

April 8, 2009: Ramirez goes 2-for-4 against the Padres and drives in three runs, his first RBIs of the season.

April 18, 2009: Ramirez hits his first home run of the year, a first-inning shot against the Colorado Rockies, and has now hit homers against all 30 active Major League clubs.

April 30, 2009: The Dodgers debut the “Mannywood” seating section in the Field Level on the fair side of the left-field foul pole, selling tickets n pairs with a Mannywood T-shirt for $99 — the same number as Ramirez’s uniform.

May 4, 2009: Ramirez hits a first-inning home run, his sixth of the season, drives in three runs, and the Dodgers go on to beat Arizona to begin the season with 11 straight home wins, setting a National League record. They are 34-9 at home since last year’s All-Star break and 29-7 since Ramirez joined the team.

May 6, 2009: Ramirez doubles and drives in two runs as the Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals, 10-3, for their modern-day record 13th straight home victory.

May 7, 2009: Ramirez is suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for performance-enhancing drug use.

 

Doug Miller and Ken Gurnick are reporters for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.