Yetis Don't Play Sports

The 4-3, the 3-4 and 34

2011-08-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you have been following the Patriots at all this week you'd realize they were snapping up DEs and DTs like nobody's business. All of a sudden, the Hoody (Bill Belichick) is seemingly switching to a 4-3, considering they took less than 5% of all defensive snaps from the 4-3 since 2008 that's pretty ding dang dong ridiculous.

And at the risk of sounding like the homer I am, I have to say "all hail the Hoody".

Think about it. The Patriots played 3-4 for years. They didn't do 4-3. Period. So all these offense packages that teams have been dreaming up during the lockout, and you know they were working on those, to go against the Patriots D are all out the window now because to be honest no one really knows what they are going to do.

Okay now that I have everyone thoroughly confused, here's the deal with the different types of defense. I'll go over the major differences because if I start having to get into the coverage guys...it'll make your head spin. We'll start by explaining the personnel.

Linemen: these are the big guys. In a 3-4 defense, there are 3 lineman: a nose tackle (the biggest and strongest) and two defensive ends (DE) who are on either "end" of the three man line. In the 4-3 defense, there are four linemen. The two big dudes in the middle are called defensive tackles (DT) and are usually referred to as the "left" or "right" DT. Pretty self-explanatory.

Linebackers: they do exactly what their name suggests. The stand in back of the line. These guys are a little smaller and a little faster. In the 3-4 defense, you have four linebackers and they concentrate more on stopping the run and confusing the passer (the quarterback). In the 4-3, there are only three linebackers. Linebackers have several names:

Inside Linebacker (ILB) AKA Middle Linebacker (MLB) AKA "Mike". These are your guys in the middle of the line of linebackers. This is your boss of the defense, usually the guy yelling to his teammates what the QB is about to do or if a blitz has been called, etc. These guys have to do it all, they have to spy on the quarterback, tackle, block runs up the middle, blitz, or drop back into pass coverage depending on the situation.

Outside Linebacker (OLB) The outside linebacker stands on either end of the line of linebackers. They come in two varieties:
Strongside Linebacker AKA "Sam". These are your big strong guys in terms of linebackers. They line up on the strong side,
which is the side with the most offensive players.

Weakside Linebackers AKA "Will". These are your most mobile and your fastest linebackers. They line up on the side with
the least offensive players and often have to drop back into pass coverage.

Now that you know who everyone is, here is how those defenses work.

The 3-4
In the 3-4 you have 3 linemen, they consist of one Nose tackle and 2 DEs. Behind them you have 4 linebackers. This is a defense used by the Steelers, Jets, Dolphins, Redskins, Cowboys and several other teams. This seems to be the "trendy" defensive style at the moment,

The 4-3
In the 4-3, you have 4 linemen. A left DT and a right DT and two DEs. Behind them are 3 linebackers. Currently the Colts, Eagles, Lions and several other teams favor this style of defense.

Now, just because a team prefers one over the other doesn't mean that is the only defense they do. But count the players when they line up at the line of scrimmage (where the ball is) and you'll be able to make a good guess at what style of defense they are lining up in.

Back to the Patriots. So why are they changing things up when the rest of the league seems to be going the other way? Why not? If this season has taught me anything so far it is that you can never trust Bill Belichick to do what is expected. Watching them and the Eagles this pre-season, I keep wondering where they are getting all this money from. The Patriots like to get good deals for their players but they've always stayed closer to the cap than the stingier teams. And now they are switching the defense all up and have all these new faces I don't know what the team will look like come Thursday when they take on the Jags for the first preseason game of the year. Football (for real) is ALMOST HERE!

You know what, I might even watch the whole preseason game because I'm so starved for football that I don't care if I have no idea who is playing and the JV team is out there. It's football and it's back.

Switching sports for a moment. I'd like to add something about my very favorite #34 since we've been talking about 3-4 and 4-3. David Ortiz had a monster night against the Twinkies (Min Twins) tonight. 4-5 with 3 RBIs and just a triple short of the cycle is no laughing matter, especially since the team arrived in Minnesota around 5 PM due to an extremely late marathon against the Yankees. Papi has been slumping a little since the break, but seems to be coming out of it with a great night tonight and some solid ABs against the Yankees.

Schedule for the week:

Sox vs. Twins 8/9 and 8/10

Sox vs. Mariners 8/12-8/14

Patriots vs. Jags 8/11

Now if only I didn't have finals, this would be a fantastic week. I gotta go dig out my jerseys because FOOTBALL IS BACK!

The Modest Monarch: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

2011-08-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, normally I am not a celebrity stalker. Frankly, I think they are just like everyone else and should be left alone. However, I am completely and totally obsessed with the new Duchess of Cambridge's style. Not only because it is classic and elegant, but because it is MODEST. Not just modest as in covered up but modest in price as well. Let me explain.

Last week E! made a big deal about the fact that not only did the Duchess recycle a coat, she also recycled a dress. Shocking! It amazes me that anyone thinks twice about this. We all have clothes we like. We like how they fit, feel, and look on us. Raise your hand if you recycle outfits (I'll give you a hint, we all do it!) I found it refreshing. Yes, the dress is designer. Its also fantastic so why wouldn't she wear it more than once? Same goes for the coat. The only new thing in her outfit for Zara Phillip's wedding was the hat. Granted it was an expensive hat, but it's one we will probably see again. Plus she doesn't seem to be allergic to off-the-rack clothing. I'm pretty sure she's gone out in stuff from Banana Republic, Zara (which is really cute but very reasonable) and clothes that won't cost you your first born child. It's important to note that both she and her sister Pippa seem to not care where the clothes come from, so long as they are cute, but invest in nice designer bags and shoes, which is a smarter investment than a $200 shirt.

The other thing I love is the modesty. She looks fantastic but she can move without fear of, as my father always said, "giving someone the chance to autograph her underwear". And her clothes don't show too much of the girls. And that makes her prettier than some of these trashy hollywood starlets who think the less skin you show, the sexier. Maybe its because I'm a woman, but I just think they look cheap. You wear a $50 dress from Khols that fits right and looks good and doesn't show too much skin, you can look more expensive and well-dressed than someone in a $400 designer dress that leaves too little to the imagination. I truly hope the drop in hemlines and the more modest style of the spring and fall will carry over into next year. I hope with the influence of the Duchess, we may see a return of modesty.

I want this not only because I think that will make women everywhere look better, but also because I am tired of seeing spare-tires and muffin tops hanging over too-tight jeans, thongs and butts hanging out of shorts and skirts, and dresses that really are entirely too short to be a dress. Enough is enough, people. Really.

One more thing to discuss, in terms of looking fantastic on a modest budget, but investing in quality. It's called "Clinton Math". I named it this because it comes from Clinton Kelly and the TLC show What Not To Wear. It is a really great tool to help make decisions when shopping and identifying what is a good investment and what isn't. Here's how it works:

Look at the price of your item.
Example: LOFT sweater, $50

Ask yourself: how many times will I wear this sweater?
Example: At least 3 times a month from Sept-April, a total of 21 times

Now, divide the price of the item by the number of times per wear.
Example: 50/21=$2.38 a wear.

But because it is a wardrobe basic, we also have to think about how many years you will use it. For this I'll estimate at least 2.
So the math becomes 50/42 = $1.19 a wear. That's not terrible, especially for something that is work appropriate.

You have to decide for yourself what you want to spend for each type of clothing. $2 a wear for a wardrobe staple may not be a bad investment, but $2 a wear for pajamas...that may be a bit much.

So just remember divide the price by the number of times you think you will wear an item and that will really start to make you think about the cost of clothes.

au revoir

-Sara

NFL Week 10: Blackout for Big Blue, Big Ben, But Not Buffalo

2010-11-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

Here's the big story of the week: The Bills have won their first game of the season. They beat the Lions 14-12. The Lion's ability this season to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is astounding. Good for the Bills, terrible for Detroit.

On to the actual big stories of the week.

The lights went out in New Jersey. Literally. And we aren't talking about an old dump like Schaefer Stadium, we are talking about the Brand Spanking New New Meadowlands Stadium. Did they forget to pay the power bill or what? Perhaps the Giants need to call in Mike Holmes from HGTV to check out their contractors work and fix what they did wrong.

Things did not go uphill from there. The Cowboys had already plowed over the Giants and were leading the game 26-6 early in the third quarter. The Giants made a good run after the lights came back on 12 minutes later, but much of the amenities we are used to did not return. The biggest thing missing for viewers at home? The score graphic.

Not that it mattered as the Cowboys beat the Giants 33-20. Jason Garret got his first win and the 'Boys are now 2-7. But hey, if the Cowboys run the table and beat Philly twice, New Orleans and Washington in Dallas, and Indianapolis and Arizona at home, they'll be 9-7 and may even make the playoffs.

Not exactly likely, but they don't say "any given Sunday" for nothing.

Another big story of the week: Jacksonville at Houston. After starting the season hot, Houston seems to have cooled off a bit. They went 4-2 before the bye and have lost all three games since then. But nothing hurts as much as the way they lost to Jacksonville on a last-second Hail Mary pass thrown by David Garrard, batted like a volleyball by Houston defensive back Glover Quin into the hands of Jacksonville wide receiver Mike Thomas who scored the go-ahead touchdown with no time left.

Someone needs to explain what you should do in that situation to Quin. You don't bat the ball you catch it. Or at least make sure that no one else can catch it. Either way Houston walked away with it's third straight loss and Jacksonville walked away happy.

On to the Sunday Night Game. Pretty good match up as far as Sunday Night games go. The Patriots and the Steelers had identical records, Pittsburgh was coming off a win over Cincinnati, and the Patriots were coming off a shellacking by the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Tomlin called it a match up of emotion verses cerebral. In one sense it is. The Steelers are more aggressive, hard running, taking the lunch pail to the coal mine kind of mentality. The Patriots are like a steady organized assembly line, everyone has a roll, and they do it or they are replaced.

Of course, Tom Brady showed more emotion in the first half that most of the fans there. After his stagnant offense got in it's own way (again) he pulled them together and blasted them. That seemed to do the trick as the offense quickly put the game out of reach.

It didn't help that Big Ben was sacked 5 times for 38 yards, as the offensive line couldn't hold up with both of Ben's blind side guys, Max Starks and Chris Keomeatu, out with injuries. They also could not establish the run with the offensive line, and when you take away the run, you take away the play-action pass.

All told it was really a bad match up for the Steelers. They are excellent against the run, but the Patriots run game is iffy at best. They have a decent secondary, but the team is predicated on stopping the run. When you face a team that is pass first think about the run later, and your linebackers are not generally pass rushers, its a difficult match up. Especially with the return of Logan Mankins and a generally stout offensive line built around protecting the passer.

Final score: 39-26, though all three of the Steelers touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, which started with the Pats up 23-3. It is of note that Hines Ward left the game early with a "neck injury" (aka concussion) and did not return, leaving the red zone offense to the likes of Randell El.

Other notes from Sunday:

Newly minted Titan Randy Moss caught one pass out of the 5 thrown to him as the Titans dropped one in Miami. The day was equally bad for Miami, despite the win. Chad Pennington attempted his first two passes of the regular season, was promptly injured and now requires surgery. See you in 2011 Chad. So in came Chad Henne. He made it to the tail end of the third quarter before injuring his knee on an incomplete pass. The Dolphins have not ruled out Henne for week 11.

After Henne left, in came quarterback number three, Tyler Thigpen. At this point Tennessee, themselves on their second quarterback of the game, was only down by five. But Thigpen threw a touchdown to Anthony Fasano, they kicked a field goal, and Miami's defense held Tennessee scoreless in the fourth on their way to a 29-17 victory.

The Jets managed to score in the last minute of overtime to defeat the Cleveland Browns 26-20.

Carson Palmer's late interception halted Cincinnati's comeback against Indianapolis as the Colts hang on to win 23-17.

Tampa Bay clobbered Carolina 31-16, just about every player on the Broncos scored in their 49-29 route of Kansas City. Ye Olde Gunslinger Brett Farve's 1 TD and 3 INTs helped the Chicago Bears on their way to a 13-27 victory over Minnesota.

It is also notable that Jay Cutler thew 3 TDs and 2 INTs in the game and he and Farve are tied for the most picks thrown this season.

Seattle, with Matt Hasselbeck back at the helm, easily defeated the hapless Cardinals 36-18 and the Niners rallied for 10 points in the fourth quarter and an OT field goal to defeat the St. Louis Rams 23-20, giving QB Troy Smith his first win of the season.

Philly takes on Washington tonight, and with the Giants loss to Dallas, an Eagles win would put them in a tie for first in the NFC East with the G-Men. If the Redskins win they will move into a tie for second with the Eagles.

Big games next week:

Brett Farve and the Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers at home in Minnesota.

Philadelphia plays at home against the Giants, and if they win this week against the Skins, it would be a battle for first in the NFC East.

The Broncos taking on the Chargers could be a good game, certainly a make-or-break one for San Diego, and if Denver plays like it did this last week, the Bolts could be in for a tough one.

And the mother of them all:

Indianapolis at New England. The weather at the moment is cold but clear and this looks to be a big match up, as these games always are, pitting Tom Brady against Peyton Manning. Both teams are pretty evenly matched, with the Pats getting a slight edge for being at home. We should be in for a real treat, watch at 4:15 on CBS.

Special Teams, Special Win

2010-10-05T21:12:00.001-07:00

I've seen a lot of MNF games in my life, and a lot of Patriots MNF games. I've seen great defenses, better offenses, and pretty good special teams. But I have never seen anything like what happened on Monday night.

The Patriots set an NFL record for scoring a touchdown 5 different ways:

1. Brandon Tate kickoff returned for a touchdown (start of the second half)
2. Patrick Chung blocks a punt with 13:32 remaining in the 3rd quarter, which leads to a BenJarvis Green-Ellis rushing touchdown with 12:50 to play in the 3rd.
3. Tom Brady threw to Danny Woodhead for 11 yards and a touchdown with 4:09 left in the 3rd.
4. Patrick Chung blocks a field goal attempt and Kyle Arrington picks the ball up and scores with 14:16 left in the game
5. Brandon Marshall doesn't commit to his route which leads to Chad Henne throwing the ball right to Patrick Chung who promptly runs the ball 35 yards for a pick-6 touchdown.

Actually, that's pretty much the only ways you can score a touchdown, the only one missing was a punt return.

By the way, Rob Ninkovich is the honorary Yeti of The Week for stopping two Miami drives with his first and second interceptions of his career. Chad Henne will be seeing number 50 in his sleep this week.

Also, kudos to Randy Moss. He didn't see a lot of action this week, but his presence on the field opened things up for the running game, the tight ends and the slot receivers. (PS...please don't trade him!)

Tom Brady also won his 100th game of his career, 7 games faster than any other quarterback, the next quickest being Dan Marino at 138 games, in the Superbowl Era (yes, that includes Peyton Manning, it took him 154 games). In fact, only two coach-quarterback combinations have more wins together than Brady and Belichick, and if they stay together for the next two years, they will easily surpass that number.

But the offense was not really the story on Monday. It seems the thing missing last year was Rodney Harrison. Not necisarily him, personally, but his ability to get the team feeling like they were being disrespected, overlooked, and underappreciated by everyone else. For the first time in a while, that team looked around the locker room and knew that all they had was each other. If you don't think that's a powerful thing, you haven't seen the difference between a team gelling on defense and a team not gelling on defense.

It's night and day.

This time the lack of respect was brought up by the Hood Man himself. In the Patriots weekly newspaper, they post the "expert" picks from around the NFL. None of the experts picked New England, and most of them were down on the young defense, calling them the worst pass defense in the league. Bill Belichik thought it appropriate to share that with his team, and most of them did not appreciate the lack of faith from the leagues "experts".

Yes, the defense needs work, but its hardly the worst in the league. The defense is young, and with that youth comes the propensity to make mistakes. Without veteran leadership from guys like Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, who are, admittedly, the one-in-a-million type guys who lead without trying, some of the young guys fall apart when they make mistakes instead of fighting back.

This Patriots defense fought back, and fought back hard.

The first half wasn't pretty. In fact, Miami would have scored another two touchdowns if it weren't for Rob Ninkovich. But Ninkovich was prepared, he knew the routes Miami was running, and it paid off. So despite the fact that they gave up 400 yards, they only gave up 14 points. And I'll take that any day. When they needed stops, they got them, and as such looked much, much better then they had the previous two weeks.

Which is good, because you can't give up thirty points to Buffalo and have people take you seriously as a defense. But I was really impressed at how everyone stepped up their game this week. Mayo seemed to be all over the field, making tackles left and right, Banta-Cain got some good pressure in Henne, Patrick Chung made some outstanding plays and so did Rob Ninkovich.

The most important improvement from the defense this week was confidence. When the game was close, they held it together. They shut down the Dolphins and kept them down. And confidence can be built on. Now they know they have this sort of game in them, now they have a huge chip on their shoulder by being doubted so completely, now they are playing as a team.

Bill Belichick needs to take a page out of Doc River's book and have his defense working on Ubuntu. It means "I am what I am because of who we all are". It is the Celtics mantra, and what helps them remember that individuals do not win games, teams do.

So I am heading into the bye week with hope. Hope for the Patriots, and hope for that young defense.

And since the Red Sox are officially out, I'm going with my hometown boy Mike Cuddyer and saying "GO TWINS!". This could also stem from a hatred of the Rays, dislike of the Texans, and a burning, intense hatred for the Skankees.

Goals For The Fall: Cook More, Run More & Understand Hockey

2010-09-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Going off the title, I have decided to better learn to cook this fall. And I've been wanting to read the book Julie & Julia after seeing the movie. I love cooking but I'm not great at it yet, so we'll see how that goes.

And October is fast approaching. Which, if you even remotely follow sports, its a big month. The MLB postseason kicks off October 6th with the ALDS and NLDS. (American League and National League Division Series). The NBA preseason starts, but no one really pays much attention to that, and the real NBA starts October 26th. The NFL is in full swing in October with games every Sunday and Monday, and college football starts to get into interesting conference match-ups. Oh, and if you follow hockey, that starts October 7th too.

Which means I'll be doing a lot of cooking in front of the tiny little tv in my kitchen instead of the giant HD one in the living room. Go figure.

I also got a Gordon Ramsay cookbook. Gotta love him. I love watching Kitchen Nightmares on the BBC, it's fantastic.

Another goal of the fall: continue running, which, by the way, is some sort of bizarre addiction. Doing a 10K in October, 10 Miler in December, 14K in February, and Half-Marathon in March. Maybe another 10K in April. After you run a Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) a 10K (6.2 miles) seems a whole lot easier.

Which brings me to the idea of running as a sport. It is completely different from team sports in that you are not usually motivated by a coach, and for most sports, running is the punishment for doing something wrong. I know, we used to have to run around the field if we missed a pop-up because we didn't use two hands or didn't get the glove all the way down on a ground ball. Now my coach likes squats. Five squats for every screw-up. Ouch.

So because I am training for a 10K, infinitely easier than training for the 1/2 Marathon, I'm going to use the cooking goal and the running goal and combine them. How, you ask? Easy. I'm going to learn healthy, energizing recipes I can use not only as a tasty meal, but something that gives me fuel and electrolytes and all the vitamins and minerals you need to get in shape and keep your body from having problems when you do run.

So on to the final fall goal: hockey.

I love hockey. I find myself watching it with rapt attention like you would watch the word "dvd" bounce around the screen in a boring meeting waiting for it to hit the corner. But I have zero clue what's going on. Its different from the other sports I watch, because I know the rules of those, except curling. I still don't have a good grasp on that. Anyway, hockey is the beast that has eluded me for some time. Its like football combined with basketball combined with MMA (mixed martial arts).

And it moves as fast as the 100 meter dash.

So what is the best way to go about learning the sport? I've found the most effective way is to watch it with someone who knows and ask questions. Yes. It is never bad to ask questions, even if you think they are stupid. There's a difference between asking a stupid question because you want to understand and asking a stupid question because you want attention.

If you are uncomfortable with a group setting, ask someone in advance to watch a game with you and explain it. Chances are good they won't mind. Which is my plan. This fall I will master hockey, I will understand it, I will know how to pronounce all the Russian and Canadian names, and I will not jump on the Sidney Crosby bandwagon (Go Bruins!)

So, by December 21st (the official start of winter) I will be a better cook, a better runner, and possibly a hockey fan. Who knows. Life is full of possibilities.

Ga-Ga For Gronk, Crazy For Crumpler

2010-08-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

The New England Patriots new tight end, Rob Gronkowski, is my new favorite player. Called, almost appropriately, "Gronk", he is one of three Gronkowskis in the league this season. Chris Gronkowski plays fullback for Dallas and Dan Gronkowski, is a tight end for the Lions. They are the only set of three siblings in the NFL at this time.

Gronk is an absolute beast. 6'6" and 264 pounds, and only 21, he is what I like to call a "big fella".

His play during the first half of the Rams/Patriots game tonight solidified my good opinion of him. He's a big, blocking tight end and taking over in a position that's been largely ineffective the last few years.

But that's not all the Patriots did to improve their tight end play.

They added speedy Aaron Hernandez and bull-dozing Alge Crumpler to create a really interesting mix of tight ends that can add wrinkles to the Patriots offense this season.

And tonight, both Gronk and Crumpler have been showing off.

In the first half, Gronkowski literally dragged linebacker James Laurinaitis about five yards before diving and just breaking the plane for a touchdown. He looked like a favorite uncle trying to escape the pesky niece or nephew that just won't let go of his foot. (Video here)

And the Patriots were in the red zone thanks to a huge, on his knees, hands clamped onto the ball catch on the sideline by Alge Crumpler. I'd say that was Sportscenter highlight number one and Gronk's trip to the end zone number two. (Video here)

I would look for Gronk to be a big end zone target in the mold of Mike Vrabel. Vrabel worked as a touchdown target because he was big, quick, and had good hands. Vrabel was two inches shorter and four pounds lighter than Gronkowski.

And Crumpler will not only provide an experienced blocker with good hands, but his ten years of experience will rub off on his rookie counterparts.

How much better is this team going to be when you can't tell if Brady is going to check down to one of his tight ends, or if they will provide blocks for runs or big throws. Plus, it is hard for some of the guys in the backfield, who average about 6', 200 pounds, to guard someone who is just plain bigger than them.

Now if only some of the awesomeness of the new tight ends will rub off on the defense, the Patriots will be unstoppable.

Brady, Manning and the CBA: 18 Games and Counting

2010-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are both in the final year of their contracts this year. The NFL is spiraling towards a lockout in 2011 and a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). There might be 18 games in the 2012 regular season. And it's the all-important week three of the preseason where starters play most of the game.

First off, the ever-present, but not talked about as much as Darelle Revis's holdout, contract negotiations. One would think this would be one of the summer's biggest stories, aside from Albert Haynesworth and his conditioning test.

Of course, the two teams and two men under discussion are football-focused and generally mum to the media on any issues.

Tom Brady looks to bounce back this season, another year removed from his knee injury, and he has his favorite weapons of Moss and Welker, plus shiny new tight-ends and a healthy troupe of running backs.

If his young defense picks it up this season, even in a difficult division with a killer schedule, the Patriots should make the playoffs. Again.

And Manning is consistently very good, winning accolades and games. Brady has more rings and is younger, so he should probably be paid a bit more, but both players are looking at contracts upwards of $100 million.

So why haven't the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts inked their franchise QBs to mega-million dollar deals?

Here are a few reasons:

1. Both teams want their star quarterbacks and are willing to fork up the cash, but both want to say their guy is the highest paid guy. Maybe Robert Kraft (Pats owner) and Jim Irsay (Colts owner) need to call each other up and pay them the exact same.

2. Jim Irsay forgot Peyton Manning is payed to play football. Irsay is so used to seeing Manning on TV in one of his million commercials, he thought he was an actor.

3. Bill Bellichick and Robert Kraft don't like Tom Brady's haircut and are hoping to ink a deal once he gets it cut.

4. Why pay a guy millions of dollars if you are just going to lock him out next year?

At least one of those reasons is a joke. The prospect of no football next year is not, however.

The NFL is one of the most successful companies in the country. And yes, it may be a game, but it is still a company in the business of making money.

The players want better health care, which they only receive for five years after retirement. Also, they don't want to add two games to the season, partially because they are concerned about injury and partially because they won't be paid extra for the extra games.

The owners want more money. No one goes to the preseason games, so they want more butts in the seats eating popcorn and drinking beer.

As for the lockout? No problem. The owners get paid big bucks next year whether we watch football on Sundays or re-runs of I Love Lucy.

The sides are only miles apart on the issues, and will grow further as the owners approved the "enhanced" season (AKA the 18 game one) today. That would have to be approved by the Players Union, and that's looking like a big, fat "no" at the moment.

So how do we solve this quandary?

Some suggest a compromise of a 17-game season and 3 weeks of preseason. That won't work because it's not "fair". Some teams would get two home games, others only one.

Okay, how about 17 and 2? And I bet if the owners lowered the price of the games, like baseball does for spring training, you would get more butts in the seats eating popcorn and drinking beer. That's probably not going to happen.

The players might agree to the 18-game season if they are paid for it and their health benefits are increased. It also wouldn't hurt to restructure the rookie salaries to be slotted like the NBA, allowing you to pay players based on their merit in the NFL as opposed to what they did in college.

Until this is all sorted out, expect delays on all contract negotiations, even the gimmes like Brady and Manning. And enjoy what football gives this season, we may have to wait another 18 months between this season's Superbowl and the next season opener.

Pats Points: The Return of Welker, Taylor, and the Running Game

2010-08-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Patriots fans around the country held their breath for a few seconds on Thursday when the New England Patriots took on the Atlanta Falcons in their second of four oh-so-important preseason games. Wes Welker got clocked by Falcons corner back Christopher Owens. But Wes did exactly what he used to do: pop back up like one of those punching bag clowns.

And then we all could breathe. You have to admire his toughness, no one expected him to be anywhere near ready for the preseason, much less the regular season, but it looks like he will be ready for the regular season. And if they want to ease him back in, Julian Edelman is looking like he's never heard the term "Sophomore Slump".

The big cloud hanging over the offense is Logan Mankins, and while ESPN can't get enough of the very dramatic Darrelle Revis holdout, there's been almost nothing from the Pats camp. Surprised? No. Broadcasters can barely get the starting lineup for preseason games out of the Patriots camp, what makes you think they would ever talk about contract negotiations?

Despite the lack of Logan and the questionable offensive line depth, the Patriots showed us they could do something else: run the ball.

Now with Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss on your team, the offense will throw the ball. Last year the Patriots had a committee of running backs and still did not run the ball well. Fred Taylor reminded the NFL that he still has some left in the tank. Remember, Taylor missed ten games last year with an ankle injury, and Sammy Morris missed some time as well. That left inexperienced BenJarvis Green-Ellis and inconsistent Laurence Maroney to get the bulk of the carries.

This year the committee is back. If everyone stays healthy, the Patriots new dedication to a balanced offense can mean breakout years for the younger guys and getting back to form for Fred Taylor. Kevin Faulk will, as always, be consistent, and be the third down and receiving back.

There are questions that looming for the Patriots: the offensive line, Tom Brady's contract, Logan Mankin's holdout, and a few injuries injury, we do know a few things. The offense will be more balanced, barring injury to all like, seven running backs, there will be a ground game. Tom Brady looks much better in the second year off his knee injury. Wes Welker is apparently a freak of nature who heals faster than your average human, Fred Taylor is not as old as we think he is, and none of these questions will be answered before the hobo-like Hood Man Bill Belichick says so. Because the Patriots are like the mob, they don't talk to anyone about the family.

NFL Jargon: Acronyms, Nicknames and Words to Wonder About

2010-06-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

The NFL is one for acronyms and nicknames. With OTAs, uprights, the Fins, Gang Green and pig-skins its hard to keep track of what, exactly, is going on. Here's a few things to remember when watching or talking about football:

OTAs: This is an acronym for "Organized Team Activities". These are like the pre-season to the pre-season. They are not mandatory, usually last from late April and into May, and the most you get out of them is a good look at rookies and free-agents and something to talk about if someone's having issues with their contract. Not terribly exciting, but for the hard-core football fan, it sort of kicks off the football season.

mini-camp: exactly like it sounds. It's another event before the start of training camp in the end of May, but usually only lasts three days. These are usually mandatory, but no where near as intensive as training camp.

uprights: the goal-post. Usually when a kicker hits a field goal right in the middle it is called "splitting the uprights".

Here are a few (of the many) team nicknames:

AFC East
New England Patriots: The Pats, Flying Elvi (named for the patriots logo, which resembles a flying Elvis head), Patsies

Miami Dolphins: The Fins or The Fish ("The Fish" is also a nickname for the Marlins, so it is less used than the other)

New York Jets: Jersey B (they play in New Jersey along with the Giants), Gang Green, and the Jest (when they play poorly).

Buffalo Bills: no nicknames but interesting trivia, they are the only team to play their home games in the state of New York.

AFC South
Indianapolis Colts: The Dolts. Not as widely used now that the Colts are pretty good, but still funny

Tennessee Titans: The Flaming Thumbtacks (just look at the logo), also the Oilers or the Tenn. Traitors, but only for people who are angry that the Houston Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans.

Houston Texans: the Texans are really too new to have a nickname. Trivia: they are the only major sports team in the US to not play in the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars: the Jags. Again, they are pretty new. For more information on how a team could be "new" look up "expansion teams".

AFC North
Pittsburg Steelers: The Black and Gold (self-explanatory), their field, Heinz Field, is also nicknamed the Ketchup Bottle for obvious reasons.

Baltimore Ravens: The Crows. Not terribly creative but still true.

Cleveland Browns: the Dawgs. A corner in the 80s nicknamed his team this to help motivate them and it stuck.

Cincinnati Bengels: the Bungles (when things are going badly) and Cincy (for the city)

AFC West
San Diego Chargers: The Bolts (for the lightening bolt design on their helmets)

Denver Broncos: no nicknames

Kansas City Chiefs: KC (again, the city), and the Chefs (this has something to do with a Snickers commercial...not sure why)

Oakland Raiders: the Silver and Black (team colors), Da Raidahs (for the way Chris Berman pronounces the team's name)

NFC East
Washington Redskins: The DeadSkins (when they play poorly), The Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons (due to the stink made occasionally by the name "Redskins", this is an overly politically correct nickname) and the Skins

Dallas Cowboys:The Boys and America's Team (given by the media in the 90s)

New York Giants: G-Men, Jersey A (being the other New York team that plays in New Jersey), and Big Blue (uniform color)

Philadelphia Eagles: surprisingly, no nicknames for this team.

NFC South
New Orleans Saints:the Aint's (when playing poorly), the Sinners (play on the idea of Saints/Sinners)

Atlanta Falcons: the Dirty Birds (the team nicknamed themselves this on their way to a Superbowl appearance)

Carolina Panthers: Cardiac Cats (in 2003 the Panthers made a living off of fourth quarter comebacks)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: the Bucs

NFC North
MInnesota Vikings: the Vikes, occasionally the Purple People Eaters

Green Bay Packers: The Pack, their fans are sometimes called "Cheese Heads" because of the cheese head hats frequent at games

Chicago Bears: Da Bears

Detroit Lions: Detroilet (a combo of Detroit and toilet), the Lie-Downs (instead of Lions when they are playing poorly)

NFC West
Arizona: The Cards (short for Cardinals)

Seattle: Seagulls (another play on the team's name for when things are not going well)

San Francisco: The 'Niners (short for Forty-Niners)

St. Louis: Lambs or Goats (when playing poorly)

Now you are all introduced to team nicknames, here are a few more words to familiarize yourself with:

line of scrimmage: invisible line across the field where the ball is placed before being snapped. If a defensive player crosses that "line" they can be called "offsides" for a five yard penalty. Note: this is only in the Pros, in college, if the player gets back across before the ball is snapped a penalty is not called.

false start: if an offensive player moves before the ball is snapped, a penalty is called

hold: (or holding) An illegal action where one player keeps another from advancing by grabbing him and holding him back. This happens on nearly every play but is only called when it is in front of a ref or blatantly obvious.

red zone: twenty yards in front of the end zone. In this area, the team is likely to score a touchdown and if not, almost certainly a field goal.

pass interference: illegal hindering of a player to catch a forward pass. This means swiping at a receivers arms to knock them out of the way of the ball or the receiver knocking a defender's hands away from intercepting a forward pass. Occasionally pass interference will not be called, and you'll hear the announcers talk about "incidental contact". Pass interference is usually intentional, occasionally a defender or receiver will run into the other accidentally and prevent the catch, this is incidental contact. Not intentional and not a penalty.

no huddle offense: usually used in late game situations when there is little time left in the game or half, a team will not huddle before each play. This also speeds up the game and prevents defenses from getting set and making substitutions.

blind side: the direction a player is not facing. For example, a quarter back who throws with his right hand will be facing away from the left. HIs left side will typically be his blind side, but it depends on the quarterback and where he is passing.

Now you have sufficient knowledge of football's acronyms and nicknames, you are ready to impress your friends and can understand the game just a bit better.

Duet Or Ménage À Trois? An AL East Preview 2010

2010-04-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

Last year the Yankees (ugh) took home the ring. The year before, the Rays lost to the Phillies in the World Series. And three years ago, the Red Sox won. Needless to say, the AL East is looking to have a repeat appearance this year. But who?

The Red Sox made some moves to shore up defense, the Yankees lost a few bats, and the Rays and Orioles reloaded with young prospects and solid trades.

So who is going to win?

If the Yankees could get consistent starts from their three-four-five guys, they could win the division.

Is that likely? No.

The Red Sox lost a big bat in Jason Bay but added John Lackey, who could be a number one starter. In actuality, he starting number three, behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. He'll be followed by the seemingly ageless Wakefield, Dick-K, and the young, talented Clay Buchholz. Now, Dice-K is injured and we're not really sure how Buchholz is going to do, but if they all bounce back, the Sox could go for a six man rotation.

Not likely, but it could happen.

The Rays, as always, are the Dark Horse. They have iffy pitching and young guys just starting their careers, but they are faster than the Yankees and Red Sox. Not to mention, they are very talented. Of course that youth does lend itself to inconsistency, especially playing in Boston and New York, where the fans can be pretty hostile. Taking that all into consideration, do they win over 90 games?

Eh. Maybe.

The Orioles are better. Not great, but certainly much better than last year. And Toronto...well, we'll go ahead and label this a rebuilding year for them. They traded away Doc Halladay, it's to be expected.

So with opening day just hours away (hallelujah!), what else would we do but make predictions on what is going to happen six months from now? Bear in mind I am not using any sort of scientific formulas, stats, or anything on these predictions, which is contrary to the typical baseball fan's thinking. (Admit it, we love stats!)

I'm doing something new this year, I'm going with my gut. I've watched these guys all spring, and this is what I came up with it.

First, my final division standings:

Red Sox
Rays*
Yankees
Orioles
Blue Jays

Call me a homer, but I really like this Red Sox team. They are a little faster, their defense is better, and the addition of John Lackey is a huge boost to the pitching staff. The bullpen is good, and Daniel Bard is waiting in the wings, so if Jonathan Papelbon struggles with closing, he can be replaced. I don't see that happening, but I'm sure that a little competition would be a good way to get his competitive juices flowing.
Plus, who wants to face a weekend where your pitchers are Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey?
Yikes.
And you've got Jacoby Ellsbury, who is stellar and still not done developing. Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia are great at the plate, and if Papi returns to form?
Double yikes.
If they all stay healthy and the pitchers stay on their form, there's no reason this team can't win the division.

Now to explain the asterisk on the Rays.
Like I said, the Rays are the Dark Horse. Evan Longoria is a beast, and they have a few young guys like B.J. Upton who are due for a breakout year. A few good trades and young talent means this Rays team is a lot like the one that went to the World Series in 2008.
I just get a feeling about this team. But here's a caveat. I think the Rays will get off to a big start, but if they start to falter around the All-Star break, I'm going to put them out of the playoffs. I just think that if they get too far behind or see themselves slipping, they might fold under the pressure. So that's why I put the Rays as the Wild card*.

So on to Steinbrenner and his evil Minions.
Let's start with the pitching staff. C.C. Sabathia is a beast. There's no denying that, but after him gets a little...iffy. A.J. Burnett doesn't like throwing to Jorge Posada, but Jose Molina is gone, so he has no choice. Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez are good inning eaters, but Pettitte's age makes him a question mark.
And yes, Mark Teixeira, Jeter, A-Rod, they can all hit, but the Yankees bench isn't exactly deep this year. The losses of Judas (I mean Johnny) Damon and Matsui hurts them in terms of power. The Yankees look good this year, but repeating is very difficult, and in a division this tough? Eh.
I have them (maybe) not making the playoffs. But that's dependent on the Rays.
My prediction for the Yanks is third/Wild card. They played like a team on a mission last year and I just don't get that feeling from them now.

As for the other teams in the AL East...
The Orioles really did a lot this year, and while they probably won't make the playoffs, they will make life hard on everyone else in the East. They have a young staff that in a few years could really give the rest of the AL East headaches, and we could see flashes of that this season. My prediction, they finish in fourth place.

The Blue Jays...they won't do much this year. They couldn't make it to the playoffs when they had the one-two punch of Halladay and Burnett. They've got some good players, but it's not enough to compete in a division that has the Yankees and Red Sox.

We'll start to see things heat up in this division around the All-Star break, that's when the good teams will separate from the bad and the ugly. Then we'll know if we have a Red Sox-Yankees duet or a Red Sox-Rays-Yankees Ménage À Trois.

How to Succeed At Belichick University

2009-07-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

The New England Patriots "system", run by Bill Belichick is not easy. It requires a player to be smart, selfless, dedicated, and hard working. Some players succeed and thrive in this environment, others drop out because they can't hack it. Some transfer and some are sent away, finished or not.

The ones that finish have a much easier time, generally, than the ones who weren't a fit for the system.

One only needs to watch five minutes of a press conference to realize that as a coach, Bill Belichick is not easy to please. He's ornery, short, and cross. Sort of like a super-secretive mob boss with a Napoleonic complex.

But that makes him a good coach, possibly one of the best ever. His players don't make excuses, they are quizzed on their opponents, they are expected to understand the game of football and their place in it.

If you can't handle that, the Patriots will simply replace you with someone who can. Sentiment has no room in New England, you have to have the right stuff year in and year out or you're gone.

It's a rather harsh system, but has produced some great people, on and off the field.

Reigning MVP Tom Brady went down in 2008, and back-up to the stars Matt Cassel stepped in, and the Patriots still won 11 games.

2008 is a testament to Belichick University, and the New England system. It is built so all the parts are interchangeable and replaceable. They just have to know what to do.

Some of the players in the organization have fully grasped this concept and are well on their way to succeeding in life outside of football.

Rodney Harrison, the most recent graduate of the Patriots, is already making waves as a commentator. He's frank, honest, and doesn't give a flying fig about Farve. It's refreshing to find a talking head who still has a pair.

He's already one of my favorite commentators, not just because he's one of my guys, but because he's the tamer, friendlier, Curt Shilling of the NFL. Curt will tell you exactly how he feels and what he thinks about a situation. Rodney will do the same, but he's a hair more tactful than Curt.

Then there's Mike Vrabel. Vrabel went to the Cheifs with Cassel for a second round pick this year. He's getting older, and a bit slower, but this was not an easy trade to understand. Vrabel, despite some of the physical problems, is likely a future coach. Or at least an analyst.

He's a quick wit, but all that football humor comes from a deep understanding of the game and the ability to learn the game as he plays it.

The Patriots will miss his presence in the locker room, certainly, but Vrabel should be destined for great things. Whether its as an analyst or a coach, Mike should continue with the game mentally when he can no longer play physically.

There are a few graduates who are still waiting for some final grades to see if they've passed:

Matt Cassel. He may be flash in the pan as far as pure talent goes, but there's a lot to be said about what he learned as Brady's back-up and as the starter in the Patriot's system. If he remembers half of what he learned in New England, and the Cheif's O-line protects him consistently, he'll be a decent QB.

Then there's Josh McDaniels. The rookie head coach of the Denver Broncos was brought up in the Patriots organization, and is attempting to run Denver the same way. That didn't work out with Jay Cutler, but you have to wonder if maybe the rest of the team will start bucking under.

If McDaniels manages to get that locker room under control and starts to make moves to improve the team, he'll be up there with Harrison.

The hardest thing for McDaniels now will be in trying to run the Broncos the way the Patriots are run. That system didn't happen overnight, it has to be built. If he can get Marshall to stop bucking for a trade and settle down to play, he'll be taking a step in the right direction.

Then there are those who have failed. Most of them never played enough snaps in the NFL to even matter.

The New England system is a unique one.

On one hand it is an incredible learning environment. You will come out of the organization with more football knowledge than you cam in with. On the other, its a ruthless and heartless mob. No one is safe from the ax, expectations are high, and lack of preparation is not accepted

The "university" is all about winning, and the Dean is one ornery, smart, slightly obsessive, and somewhat profane perfectionist named Bill Belichick.

The Boston Red Six????

2009-07-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

On Friday the Boston Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays to kick off the second half of the season. On the hill for the Red Sox? Clay Buchholz.

Many will remember Buchholz from his no-hitter in September 2007. Many more remember how bad his 2008 was, and he was shipped off to the minors.

In 2009, Buchholz has been dominating at AAA Pawtucket, but with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny, and Dice-K, there was no room on the rotation. And when Dice-K went down, John Smoltz stepped up, so what do you do with the sixth man?

If you're Terry Francona, you put him in the rotation. Does that mean that the Red Sox could have a six-man rotation? Maybe. If Buchholz proves that he can indeed pitch at the major league level, it will be difficult to take him out of the rotation.

Early in the season, there was talk by the fans/media about Tim Wakefield eventually landing in the bullpen, but he's tied for the lead league in wins (with Josh Beckett).

How about John Smoltz? If he's locating his pitches, he's great, so...no. Penny? Nope, though he might be traded. Certainly not Lester or Beckett. Maybe to rehab Dice-K they can throw him in the 'pen.

Then you look towards August and September. By then, Dice-K will hopefully be back in good form, leaving the Red Sox with seven quality starters, if everyone stays healthy.

As usual, the Red Sox have approached the season with their eyes on October. Slipping in April and May, slumping before the All-Star break: that's nothing.

A few days rest will do the bullpen some good, and they should bounce back from the issues they've had the past two weeks or so. Bay and Youkilis are seemingly heating up again, and Papi's rejuvenated.

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have improved their starts, and seem to be the aces we expected at the beginning of the year. Smoltz is looking good. Penny is looking good. Clay Buchholz can only add to the rotation. And Wakefield? Back from his first ever All-Star game should only serve to motivate him and inspire him to keep pitching well.

So...would this six man rotation work? It cuts down on the number of starts, and thus, the number of possible wins. Or with the extra rest, does it make the starters more likely to win?

We might actually get to see the answer to that question.

The Red Sox don't care if Josh Beckett only has the opportunity to win 15 more games instead of 20, and he doesn't either, if it means the rotation will be sharp in October when everyone else is running out of gas.

No one will care if this method helps win a World Series. In fact, if that happens, six man rotations might become the rule.

Or maybe not.

The big question facing the Red Sox in the second half is a good one: what do we do with our extra pitching? They basically have great bargaining chips that won't hurt the team if they go.

Not a bad move on the Red Sox part. Which puts them in prime position to make a great run in October, with five men, or six. Whatever works.

Return to the Beasts of the East

2009-07-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

On March 16, 2009, I made the following predictions for the NL East:

Mets
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Nationals

And I said they were the best division in the National League. I also made these predictions about the AL East:

Red Sox
Rays
Yankees
Jays
Orioles

And I claimed they were the best division in the American League.

How have my predictions stacked up so far?

Lets start with the NL East. I picked the Mets to win the division because they beefed up their pitching and looked good. Injuries and bizarre mental mistakes seem to have plagued the Mets. They're in fourth, 6.5 games back from the lead. I also predicted that whoever won the NL East, the second place team would win the Wild Card.

The Marlins, as I suspected, were going to be good this year, as well as the Braves. They are young, but talented teams. The Braves aren't likely to take the division this year, but the Marlins are only four games out and with the Phillie's pitching woes, that's not far enough back.

So, my new predictions are this:

Florida Marlins
Philadelphia Phillies*
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Washington Nationals

The Mets, Braves, Phillies, and Marlins should stay fairly close to each other throughout the season, but even firing Manny Acta won't help the Washington Nationals.

*I think the Marlins take this division unless the Phillies manage to land Roy Halliday or Pedro Martinez has discovered the fountain of youth. If one or both of these things happen, the Phillies will take the division.

I no longer believe the Wild Card will come out of this division, the Wild Card will come from the West, and it will either be the San Francisco Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The second division I delved into was the American League East. I was much closer in my predictions in this division were much closer.

This division has certainly not been a disappointment. Toronto started the season on a hot streak, and though injuries have dropped them to 11 games off the lead, what they did in May and April is still impressive.

The Rays pitching woes have kept them out of first place, but they are hanging around at 6.5 games behind the lead.

Despite spending enough money to buy a small country, the Yankees pitching staff and bullpen have been inconsistent, at best. Wang's been plagued with issues, Sabathia is good, most of the time. Burnett has been less than stellar, and Chamberlain hasn't been great.

But their home-run hitting offense, coupled with the launching pad that is Yankee Stadium, have kept the Yanks in the mix just 3 games back.

And despite a rough April and May, and a little rough patch lately, the Red Sox pitching staff has been the best in the division. In the last 16 games that Beckett or Lester have started in, the Red Sox are 14-2, and both are coming off stellar pitching performances.

The offense has slumped slightly, but the balanced batting order can compensate for one player who seems to be struggling.

So how will the second half shape up for the AL East? Roy Halladay is the big bargaining chip that can make a big difference in any team's fate. If the Rays manage to land him, they will certainly make a run at the Division. If the Yankees land him, they could overtake the Red Sox and win. If the Red Sox take Halladay? No team can stand up against the rotation of Beckett, Lester, Halladay, Wakefield, possibly Penny and Smoltz, and maybe even Clay Buchholz.

So the fate of Roy Halliday aside, how does this division stack up?

Boston Red Sox*
Tampa Bay Rays+
New York Yankees^
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles

*This is a close call. If the Red Sox can straighten out their bull pen and get the offense going again, it will be difficult to take this team out. They're built for the post-season, and if they continue the domination of the East, they will be difficult to beat.

+The Rays can out-run the Yankees and the Red Sox, but if they don't get their pitching staff consistently preforming, they won't be able to beat them.

^The Yankees offense alone keeps them in this race. Their pitching is questionable, and they've delt with some injuries that haven't helped. If this offense hits a road bump, though, the Yankees could be in some real trouble.

My final prediction is this: the Wild Card will come out of the AL East.

We'll see in December just how good my predictions are.

Living With Blinders On: Cheating, Points-Shaving, and the Mob

2009-07-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the "Best of the Jim Rome Show" on the radio the other day, and I caught his interview with Michael Franzese, a former member of the Colombo family.

This guy was a big time mob guy who, after serving time, has become a motivational speaker. At least, until whoever's left of the Colombo's gets a hold of him. Hopefully that won't happen any day soon, because he gave an eye-opening interview.

Most of us know that the mob was (and probably still is) connected to gambling. And athletes and officials with a gambling problem or a debt are offered an "easy" way out. Just shave a few points, miss a few fouls, blow a few calls to cover the spred and your money problems are over.

According to Franzese, who enforced the collection of those debts, it was rampant throughout college and professional sports.

That brings up the question: just how naive are we, as sports fans?

You would think in the days of 24-hour sports networks, and a rampant, invasive media-driven culture we'd know all about any illegal actions and any gambling problems of every professional and high-profile college player.

But in the days of Internet gambling and athletes with more money than sense, do we even have a clue how many are involved with stuff like this?

Its like steroids in baseball, we know about the A-Rods and the Manny Ramirezes and the Barry Bonds, but exactly how rampant was the use of steroids and how many players are still using? There are a handful of guys you can look at in the majors today and say "these guys have never and will never use 'roids".

Guys like Derek Jeter, Dustin Pedroia and Michael Cuddyer, to name a few, have too much respect for the game to use steroids. Hopefully, guys like that are becoming the rule instead of the exception.

But if they were the exception, that means the rule was the steroid users. That's more guys than the Mitchell Report, more guys than any who have come out and said anything, like Jose Canseco, and more records that are quite possibly tainted.

And no one knew this was going on?

If we expand that to other sports, how many Tim Donaghys are there still in the NBA? A foul can change the course of a game, and a single game can change the course of a player, team, coach or franchise. How many of them are out there and why hasn't anyone noticed this before?

The same could be said in college basketball, the NCAA and the NFL. How many non-calls and phantom calls have been human error and how many have been to cover the spread?

Many NFL fans are still naive, they still have the blinders on. When the Patriots were caught video taping in 2007, many fans believe that New England was the only team unscrupulous enough to do that. Puh-lease. Get a clue. It's a copy-cat league, and whether the action they are copying is legal or not, if it works, other teams will do it.

The only team I can say with some degree of certainty wasn't doing that is probably the Colts. Aside from Tony Dungy, all coaches are that unscrupulous if it means they'll win more games

It seems to me that the sports world still has more questions than answers when it comes to this sort of thing. It all falls under on category: cheating. And the cheating is usually tied to the money.

Players and officials may cheat for money, or to repay a debt they've accrued. Coaches and players cheat to get more wins or more homers or to recover faster from an injury. All of this revolves around the all-mighty dollar.

How long have we been walking around with blindfolds on? And the greatest question of all: how prevalent is it today?

Mis-Managed: Joe Maddon and the All-Star Game

2009-07-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Kevin Youkilis was a few thousand votes away from being the starter at first for the American League. Jason Bay led the outfield in votes. Boston had the most players selected to the All-Star roster by the fans. So how exactly is it that of the five that went to the All-Star game (Dustin Pedroia understandably withdrew), they had a total of three at-bats, one inning pitched, and four innings in the field?

Tampa Bay, who did not have anyone selected to start, and Carlos Pena was added to the roster to replace someone, ended up with three players playing a total of nine innings with five at bats.

That couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Joe Maddon, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays was manging the AL All-Stars and the Red Sox are 6.5 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East standings, right?

I don't think so.

Last year's epic 15-inning affair, managed by Terry Francona, seemed much more evenly distributed. The starters got one, maybe two times up to the plate, and everyone that could get into the game, got in.

It being 15 innings long might have had something to do with it, but the point stands. Terry Francona gave every single All-Star their chance to shine, whether they were a Ray, a Yankees, or an Athletic. It didn't matter, these guys were there to be exhibited (it is an exhibition game) so everyone should get their shot on the field and at the plate.

The AL won. Congratulations. Whatever. This year's game was a huge disappointment. It was boring, the changes were hard to keep up with because certain players were replaced, while others moved all around the field to make sure they weren't replaced.

I can't complain too much about the pitching, that was handled fine, with the exception of no Wakefield. He was one of the feel-good stories of this All-Star game and he doesn't even get to pitch?

Come on! He's 42 selected to his first ever All-Star team. Fun fact: there are only two pitchers in the American league with 11 wins. Both made the All-Star roster. Neither made it into the game. Beckett because he just pitched, so that was understandable, but to not put Tim Wakefield in the game?

Maybe I didn't enjoy the game as much because the Red Sox were being pulled away from the spotlight as fast as possible by Maddon. Maybe because there were no homers, and a lot of cheap hits that are just too ordinary.

I have to wonder, had Dustin Pedroia played, would he have stayed in the game as long as Carl Crawford (who wasn't a starter) or Mark Teixeira?

Judging from last night, I'd say "no". I'm beginning to wonder if the only reason Beckett and Wakefield made the team was that Maddon couldn't find a legitimate reason to exclude them from the roster. It would be too obvious that he was biased if he left the two 11-game winners from the Red Sox off the roster in favor of a guy with 10 wins or less who wears a different uniform.

Honestly, this game doesn't mean much to me personally, but the pride people take in playing in this game deserves more respect than that. It deserves more than a manager playing favorites. I get that having the pitcher batting makes things difficult, but to not even put Kevin Youkilis, arguably one of the best defensive first-basemen in the league, one the field for even one inning is beyond disrespectful to his talent and to the fans.

At the end of the game, I switched sides. I started rooting for the National League, because there was no one left on the field for the American League that I gave a rat's you-know for.

I might have been more inclined to stick with my league of choice had I felt it was managed correctly, but last night, I would have gladly traded home field advantage if it meant that Joe Maddon would lose that game.

Monarch of the Mound

2009-07-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Royals were prepared to have a tough night with the bats, the Red Sox were also not expecting a high-scoring game, what they got was a pitchers duel that held both teams scoreless until the bottom of the eighth. This night was all about the men on the mound.

Lefty Jon Lester has owned the Royals in his three (now four) starts against them. He came in with a 1.64 ERA against KC and brought it down tonight going 8 innings with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strike-outs. He improved to 8-6 on the season and brought his ERA down to 3.87. And no one was more excited than Lester when Pedroia hit his RBI double in the 8th.

It is also interesting to note that 3 of the 4 hits given up by Lester were to lefty batter Mark Teahen.

Bannister had his way with the Red Sox as well. He went 7 2/3 innings allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, and 7 strike-outs.

Jon Lester and Brian Bannister dueled it out into the eighth, holding each other's teams scoreless* (see bottom of article for explanation, this has nothing to do with Barry Bond's home run record) until the 8th when Dustin Pedroia ripped a two-out double off the monster to put the Sox ahead 1-0 in what would be the final score.

To complete the pitching clinic put on by both teams, Jonathan Papelbon, who has been shakier this season than he's been in recent years, came on and pitched a perfect 9th.

Both Lester and Papelbon were locating pitches wherever they wanted to, and kept the Royals off-balance most of the game.

The most impressive thing to come out of the night was Jon Lester's ability to tie up hitters. He was throwing breaking balls, cutters, fast-balls, curves, anything he wanted to and hitters were tied up, confused, and watching strikes go by all night. In previous years, and even in previous starts, Lester has had to rely on his cutter and fastball more, so this is a great sign of growth.

It reminds me of what Varitek said after he pitched the no-hitter last year. That was not Jon Lester's peak. Far from it. We get to watch him grow and develop and mature as a pitcher right before our very eyes. And unlike some teams *cough* Yankees *cough*, many of our pitchers are home-grown, we didn't pay a gazillion dollars to take them from another team.

Though it is funny to note that only ONE of the Yankees big money players (Sabathia, Texiera, and Burnett) made it into the All-Star game.

You know who did make it, and who should start if there was any justice in baseball? Tim Wakefield. He probably won't, but it would be a really great thing.

One final note (to explain the asterisk):

*The Red Sox should have been up 1-0 in the 5th, when Mark Kotsay distracted the infield in a run down, Jacoby Ellsbury headed home from third. He slid in safe, very safe, if you watch the replay, but was called out.

The Sound of Silence

2009-07-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last year, everyone was talking about how bad Jason Varitek was hitting and whether or not the Sox would re-sign their aging and slumping captain. In April and May, everyone was wondering if Big Papi was simply finished. In the off-season, fans wondered just how long Tim Wakefield was going to stay in the lineup.

No one is saying that now.

Tim Wakefield is, deservedly so, and All-Star. He's been the Red Sox most consistent pitcher this season, the first on the team to 10 wins, and has had very few "bad" games. He has a chance to notch his 11th win before the All-Star break. I'm pretty sure no one even considered that this winter.

I didn't even consider it and I'm a fan of Wake!

But Wakefield never had any expectations on him. He simply flew under the radar, and was even considered to be the "weak link" in the much-touted Red Sox pitching staff. Expectations were high for Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K while Penny was the question mark and Wake was the starter, for now, who might get put in the bull pen to make room for Smoltz or Buchholz.

Lester and Beckett struggled in April. Penny's been surprising. Dice-K is on the DL. And Wake has been great. Lester and Beckett have bounced back and are their ace-like selves again, but it is nice to know that the Red Sox have that anchor in Tim Wakefield.

There's something to be said about flying under the radar. No one is talking about Jason Varitek. Why? Because there's nothing to say! He's not getting into terrible slumps, he's one homer and four doubles away from tying his 2008 numbers, his OBP is up and his strike outs are way down. Further proof that maybe last year was a fluke.

Yes, he's getting old, and yes, his stats are going to decline, but this season has been good to Varitek. He's not mentioned in the news unless he has a good night. He's certainly not hitting at a great major league level, but he's batting .243.

He's not an automatic out anymore. And that's why no one is saying a word about him. And that's a good thing.

Same with Papi. Before he hit his first home run, every at bat was scrutinized, every hit brought with it questions of age and bat speed. He slumped through April and May, and then things started to turn around.

Papi hit .320 in June with 7 of his 9 home runs. And the media coverage of David Ortiz's every at-bat stopped.

Most of the player-focused media has left Boston largely alone recently. Why? Because they aren't a much of a story. The team is playing well, the staff is pitching well, and aside from Mike Lowell returning after the All-Star break and the question of when and if Clay Buchholz will make his return to the Majors, there aren't a lot of questions swirling around about the Red Sox.

Consistancy is boring. Consistancy does not make it on Sportscenter, usually. Manny Ramirez getting himself tossed from the game does.

The Red Sox certainly aren't flying under the radar. They have the best record in the American League, the first team to have two 10-win pitchers, and are sending the most players to the All-Star game. Everyone knows they are good, that they have a great pitching staff, a balanced line-up that can hit from the top to the bottom, and a phenomenal bull pen.

But with all that, they aren't making headlines. Headlines are not necessarily good. Do you think all the Dodger players are happy that America is suddenly interested in them again solely because Manny is back? Do you think the Cubs are happy that everyone is talking about how their new owner way overpaid? Especially when the Cubs are nothing to write home about?

So let people keep talking about Manny and A-Rod and the sale of the Cubs, I am perfectly to have my boys make good headlines as a team and stay silent as individuals.

Crysal Ball: A Look at the 2009 NFL Season

2009-06-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

The 2009 season of NFL football looks to be an interesting one. 11 head-coaching changes (many of them new to the job), the Cutler Diva Drama, hold outs, the return of Tom Terrific, and the possible returns of Vick and Favre.

With all of these variables, and with roster cuts far in the future, predictions right now are a little premature. But its fun, and if I happen to be right at the end of the season I can look back and say "wow, I called that in June!"

We'll start with the NFC

NFC West

This is a difficult division to call, because there are 3 new head coaches in the division (well, Singletary was interim last year, but...) Here go my picks:

1. Arizona. I'm giving the division to the Cards because, despite the Superbowl hang-over, they are (right now) the most-stable team with the least likelihood of some kind of roster shake-up.
2. Seattle. Experience and maturity keeps them in the mix in this soft division, but that maturity could bring them down if the injury bug bites.
3. San Francisco. They could possibly take the division or they could lose every game. The 9ers are in a state of flux, because they don't have their starting QB named, and they're still looking at getting him offensive weapons. If it was August, this would be a problem, good thing for them its June.
4. St. Louis. After a dismal season, the Rams have made a coaching change and some cuts and trades. I wouldn't look for them to be Superbowl champs this year, but I would call this year a "rebuilding" one. They look like they're making all the right steps, so it should be an interesting year for the Rams.

1. NFC South

1. Atlanta Falcons. I like the Falcons because I feel like they have a lot of young talent, good coaching, and went through a post-Vick karmic rebirth last season. They are not the Falcons they were under Vick, and even though its a tough division, I think the Falcons come out on top.
2. New Orleans. If they can get the defense to match that high-powered offense, and no one gets arrested or anything, the Saints should be a force to be reckoned with.
3. Carolina. The Panthers are coming off a decent NFL season, but they have to find balance in their offense. Great running offense, okay passing, but the defense will be the key here. Peppers is unhappy, which causes distractions, and may end up causing a trade, which would be very bad for Carolina.
4. Tampa Bay. I do not have an irrational hatred for all things Tampa Bay, I promise. (I still hate the Rays and their cowbells, but I'm neutral on the Bucs) The reason Tampa Bay is down here? One, its a tough division, the teams are pretty equal in talent, and two, coaching change.

NFC North

I'm not even going to try ranking these teams. A Chicago Bears with Cutler could take the division, a Minnesota Vikings with Vick in the Wildcat and Jackson under center could take the division, a Vikings with Favre under center could take the division, and the Green Bay Packers with Rodgers are still a force to be reckoned with and they could take the division.

The only thing I feel comfortable picking for the NFC North is this: the Detroit Lions will not win the division.

NFC East

1. Philadelphia. They made some good off-season moves, they didn't loose anyone too big, they picked up a great WR in the draft in Maclin, and they picked up a coordinator who worked with the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator last year. That is bound to help. I like the addition of another ex-Patriot in Hobbs, he's inconsistent, but the Eagles secondary is good enough that they won't notice.
2. (3 or 4) Dallas. The loss of TO is big. They needed him as that deep threat and to draw the double-team. There's also a lot of pressure on them this year to preform, they've been so good and projected to be NFC favorites, and win the Superbowl, but they can't win in the post-season. They are like the NFL version of the Chicago Cubs, only without the championship drought. (For those of you who don't know, the Cubs ha ve now lost 9 straight post-season games. That's three years of being out in the first round.)
3. (2 or 4) New York. (Or Jersey...) The Giants are still a good team. They have that big distraction named Buruss still hanging around, and they lost their defensive genius to a head coaching job, but they'll make some noise in this division.
4. (2 or 3) Washington. The Redskins need confidence. They need their QB to have it, their coaches to have it, and their fans to have it. The reason I have put the Cowboys, Giants, and Redskins with the possibility of moving up or down the rankings is because all three teams have the talent and the ability to win games, maybe even win the division. The question is, will they reach their potential?

Now onto the AFC

AFC West

1. San Diego. They should again be a playoff team. They have the talent, a few injured players returning, and a descent off-season. LT may be on the decline, however, so that could shake things up in the west a bit.
2. Denver. New head coach Josh McDaniels made a splash early in the off-season with the Cutler Diva Drama. It ended in a messy divorce that will hurt the Broncos, but they should still win some games and probably won't have a losing record.
3. Kansas City. The additions of Pioli, Cassel, and Vrabel from the Patriots certainly help this team who did pretty much nothing last year. It will be up to Cassel to prove that he's not just flash in the pan and new coach Haley to prove that this team can win games. The only place to go is up.
4. Oakland. I think we have to face one truth in all of this: as long as Al Davis gets to make decisions, the Raiders are screwed. If new head coach Tom Cable can stand up to Davis and avoid being fired, that team has a lot of talent, if not...

AFC South

Like the NFC North, this is a division I just can't make up my mind on. Saint Tony has retired, along with a good bit of the coaching staff. Its gotten so bad that Peyton Manning has actually called them out on national TV. He's clearly frustrated and uncomfortable with what has to be a big change for the Colts. No Rhodes, no Harrison, and new coaching may make the beginning of the season tough for Manning and Co. They could win the division or this could be called a "building year".

Between Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Houston, with the talent they have and the moves they've made in the off-season, I don't have a favorite. My gut tells me that it will be one of these three, not the Colts, who wins the division.

AFC North

1. (or 2) Baltimore. Tough defense, good arm and football IQ for Flaco (trust me, I've seen him play live and its amazing), and a gritty, tough vibe, the Ravens look good. They are my tentative number one, because like the Colts, you can never count the Steelers out.
2. (or 1) Pittsburgh. The possibility of the Superbowl hangover is looming, the chance that Big Ben takes up alligator wrestling to top his motorcycle accident is there, and the Madden curse is just waiting in the wings to claim another victim. Despite all of that, the Steelers are again in contention for division.
3. Cleveland. This town deserves someone to play well. While I don't think the Browns have any shot at the post-season, I think they will win as many games as they lose this year.
4. Cincinnati. The Bengals are all over the place, they are getting arrested, not showing up for training camp but showing up on ESPN in LA doing something completely unrelated to football. They are just a mess. And if you think those off-field distractions won't bother their game, wrong.

AFC East

1. New England. Number 12 is back, Welker and Moss know the offense better this year, they picked up some good free agents, and made some good draft day moves to freshen up an aging defense. The loss of Vrabel and the retirement of Harrison does not help, but Rodney Harrison was injury-prone, and Vrabel is past his prime. The additions of Galloway and Taylor are excellent, considering they ha ve three passing weapons, and Taylor can join the Morris-Maroney running back by committee group. Look for them to be the top of the AFC east, and possibly the AFC.
2. Miami. Ronnie Brown and Chad Pennington will do their best to take the Dolphins back to the playoffs. They could be a wild card team, they could even possibly take the division, but with an entire off-season and hours of film, I don't think defensive coordinators will be fooled by the Wildcat.
3. New York Jets. (Or Jersey...) All eyes will be on Sanchez this year which is probably not great for the young Rookie. I wouldn't look for him to be the post- Favre savior, but as long as he doesn't crack, he should win a few games. I wouldn't look for the Jets to be as dangerous this year, new head coach, new QB, etc., but they made some good moves for next year.
4. Buffalo. I know, TO is at Buffalo. He'll help them. But you have to remember, the AFC East secondary is used to going up against guys like Randy Moss, they won't be dazzled by TO's ability to catch balls no human should. Sure, he'll help the Bills, and they certainly won't be a bad team, but I think them taking the division is a little far-fetched.

That's all my rankings, premature and slightly-biased though they may be. Feel free to argue!

Unsigned Rookies and Training Camp: Who Makes It Through?

2009-05-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

Of the five James Madison University Dukes who have gone to mini-camps over the past weeks, two have contracts, and one is hopeful.

JMU defensive linemen J.D. Skolnitsky signed a three year, $1.2 million deal with the Washington Redskins. Skolnitsky was the best prospect exiting JMU for the pros this year, and is likely to contribute to the Redskins defense if he makes the roster.

The second best prospect out of Madison is QB Rodney Landers. Landers went to Tampa Bay with fellow alum Evan McCullough for their mini-camp and both made a good impression on first-year head coach Raheem Morris.

Landers, though a QB, ran drills at QB, defensive back, and return man. Due to his size and speed, Landers is perfect for a CB/punt returner.

While he has not signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are in talks, and Landers is hopeful to land a contract, though other teams have expressed interest in him. With the Wildcat formation being utilized by everyone this year, teams are looking for that Pat White-esq QB who can do it all.

My prediction? The Bucs sign Landers as a CB or special teams guy, and utilize him in the Wildcat.

While Landers did not recieve a contract, Evan McCullough did. He signed a two-year deal as a corner for the Bucs.

No word yet on whether Terrence Apted, who tried out with the Redskins, or Marcus Haywood, who tried out with the Saints, have been offered anything.

Red Sox and Yankees: Rivals Go Head-To-Head For The First Time in 2009

2009-04-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is the best in baseball, and possibly the best in professional sports. I was raised to hate the Yankees, I mean, really, really hate them. I have a friend who was raised the same way, only opposite. She was raised to hate the Red Sox.

Why?

Who cares? It's fun! It is certainly not a friendly rivalry, but its fun to have a "bad guy" to unite against. Its a showdown of good versus evil, the Red Sox Nation vs. the Evil Empire, minor tweaks vs. major, multi-million dollar overhaul.

A rivalry, yes, but most definately a fun one.

Of course, with this rivalry, things can and do tend to go too far. With Joba Chamberlain on the mound tonight, things might get a little interesting.

If you recall from the previous two seasons, there is some bad blood between Chamberlain and Youkilis. Why? Who knows. Fact of the matter is, Joba's thrown at Youkilis four times. Four.

So far, no brawls, but it is getting a little ridiculous. Buzzing a player inside is one thing, its acceptable, its part of the game, but throwing at hitters, at their heads, is unacceptable. When Josh Beckett did it earlier this season, it was an accident and everyone knew it. When Joba did it last season, it was no accident.

If he does it again, judging by the reactions last time, there will most likely be a brawl or an ejection, or both.

Tonight, Chamberlain, who went 4.2 innings with six hits, five earned runs, five walks and four strikeouts in his last start, will square off against Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester. Lester looked much better in his start against Baltimore going 7 innings with only four hits, zero earned runs, and nine strike-outs.

While Youkilis's consecutive on-base streak was snapped Wednesday night, he is still making American League pitchers look bad, hitting .429 with an OBP of .522.

In other good news, the Red Sox starters are all now hitting above .200, with Lowell, Youkilis, and Green hitting above .310.

The Yankees and Red Sox kick off their three game series at Fenway tonight at 7:10 PM, with Chamberlain taking the mound against Lester.

Saturday's game will be at 4:10 PM on Fox with A.J. Burnett squaring off against Josh Beckett, who's original start was pushed back a day due to his suspension.

Finally, Andy Pettite will face off with Justin Masterson in the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN at 8 PM.

Marathon Morning: Red Sox Sweep The Orioles With A Twelve Run Rout

2009-04-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Its a good morning when you have a baseball game at 11 and you have nothing to do. Its even better when you get to see a young guy pull off a show-stopping performance on Patriots Day of all days. All while thousands of people ran in the 113th Boston Marathon.

Justin Masterson, usually the long reliever/eighth inning/all around lights out pitcher from the bull pen, got his first start of 2009. In 5 innings he struck out three, walked two, and allowed one earned run on four hits, all singles. Not a bad outing, considering he did all that on just 84 pitches. And thanks to the Red Sox very strong bull pen, that one run was the only one allowed all game.

The bats got going in the first, when Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double. A single from Dustin Pedroia scored the speedy Ellsbury, and a ground out from Baldelli brought in Dustin, putting the Sox up by two.

In the second, Jason Varitek continued with his seemingly rejuvenated swing (its only a few weeks into the season, but I remain optimistic) and launched a solo shot into the monster seats, where fans were alternating between watching the game, and watching the marathon runners make their way through Kenmore Square.

The Orioles scored in the third, and it remained close until the bottom of the sixth. Another RBI single for Pedroia and a triple from David Ortiz made it 6-1, Red Sox.

The bull pen held the Orioles to a scoreless top half of the seventh, and then the Red Sox really got started. The Orioles faced 12 Red Sox batters, Mike Lowell had an RBI double and an RBI single in the inning. Also with RBI singles in the seventh were Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkilis.

The best part of today? With the exception of Ortiz, who's average is up to .196, the rest of the team is now hitting above .220. Pedroia got moving, so did Ellsbury, and Ortiz had a good day with two hits, two RBI, and a run scored.

Lefty pitcher Hunter Jones made his major league debut, and pitched a scoreless 9th for the Red Sox, while Rocco Baldelli left the game in the fourth with a mild hamstring strain, and Orioles third-basemen Ryan Freel left the game in the third after being hit by a pick-off attempt from Masterson. He went to the hospital as a precaution, but there is no news yet on when he will return to the Orioles line up.

The Sox now have a five game winning streak, are back over .500, and have now won their 66th Patriot's Day game, which started with a 21-gun salute from the Minutemen, and ended with a 12-run salute from the Red Sox.

"Wake"ing Up The Red Sox

2009-04-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Tim Wakefield flirted with a perfect game, and might have restored the Red Sox confidence in themselves.

It feels as though these first two weeks of baseball, the Red Sox have been trying to start a car. Sometimes the ignition turns over, but it doesn't last long. Maybe Wake's start is the jump they need to really get moving. It does not help, of course, that they had to face first the Rays, and then the emotionally charged and always difficult LA Angels.

Looking at the stats for the first two weeks of the season give me hope, however. They have allowed the second fewest runs in the AL East, the Rays have allowed two fewer, but the Red Sox are one of the three teams with more runs allowed than runs scored. So there is your problem. Well, Dice-K and Lowrie being injured doesn't help either, but truly, the issue is offense.

The Red Sox have just 35 RBIs so far this year. That's 27th in the league. Their on-base percentage is ranked considerably higher. Which leads me to one issue: they can't hit with runners on. While more of the team has moved above .200, Varitek (who's right at .200), Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Ortiz are all still below the .200 mark. Dustin is a traditionally slow starter, so his engine should start going soon, Papi had his first extra-base hit of the season, so maybe that will kick him into gear, and Ellsbury seems to be coming back, he's hit much better in the A's series than the others.

Maybe Wake's brush with history will rejuvinate the entire team. Right now, Youkilis and Bay are on fire. Youk's hitting .472 and Bay is hitting .345, both with two homers. Varitek's average might be a little low, but of his five hits, two are doubles, and two are home runs. He's hitting for much more power than last year and is tied with the lowest number of strike-outs on the team.

I'm an eternal optimist. So maybe all of this is nothing, and they're going to continue to be below .500 for the first time in years, but somehow, I doubt it. Maybe Tek is going to have another bad year, but what I've seen so far says otherwise. Maybe Bay won't hit 30 homers, but I think he will. And maybe Kevin Youkilis will slump after the All-Star break, but I have faith.

The Sox return home tonight to take on the Orioles at 7:10. Penny takes on Guthrie, who has looked pretty good in his two starts for the birds. The Orioles are a game back of the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming. If Penny can locate tonight, and the bats can get moving, I think the Sox turn it around and get back above .500.

CC Sabathia: Its Not His Fault

2009-04-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Yankees trotted out their 140-million dollar ace to wow the lowly likes of the Baltimore Orioles. CC Sabathia, the reason the Brewers were in the playoffs last year, the work-horse who has thrown more innings in the past two years than anyone, Goliath himself, had one really bad day.

But it wasn't his fault.

It was windy, so the pitches weren't going where he wanted.

The crushing weight of being the Yankee's ace was way too tough, he's not used to it yet.

No, that's not it. Those are excuses. The truth it the strike zone was the size of a postage stamp. That's why he didn't have any strikeouts, if he pitched in the minuscule zone, the Orioles would hit it. So he had no choice but to walk five batters.

Again, that's an excuse. It's because there were too many Orioles fans at Camden Yards. The usually Empire-filled stadium was full of too many people rooting for the home team and that really threw him off.

No, that sounds like another excuse. Here's the real reason that Sabathia had such a difficult time and didn't get a single strike-out all game: he doesn't do well in April. If you look at his starts last April, he was terrible.

Yes. He is not good in April. That's why he allowed 8 hits and six earned runs in just over four innings for an ERA of 12.46. That is the answer. You see, it wasn't Sabathia's fault, it's April's fault. April is just not his month, but don't worry Yanks, come May 1st, I'm sure he'll do better.

While I respect CC for all that he's been able to do the past two years, now that he's a Yankee, he's in the firing zone, so no mercy, and I look forward to a great competitive year in the AL East.

Red Sox Spring Training Analysis (Part 3)

2009-04-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is the third and final stats-drive spring training analysis, mostly because spring training is now over. If you haven't read the first two articles, check them out: Part 1 and Part 2.

Today we're going to look at J.D. Drew and Jason Bay, then take a quick look at the Red Sox pitching staff.

We'll start with the oft-injured J.D. Drew. I think he's going to have a great year, because he's under no pressure to carry the team like he did last June. He'll bat 5th, in between Youkilis and Bay, which is a great place for him. J.D. Drew has come up with some of the most clutch hits in the history of baseball, no pitcher is going to walk Youkilis to get to Drew, and similarly, no pitcher would willingly walk Drew to get to Bay.

Drew's back will be the main concern this season, but with capable back-ups, Francona will have an easy time giving Drew the rest he needs. Think about it, when Drew came back from his back issues for the playoffs, he hit some seriously clutch hits and helped the Red Sox reach game 7 of the ALCS.

In 2007, Drew hit .321 with 13 hits, 1 home run, and 7 RBI in spring training, then hit .270 with 126 hits, 11 homers, and 64 RBI. Of course, Drew's biggest contribution in 2007 was the 14 million dollar two out Grand Slam in the ALCS , which we all remember fondly as the day Boston fans officially forgave J.D. Drew.

In 2008, Drew's Spring Training posted frighteningly similar numbers: .321 average, 9 hits, 1 home run, and 5 RBI. for the 2008 season, where he was absolutely on fire the month of June and then kind of...fizzled, Drew hit .280 with 103 hits, 19 dingers, and 64 RBI.

I'm beginning to wonder if a good spring is bad for Drew's regular season, which fills me with hope, because his 2009 spring training numbers are down. He hit .265 with 9 hits and 1 RBI.

So what's the projection for Drew this season? It's difficult to say, honestly, because we never know how many at-bats he'll get or how much his back will bother him.

My projection is he'll hit somewhere in the .270-.290 range with maybe 15 home runs, it could go higher if he is rested when he starts slumping.

Next we'll look at Jason Bay.

Jason had a monster season last year, coming off an injury-dampened 2007. How will he look in his first full year as a Red Sox?

In 2008 spring training, Bay hit .231 with 9 hits and 5 RBI. He hit .286 with 165 hits, 31 homers, and 101 RBI during the regular season.

This spring, including his brief stint at the World Baseball Classic, Bay hit .285 with 12 hits, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI.

So what's the projection for 2009? Can Jason Bay replace Manny's bat in the line-up? No. But he can get pretty close. I'd look for Bay to have another 30+ home run season, and bat around .280-.300. That could be overly optimistic, but I have faith in him

.

The pitching staff might be the strength of this Red Sox team, despite a talented line-up. With three aces, four if Smoltz or Penny come back with a good bit of their past form, and one of the best bull pens in the league, the Sox are looking to make another run at the post-season.

In this I'm going to look at the (current) starting five: Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Penny. Then, in honor of the stellar 'pen, we'll look at Papelbon to close things out.

Beckett is slated to start opening day at Fenway against the Rays, so what should we expect from him? Will he be good but not great like last year, or lights out like he was in 2007? I'm banking on 2007, since he was never really healthy in 2008.

My projection for the 2009 season is that Beckett will be on form again, pitch about 200 innings, with 70-75 earned runs, 40-45 walks, and 185-190 strikeouts. I'd look for him to post an ERA around 3.15-3.25.

Next we have Jon Lester, who emerged as one of the game's elite southpaws last season, and should continue to build on that in 2009.

The only concern facing Lester this year is the number of innings he threw last year. He pitched 210 innings, and was clearly gassed by game 7 of the ALCS.

While I don't expect him to pitch that many innings again, I project he will throw about 190-200, with 70-75 earned runs, 60 walks, and 155-160 strike outs. I'd look for him to post an ERA of about 3.18-3.28.

Then we have Daisuke Matsuzaka, the heart attack-inducing MVP of the World Baseball Classic. Dice-K has looked good this spring, at the WBC and with the Sox. While you should never count on him to eat innings, or have a low number of walks, he's just looking to have a break-out year. I'd look for him to go about 176 innings, with 73 earned runs, 85-90 free passes, and 165-170 strike-outs. I'd look for him to post an ERA around 3.45-3.65, but don't discount him, it's just as likely for that ERA to settle out around 2.90-3.10.

Then we have Tim Wakefield, the longest tenured Red Sox, and still pitching strong. That's mostly due to the fact he's a knuckleballer, and thus the pitching motion doesn't wear on his shoulder like the normal pitching motion.

So will Wake look good again this year? Sure. He's consistent. He should eat about 186 innings, with 90-95 earned runs, 65-70 walks, and 115 strike outs. He should post an ERA of 3.85-4.00, but this won't matter as much if he can get the run support.

Tim Wakefield is going to give up two or three runs a game. His season record depends on how much run-support he gets.

Brad Penny is the newest addition to the pitching staff, and like many of the Red Sox additions, he's coming off of an injury. Assuming he recovers and gets back to some of his form, I'd look for Penny to go between 170-190 innings, 75-80 earned runs, and post an ERA of 3.20-3.50. I have a wide range here because I'm not sure how Penny will perform. It's a sort of waiting game with him.

And now we'll close this series off with one of the game's elite closers, Jonathan Papelbon.

Paps has posted great stats the past three years, with more than 30 saves in 2006, 2007, and 2008. I wouldn't look for that to change at all. Last year, Papelbon had 41 saves, I'd look for him to have between 40-45 saves this season and post an ERA of 2.60-2.80.

Papelbon is the capstone of a stellar bull pen, and should have fewer four, five, and six out saves this year because the road from the starter to Papelbon is paved with pitchers like Takashi Saito, Justin Masterson, lefty-specialist Javier Lopez, and many others.

With that, I end my stats freak predictions. What's my prediction for the season? I think the Red Sox win the AL East, but it's a tough road with the Yankees and the Rays, so I think we're in for a very exciting season.

Red Sox Spring Training Analysis (Part 2)

2009-04-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I posted an article analyzing the Red Sox and using my stats love to predict the 2009 season based on spring training. You can read that article here, if you haven't.This is the second in what will be a series of articles.

Today I'm going to look at the question marks of the Red Sox, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, and Kevin Youkilis.

We'll start with Mike Lowell, who had offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip.

In Spring Training 2007, Mike hit .170 with 9 hits, 3 homers, and 8 RBI.

In his World Series MVP 2007 Season, he hit .324 with 191 hits, 21 dingers, and 120 RBI.

In Spring Training 2008, he batted .237 with 9 hits, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI

2008 was a down year for Mike, mostly due to his hip issue. He hit .274 with 115 hits, 17 homers, and 73 RBI.

So, how does he bounce back? He's looked good so far in spring training, and the hip doesn't seem to be bothering him. In spring training this year, Lowell has hit .286 with 9 hits, 3 home runs and 4 RBI.

My prediction for the 2009 season? I think he bounces back to good form, maybe not the year he had in 2007, but pretty good. I think Mike will hit around .275-.290 (I give him a wide margin because of the injury) with about 150 hits, between 94-100 RBI and probably around 18-20 home runs.

Next we'll look at the Jed Lowrie. He'll be the short stop on opening day, but he'll have to fight to keep the job when Julio Lugo comes back, because the Red Sox don't want nine million dollars riding the bench.

Lowrie is difficult because he is young, and we don't know what to expect from him yet.

In 2008, he batted .098 with 4 hits and 3 RBI in spring training, then hit .258 with 67 hits, 2 homers, and 46 RBI in 81 games with the Red Sox last year.

So then we have to ask ourselves, how much does spring training really matter? Can it be used to predict a player's performance? The answer is no. It can give a some insight to what a player might do, but the law of averages does not take into account injuries, slumps, and hot streaks.

That being said, Jed Lowrie is a sort of dark horse in 2009. In spring training so far, he's batted .408 with 20 hits, 2 home runs, and 11 RBI.

So how will Jed do in 2009? Good question. I'm going to predict he'll hit around .260-.280, with maybe 80-90 hits. However, if his spring training is any indication of how he'll do this year, he could do much better. It will definitely be exciting to watch.

Next we move on to Kevin Youkilis.

Last year was the first year that Youk didn't slump a little after the All-Star break. The question is, at 29, can Youk repeat last year's stats or will they take a little dip? Again, this is where all the stats in the world can't predict the answer.

In 2007, Youk hit .375, with 18 hits and 5 RBI in spring training, and .288 with 152 hits, 16 homers, and 83 RBI in the regular season.

2008 was Youk's year. He finished 3rd in the AL MVP race and had a career year in terms of hitting.

In spring training, he hit .297 with 11 hits, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI.

During the regular season, Youk hit .312 with 1678 hits, 29 homers, and 115 RBI.

In 2009, Youk played in the World Baseball Classic, which skews his stats a little.

In the WBC, Youk hit .182 with 4 hits, 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 6 walks.

In spring training, Youk has hit .208 with 5 hits, 1 home run, 3 RBI and 4 walks.

So what does Kevin Youkilis regular season look like? If he doesn't slump after the All-Star break, I think Youk can hit around .285-.300, with 95-100 RBI and 20-25 homers. Of course, his OBP will be high, as usual, because he's a tough out, and he should be pretty good protection for Ortiz this year.

That's all the analysis for today. Next I'll look at J.D. Drew, Jason Bay, and the pitching staff.

In Defense of Josh McDaniels

2009-04-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Now that Jay Cutler is on his way out of Denver, we have to look at what started this whole ordeal and why it ended in such a messy divorce.

Many people blame rookie head coach Josh McDaniels, but how can you? Maybe he didn't handle the situation as well as someone with more experience. But, looking at their stats last year, you can't blame him for going after Matt Cassel.

Here's a few reasons why McDaniels should have gone after Cassel:

1. Josh knows Cassel and knows how he works. I would compare it to someone getting a new job and bringing their old secretary with them because they know each other and how things are organized and how they both work. Its comfortable, its a good plan, and would ease some of the transition from offensive coordinator to head coach, probably making life easier on the entire coaching staff.

2. Cassel was better than Cutler last year. The Broncos played in a weaker division, with the Chiefs and the Raiders, their only competition coming from the Chargers. The AFC East had three possible playoff teams the last week of the regular season.

Here are Matt Cassel's stats for 2008 and Jay Cutler's stats for 2008. You compare.

Cassel: 21 TD 11 Int and an 89.4 passer rating

Cutler: 25 TD 18 Int and an 86 passer rating

You might say these numbers are virtually the same, but again, you have to look at the division.

3. Finally, the NFL is a business. They are in the business of winning, and they have the weapons, McDaniels wouldn't have been a good coach if he didn't look into upgrading one of those weapons. He has to look at all the options before just taking what he was given.

So, if McDaniels was not making a bad decision in terms of coaching, then why all the drama? Here's why: Cutler has handled this situation as poorly as anyone could. In Cleveland, Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn hear trade rumors every day. In Chicago, there is similar QB unrest. Even look at baseball, Mike Lowell was on the trading block because the Red Sox wanted Teixiera. They didn't get him, and Lowell is fine. All of these men take the trade talk in stride, understanding that it is a business, and their teams have to try and get the best player to help them win.

In fact, most of these guys take the trade talk as motivation, to prove to their teams why it was a good idea to keep them. That's all Cutler had to do. He is supposed to be the leader, and as a leader, you take the punches and turn them into motivation. You don't whine, ignore the team like a 13 year old girl sulking after being told "no", you understand its a business, and roll with it.

Jay Cutler would have had a great year under McDaniels, he's pretty good at offense, and he could have put Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal to good work. Now I guess we'll never know.

Confessions of a Stats Freak: Red Sox 2009 Preview (Part 1)

2009-03-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Its time for a little baseball prognosticating. I'll admit to being a stats addict, and I'm going to look at the stats from Spring Training 2008, compare them to the stats from the 2008 regular season, and then see what conclusions I can draw for this coming season based on the 2009 Spring Training stats. Whew. Good thing I'm a stats freak 'cause that's a lot of numbers.

We'll look first at the Captain, and see if his 2009 will be better than 2008.

'Tek hit .320 in 2008 Spring training, with 3 homers and 7 RBIs.

In 2008, he hit .220 with 13 home runs and an astounding 122 strike-outs in 131 games.

So far this spring, Varitek has hit .206 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs. Maybe the lower spring training batting average bodes well for 'Tek, his 2007 spring training batting average was .108, and he ended up hitting .255 with 17 home runs in 2007.

My prediction is that 'Tek will hit somewhere between .229 and .245 for 2009. We'll see.

Next, we'll take a look at Jacoby Ellsbury

In 2008 spring training, Jacoby hit .209 with 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

During the regular season, despite slumps, Jacoby finished with .280, 47 RBIs, 98 runs scored and 50 stolen bases.

This spring, Jacoby has hit .250 with 8 runs scored, 5 RBIs, and 1 steal.

Look for him to hit around .300 this season, with more runs scored and more stolen bases if he can avoid the slumps. Since this will be (sort of) his third year in the majors, maybe he can avoid the sophomore slump? If he does, Ellsbury will be one of the game's elite lead-off hitters, combined with his great defense, should lead to an excellent player.

Now lets look at the AL MVP Dustin Pedroia.

In 2008 spring training, Dustin batted .179 with 1 homer and 4 RBIs.

The 2008 season, he stepped up his game considerably, hitting .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs.

This spring, not including his brief stint at the World Baseball Classic, Pedroia has hit .370 with 4 RBIs and 10 hits.

Pedroia throws off the stats a little, because so far, he's been a slow starter (he hit .196 in 2007 spring training, then hit .317 for the year). But because of the World Baseball Classic, we don't have all his stats. If you figure them all out, Dustin's spring average is .279, considerably higher than his usual spring training average. That means I have to forget stats and just guesstimate.

I'd look for Pedroia to do better than his stellar year last year and hit around the .335-.350 mark. This may be overly optimistic, but he's got the will and the drive.

That's it for part one, next I'll look at Lowrie, Lowell, and Youkilis and see what kind of years they will have.

Four Big Questions for A Fantasy Baseball Beginner

2009-03-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

As I begin my first foray into the fantasy baseball world, I've come up with more questions than answers. Here are a few things I've learned: fantasy baseball is way harder than fantasy football. My fantasy draft is just days away and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I've spent the better part of a week with the flu, so I used that time to watch 30 Clubs in 30 Days, as well as look at thousands of box scores and predictions and fantasy advice. But I still have questions. Here are the four big ones I've been trying to answer:

Question 1:

What's the best strategy? Do you put all your money on the big name guys and have the rest of your team come from late rounds? Or do you maybe spend more on two or three great players, then take all the good middle round picks to fill up the rest of your roster? Is it smart to try and take all the good pitchers so you can force trades in your league for better position players?

Here's why this confuses me: in my Fantasy Football league, you go for your QB and your RBs, because they get you the most points, then it just depends on who you want and when they come up in the draft. But fantasy baseball? There are a million different strategies and I have no idea which one works best.

Question 2:

How far do you trust your instincts? I fully believe that Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Bay are going to have phenomenal years. I also expect C.C. Sabathia to get injured or not do as well this year based on the sheer amount of work he did last year. But he's ranked high in the ESPN draft order and projected to have a great year. Bay ranks fairly high and Jacoby is not that far down, but tehn comes the question: if you are not going for a name like Sabathia, do you try and take Bay earlier than he's supposed to go to try and get a better price? It is all very confusing.

This also applies to currently injured players, like A-Rod. Do you still take him in the draft even though he won't be playing for a while? Or should you wait and try and pick him up as a free agent? (not that I would ever take A-Rod, but I'm curious.)

Question 3:

For our draft, its an auction draft, and we nominate players on our turn. Here's a big strategy question that I just can not figure out. Do you nominate the player you want or nominate someone to make others spend their money. Like if you want Youkilis as your 1B, but its too early for him to go, do you nominate Teixeira in hopes of getting your opponents to spend more of their money, thus leaving you with more draft power in the middle rounds, or do you go ahead and nominate Youkilis and hope you don't have to overpay for him?

I did two mock drafts and tried both tactics with mixed results. Sometimes I got the guy I wanted, sometimes I overpaid, sometimes someone else nominated them and the bidding got too high.

Question 4:

Homerism. I looked at my team, and I had Pedroia, Beckett, Bay, Lester and Papelbon on my team, and Drew and Masterson on the Bench. Drew and Masterson I don't mind because if they do look good, or if Drew has another month like he did last June, I can throw him into my outfield, but I began to wonder about the others. Did I pick Beckett and Lester because I think they are going to have a great year, or because they are Boston pitchers?

Papelbon, Pedroia, and Lester were all smart picks, I think. My gut is telling me that Lester will have a better year than last year, and Paps is always good, plus, he's in a contract year, which certainly doesn't hurt. Pedroia is off to a good start and I think he'll have another great year, he still wants that batting title, so I would count on him having a high average and on base percentage.

Beckett...well, he is a smart choice, but I can't tell if I took him because of his stats or because he's from Boston. The same question applies to Bay. There are a lot of good out fielders in the draft, and Bay is certainly one of them, but was my decision to pass on others based on the fact that I wanted the Boston player?

Like I said, its all very confusing. But when I took a close look at my tentative roster, almost all the players I want to draft are from the American League. So not only am I a "Homer" I'm also a league discriminator.

So those are my four burning fantasy questions. Next I'll try and highlight a few guys who, in my opinion, will be busts and sleepers.

"Wright" Stuff: Team USA Knocks Off Puerto Rico

2009-03-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Team USA finally manages a defeat of Puerto Rico and makes it to the World Baseball Classic semi-finals on the back of Mets 3B David Wright.

It was a wild one last night, and one of the best baseball games I've seen in a while. Of course, it has only been spring training, but still, this was phenomenal.

Puerto Rico drew the first blood with a solo dinger off of Ted Lilly in the second, but Team USA responded with two runs of their own, including a huge slide and bad throw that brought David Wright home on a Brian McCann sac-fly. Kevin Youkilis added to the lead with a solo tater off of Jonathan Sanchez with two outs in the third.

But Puerto Rico wasn't going anywhere. A two run shot by Carlos Delgado in the fourth (also off of Ted Lilly) evened things up 3-3.

In the sixth, an Alex Rios single with two men on put Puerto Rico up 4-3. They built on teat lead the top of the ninth, when Ramon Vasquez hit one that got by Derek Jeter, allowing the man on second to score and putting Puerto Rico up 5-3 with half a frame left for team USA to stave off elimination.

Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the ninth with a single off of his Phillies teammate JC Romero, followed by a single from Brian Roberts. A line-out by Derek Jeter moved Victorino to third. Roberts stole second, and Jimmy Rollins walked to load the bases.

Puerto Rico brought in Fernando Cabrera to relieve Romero and face Kevin Youkilis, their two run lead in danger of disappearing. Cabrera walked Youkilis on 5 pitches, leaving the Americans down by one run.

Mets 3b David Wright stepped up to the plate, and on the 2-1 pitch, he hit a bloop double to the right corner, bringing home two runs and keeping the Americans in the WBC.

It was quite a game, and if you missed it, you missed the best baseball game since the Red Sox ALCS game 5 comeback last season.

The Americans will move on while Puerto Rico returns to spring training. Regardless of how things go from here, Team USA has already outshone the 2006 team. But with players like Wright, Rollins, Victorino, Jeter, and Youkilis (among many, many others) its hard to see them giving up now.

Team USA will play Venezuela, who they split a series with in Toronto, to see who will will Pool 2 tonight (March 18th) at 7 PM eastern. If you haven't been watching the WBC, tune in now, because things are getting very interesting.

The Beasts of the East: Who Wins Baseball's Best Divisions?

2009-03-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

It seems like everyone is making their picks for who wins the AL East, I'm going to take it one step further and look at both the AL and NL East, arguably baseball's best divisions.

Lets start in the National League. The East is a powerful division, will the defending World Champion Phillies again take the top spot? Will the Mets suffer another late-season collapse? Can the Marlins overtake them both? Will the Nats actually look good this year? Barring major injuries and some fluky miracle season, here are my picks for the NL East:

New York Mets (2008: 89-73, 3 GB) Here's why: K-Rod and JJ Putz should ease the Mets' bullpen woes, somewhat. It will at least keep them from hemorrhaging so much at the end of games. They have a good offense anchored by Wright, Reyes, and Beltran, the Mets should be able to make the playoffs this year. If they don't, I give up, they must be cursed.
Philadelphia Phillies (2008: 92-10, WS Champs) They kept most of their World Series winning team together, backed by a great offense with players like Utley, Howard, Victorino, and Rollins. However, the injury bug tends to bite hard the year after winning it all (look at the Red Sox from last year: same team, new injuries). Look for the Wildcard to come from the East this year.
Florida Marlins (2008: 84-77, 7 1/2 GB) The Marlin's are a good young team on a tight budget, and could surprise everyone and take over the East this season. With Hanley Ramirez and excellent pitching, the Marlins are a force to be reckoned with. Look for them to hang around and make life miserable for the Mets and Phillies.
Atlanta Braves (2008: 72-90, 20 GB) Atlanta made some good moves in the off-season, with good pitching additions, but a weak offense will have them trailing the Mets, Phils, and Marlins this year. They are young, so look for the Braves to start contending more in a year or so.
Washington Nationals (2008: 59-102, 32 1/2 GB) The Nats are young. I wouldn't look for them to be great this year, but I would expect a better season than 2008. They'll still come in at the bottom of the NL East, but with a much better record.

Now on to baseball's toughest division. The AL East has appeared in the World Series 54 times out of 104 series. Of those 54 appearances, they have won the World Series 38 times. That's a pretty impressive division, and its only getting tougher. Here are my (mostly) unbiased picks.

Boston Red Sox (2008: 95-67, 2 GB, Wildcard) Boston made a few little moves in the offseason that will have a very big impact. "Bargain" additions of Smoltz, Penny, Saito, and Tazawa make a descent bull pen and good pitching staff into a phenomenal pitching staff with a lights-out 'pen. They have a few young guys to watch, both on the field and on the mound, and have several key players returning from injury in Lowell, Ortiz, and Beckett. This team came within one game of the World Series last year when they were hurt, now that everyone's back, look for them to retake the East.
Tampa Bay Rays (2008: 97-65, AL Champions) Everyone is still waiting to see if the Rays are "for real". They are. The addition of Pat Burrell certainly helped the Rays, but they may have the same issue as the Phillies: health. In order for the Rays to compete, Troy Percival needs to stay healthy, and the pitching staff is a little lacking in depth. The key cog in the Ray's wheel is David Price. He came in and pitched well late in the season, but once there's a legitimate scouting report out on him, major league hitters will figure him out. He has to stand up to the pressure and eat up good innings. If not, the Yankees may take back the second spot, and with it the AL Wildcard spot.
New York Yankees (2008: 89-73, 8 GB) Why, if they spend $400 million dollars on stellar players this off-season, are the Yankees in third? Because they spent millions of dollars on a very small number of players and neglected to give themselves some depth. CC Sabathia ate up a lot of innings last year, many times on short rest. It takes longer than a few months to recover from that and puts you at risk for injury. Burnett should do okay, and the addition of Teixeira will definitely help the Yanks, but without much of a bullpen and with starters who don't always eat up innings, the Yanks may find themselves losing games late. Mariano Rivera, great closer that he is, is also approaching 40, and will start to decline.The Yanks will keep things interesting, and be competitive, making things tough for the Rays and Red Sox.
Toronto Blue Jays (2008: 86-76, 11 GB) The Jays, in any other division, would be a playoff team every year. The loss of Burnett could hurt them, but they still have Halladay and a great pitching staff. They are looking for some players to return to form and some young guys to give them a lift, but probably not enough to compete for a playoff spot because their division is so tough.
Baltimore Orioles (2008: 68-93, 28 1/2 GB) Though the Orioles have a young, good offense, their lack of pitching means they will again be in last place in the division. Look for them to do a little better than last year, but with a division this tough, where they have to face the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, and Jays in 72 games this season, its going to be a difficult year.

News from the Weekend:

The Red Sox locked up LHP Jon Lester for 5 years, and ended talks (temporarily) with OF Jason Bay. Because of his free agent status at the end of the 2009 season and the down economy, Bay decided to wait and see what the market does. He would like to stay in Boston, but not at a cut rate when he could get more elsewhere.

Dustin Pedroia has a minor abdominal strain and will need a few days of rest before resuming baseball activities. The injury is minor and should not effect his opening day status.

The shortstop debate is over for the Red Sox, at least temporarily. Julio Lugo will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee tomorrow and will be out of opening day. Jed Lowrie will (most likely) start the season as the Red Sox shortstop.

Manny Ramirez started his spring training by being pulled from a game due to a hamstring injury. After trying to cut off a double in left field, he felt tightness in his hamstring and was pinch hit for in the bottom of the 4th inning.

The Weekend Wrap-Up: Lester, The WBC, and Boys Being Boys

2009-03-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

As I've been watching the World Baseball Classic, which has been highly entertaining so far and which I will discuss in a moment, I've begun to question a staple of the sports world. The butt slap thing.

I'm a girl, we don't do the butt slap congratulations thing, and personally, I don't get it. I mean, isn't a pat on the back much easier? Me, being an astounding 5' 1" could easily reach these guys butts, but when you're taller, you have to reach down further, correct? So I was watching team USA's inning 6 route of Venezuela, due mostly to poor pitching choices on the part of Venezuela, and when Youk came in with a run, when Dunn got his homer, when Youk got his homer after the epic eleven pitch at-bat, as soon as he got around his teammates, butt slaps all around.

I'm just going to put it out there as one of those guy things that we girls will never understand, no matter how much we love sports.

Now that we've gotten the somewhat awkward question out of the way, lets get down to the business of baseball.

As I said earlier, the World Baseball Classic has been vastly entertaining. I've watched most of the games, I was shocked, like most people, when the Netherlands upset the Dominican, and when Australia came roaring back, down by four, to rout the heavily favored team Mexico 17-7 in Mexico City. Speaking of upsets, as I am typing this, Italy has just knocked team Canada out of the WBC. So now Italy and Venezuela will face off again to see who makes it to round 2.

Korea won Pool A in nail-biter fashion, beating Japan 1-0 after losing to Japan 14-2 on Saturday. Australia's win over Mexico was the country's first win in World Baseball Classic history, and it was an exciting game to see. This weekend was good for hitters, bad for pitchers, as most of the teams are using the long ball to put up huge scores, with four games ending with the winning team in double digits.

And now for a few questions.

For Kevin Youkilis: Is this offensive prowess going to continue throughout the regular season? Here are Kevin's WBC stats: 8 AB 3 H (2 HR) 7 R 3 RBI 9 TB 2 BB 2 SO.
If he kept that up for the season, he'd finish with a .375 average and .500 OBP, and he'd finish much higher than 3rd in the MVP race.

For Chipper Jones: What is going on? In seven at-bats he's had one free pass and five strikeouts. This is not looking good for the man they thought might finish over .400 last year.

For Dustin Pedroia: Does the poor performance at the WBC mean anything? Remember in 2007 when Dustin hit under .200 the first month of the season and then turned out a Rookie of the Year, World Series winning finish? Besides, Dustin has still come up with two clutch hits and two RBI, hitting from either the one or two spot,
which is two more than David Wright has hitting from the five hole.

For Venezuela's Manager: I question the pitching decisions you have made, but after seeing Italy handle Canada, I reserve judgement until after the rematch as to whether or not you made a mistake that first game.

For Alex Rodriguez: Could you maybe not make any headlines for the next week or two so that the sports media can talk about baseball and not your hip surgery, or your marital problems, or your club-house manners, or you having juiced, or your cousin who gave you drugs. Seriously, that list is ridiculous. I'd much rather be kept up-to-date on injuries, contract signings, and young guys making a splash at spring training.

No offense to A-Rod here, I know the press blows these stories way out of proportion and beats them into the ground, but still

Finally, on to my favorite Southpaw. Rumors have been flying around all weekend about a five-year, multi-million dollar contract the Red Sox have on the table for young lefty Jon Lester. This will be the third farm boy the Sox will attempt to sign to a long-term deal this year, as both Pedroia and Youkilis were locked up in the off season. The Sox discussed a long-term offer with their eccentric closer Jonathan Papelbon, but only managed a one-year deal avoiding arbitration.

Though Lester has not yet signed the contract, the Sox will most likely come to terms with him and Papelbon either this year or next.

Here's one last thing to leave you with. Picture day always produces a few funny moments, and here are the Red Sox outtakes. Enjoy.

Pink Hats, The Youk Fu, Some Aces and a Changeup

2009-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

There's a lot to cover today, and since Spring training has officially started, we finally have news! On a funny note, Manny rejected another massively huge offer from the Dodgers. That's his fourth offer he's declined due to either: not enough money or not enough years. Really, at this point, Boras should be telling him to take anything because no one is going to pay as much as he wants for as many years as he wants because we know that Manny doesn't play unless its a contract year. Enough said.

Next on the list, the now-infamous and controversial pink hats. I've actually had several emails/comments/etc about the pink hats, either for or against. So here's the new plan: a poll. Its at the end of the article, so select your answer and we will get a clear picture of how Red Sox Nation (or any baseball fans, really) feel about the pink hats.

Moving on. A few days ago was Red Sox Photo Day. Probably one of the most ridiculous things in all of baseball, photo day never ceases to produce a few funny pictures.While we haven't seen all the pictures yet, here's the first few. We get a glimpse at the "Youk Fu" (to be explained later), we realize that the team as a whole is not particularly photogenic, and we see that Terry Francona looks a little like Ben Kinglsley. Click on the photos to seem them larger.

Here they are, from left to right, top to bottom:
Row 1: OF Jacoby Ellsbury, RHP Michael Bowden, 1B/DH David Ortiz, OF Jason Bay, RHP
Josh Beckett
Row 2: U Mark Kotsay, OF J.D. Drew, LHP Jon Lester, 3B Mike Lowell, SS Julio Lugo
Row 3: 2B Dustin Pedroia, RHP John Smoltz, RHP Brad Penny, RHP Jonathan Papelbon,
LHP Hideki Okajima
Row 4: RHP Junichi Tazawa, C Jason Varitek, RHP Tim Wakefield, 1B Kevin Youkilis,
Skipper Terry Francona

Along with being picture day, it also seemed to be father's day, with Little Papi and Little Lugo hanging out. Here are some super cute pics that made me go "awwwwwww"

Aren't they just too cute?

A few final things to address: The Youk Fu. I would try to explain, but I'll just let Kevin Youkilis do it for me.

The Youk Fu
by beisbolct

Guess the goatee is out...

Finally, lets take a look at the pitching staff. While Wake was a little rusty in his start, Beckett, Saito, Lester...they've all be sharp. Lester has even worked on his changeup a little more and if he continues to progress it through Spring training, he'll have a very dangerous pitch added to his already ace-like repertoire.

One thing you can't argue is that the Red Sox have massive depth with pitching. They have several guys who could start but will likely be in the bull pen because they don't need to start. So that makes the good bull pen even better. Then we have the consistent capstone himself in Papelbon, and I think with a pen this strong, he won't have to come in for any 5-out saves or even 4-out saves, which will keep him full of gas just a little bit longer.

What can I say, I'm excited about this season. I think they have great chemistry in the clubhouse with guys like Papi, Pedroia, Papelbon, Tek, Lowell, and Youk. They all relax and goof off in the clubhouse, but when the game is on, so are they. And I don't think we've seen the last of "Large Father" and "Pedroia Productions". I'm sure Pap's mom has a lot more embarrassing movies of her son that will make their way into the clubhouse this year.

A few final questions facing the Sox this year:
1. Will Jacoby steal his way back into America's heart by winning another free taco?
2. How much Double Bubble will Tito go through on average a game?
3. Will Pedroia attack the next person who calls him a "little guy" "jockey", etc?
4. Will the Youk Fu catch on as a national craze?

Finally, and, most importantly:

5. Will Pedroia ever beat Tito at Cribbage?

Baseballs Best* Fans, Then And Now

2009-02-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

*sort of. Not an all-inclusive list, just a few of the best, then and now.

This is a list of a few of the most loyal, most interesting fans in the Majors. It covers over 100 years of history, betrayal, and rivalries that make baseball the dramatic, interesting sport that it is off the field. Since today kicks off the first official game of Spring training (yay!) it's time we salute you, the fans, for being there every season.

The Royal Rooters

The Royal Rooters, led by Third Base Saloon owner Mike "Nuf Ced" McGreevey, were a rowdy group of Irish fans who cheered on the Red Sox from 1903, where they were instrumental in distracting the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, until 1918. They would clank glasses and sing songs, most notably "Tessie", and change the words to further torment opposing teams and inspire the Red Sox to victory.
The Rooters are a fascinating bunch, check them out if you get a chance.

Bleacher Creatures

Known for their "Roll-call" after the first pitch and their always amusing "(enter name here) sucks" chants, the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee stadium exemplify the essence of being a fan no matter how where your seats are.
They are loyal Yankees fans, and they will let you know it. The Bleacher Creatures are also master hecklers, and a staple at Yankees games for years.
In the Old Yankee Stadium, they occupied sections 39 & 37, and will move to their new home in section 203 when the new Yankee Stadium opens in April.

Damon's Disciples

Now disbanded, Damon's Disciples formed in 2004 when Johnny Damon, then a member of the Boston Red Sox, made the descision to not cut his hair or shave until the Red Sox had won it all. The leader of the "Idiots" of 2004, Damon's antics kept the clubhouse loose and his teammates laughing. It also endeared him to the Red Sox rabid fan-base, and created a fan group known as Damon's Disciples. Because the hair and beard made him look like Jesus, his followers donned wigs and beards and called themselves "disciples".
While Red Sox Nation will always realize that Damon was a huge reason for ending the championship drought, he will unfortunately also be remembered like this: "looked like Jesus, threw like Mary, betrayed like Judas".

Cubs Fans

While this isn't a specific "group" like the previous three, we take a moment to salute baseballs most loveable losers. Most teams fans would jump ship after a century of no rings. Or at least after their team has lost 9 straight post-season games, most likely due to the pressure of said 100-year drought. Now, whether you believe in the curse of the goat or not, you have to respect the fans who come out, year after year, disappointment after dissapointment, and cheer on their team.

Cardinals Fans

Since we just talked about the Cubbies, might as well mention their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Cards fans are present and loud, St. Louis, like Boston, is a baseball town. Even when the Rams were the "Greatest Show on Turf", St. Louis maintained their love for the Cardinals.
So Cards fans, we salute you.

Giants Fans

Giants fans make this list because of their loyalty. As a Giants fan about Barry Bonds and you would get a defense better than the one at OJ Simpson's trial. These guys are fiercely loyal, and really into their team. I have to respect that, and admire them for sticking by their guys no matter what.

Phillies Phans

The Phils Phans make the list because of the sheer meaness and rowdiness of the fan base. I mean, their old stadium had a prison in it just for disorderly conduct arrests.
We give them props for have the guts to boo Santa, and generally make life miserable for visiting fans and teams.

Red Sox Nation

We end our show with one of the most knowledgeable, and one of the best traveling fan bases in all of baseball: Red Sox Nation. The Nation is massive, though many are bandwagon fans who jumped on in 2004 or 2007. However, much of Red Sox Nation is made up of true fans. Even when the Patriots were having their dynastic run, they couldn't replace the Sox in the hearts of Boston fans everywhere. There is no doubt about it, Boston is, and always has been, a baseball town.
Red Sox Nation gets props here because of their loyalty and their presence at away games. Its actually cheaper for most fans to fly somewhere and see the Red Sox then take in a game at Fenway, though those tickets are always coveted. When the Sox play the Orioles at Camden, I go, and Red Sox Nation far out numbers the birds fans there. They are always vocal, and always supportive of the team, no matter what.

That's All Folks!

Like I said, this was not an inclusive list, and I'm sure I missed quite a few great fans, and I'd love to hear about them. Fans are the lifeblood of baseball, and the crazier they are, the more I love them. So to all the baseball fans out there who are counting down the days until April, I salute you. :)

So You Wanna Be A Red Sox Fan? Part 2

2009-02-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

Here's part two of your guide to being a Red Sox Fan.

As one of my lovely commentators pointed out, there are a few aspects of Fenway that I forgot to mention. So here's a brief guide to Fenway:

-It was built for the 1912 season, and the Red Sox owner at that time, John I. Taylor, decided to call it "Fenway Park" because it was located in a section of Boston called "the Fens". (If you were wondering, Taylor was also the guy who changed the club's name to the Red Sox in 1907)

-Duffy's Cliff: Around from 1912-1933, Duffy's Cliff was a 10' high mound that ran from the left-field foul pole to center field, and because of this, any left-fielder playing at Fenway had to play the entire game running uphill. Duffy Lewis, a star left fielder for Boston, had playing this way so down pat, they named it after him.

-The Red Seat: There's a seat in the right field bleachers painted red. It marks the spot of the longest measurable homer hit inside Fenway. Ted Williams hit it on June 9, 1946, and it was measured at 502 feet. According to legend, the ball crashed through the straw hat of a man sitting in that seat, Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21.

-The Pesky Pole: The right field foul pole is named after Johnny Pesky. He's been a virtual fixture at Fenway since 1942. While he moved around a bit, Pesky has been nicknamed "Mr. Red Sox" and his number, number 6, was retired last year. The pole was officially named "Pesky's Pole" on September 27, 2006, Pesky's 87th birthday.

-Did you know that Fenway Park cost $650,000 to build in 1912?

-The largest crowd ever at Fenway was 47,627, for a doubleheader against, you guessed it, the Yankees in 1935.

-Behind the manual scoreboard (one of the last remaining) in left field is a room where the walls are covered with signatures of players who have played left field over the years. Maybe that's where Manny always disappeared to...

-No one has ever hit a ball over the right field roof.

-The screen behind home plate that protects spectators from wild pitches/fouls/etc was the first of its kind in the majors

-9 Red Sox players have pitched no-hitters at Fenway: George Foster (6/21/1916), Dutch Leonard (08/30/1916), Ernie Shore (06/23/1917), Mel Parnell (07/14/1956), Dave Morehead (09/16/1965), Derek Lowe (04/27/2002), Clay Buchholz (09/01/2007) and Jon Lester (05/19/2008)

-The Sox have currently sold out 469 consecutive games, and with the team as talented as it is this year, look for it to increase.

Now a few more clarifications/rules/tips:

-There is no curse of the Babe, we were not cursed and we don't believe in it. Some people did/do but its best, if you want to hide your newbie status, not to mention the "Curse of the Bambino".

-Before you go to a game, familiarize yourself with the roster and the starter's numbers. This will help you, trust me.

-The "Yankees Suck" chant. I know I already mentioned it, but I think I need to clarify. If you are a new fan, its best to avoid starting these chants simply because of your in-experience. Some fans believe it is applicable any time, any where. Others think there is a time and place. Save yourself the trouble and join in, but don't start.

-Don't ask stupid questions. What is a stupid question? Here's one: "I thought Manny Ramirez played left...who is that Jason Bay guy?" or "Why does that guy have the 'C' on his chest?" These will get you glares/looks of shock and will guarantee that everyone thinks you are a bandwagon jumper.

-if someone calls you a "bandwagon jumper" don't get defensive and start spouting off this whole sob story about how you've been a Sox fan since the '86 season (I'll give you a hint, ball rolling through Bill Buckner's legs...). Just say "you're crazy" or "okay" and brush it off. Unless you have asked one of the above questions, then just admit to it and say something nice about the fans/team/etc and all will be forgiven. Most of the time.

-Fenway is old. It has lots of bad seats, but lots of character as well. Just don't ask why they built it like that, because its been that way since 1912, as you've just learned, and its just the way it is.

Now, for a few pronunciations.This isn't all-inclusive, so if you run into a problem, go with their first name or just point.

David Ortiz = (or-teez)

Jason Varitek = (Ver-a-tech)

Jacoby Ellsubury = (ju-cO-bee)

Dustin Pedroia = (Pedroy-ya)

Kevin Youkilis = (You-kill-is) just call him "Youk"

Daisuke Matsuzaka = (Dice-K Mat-sue-za-ka) just call him "Dice-K"

Hideki Okajima = (Hide-e-key O-ka-G-ma) just call him "Oki"

That's it for part 2. If I hear of anything else, there will be a part three, if not, look forward to my next article which actually will be on the MLB's best fans.

So You Wanna Be A Red Sox Fan: Guide to 2009

2009-02-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, its February, and its cold, and you've started thinking about springtime and baseball and you've decided to jump on the Red Sox bandwagon. While I, personally, feel like you need to cheer for your home-town team unless you are or have been raised (like me) by a transplanted fan. If, however, you choose not to do this, its all good. Red Sox Nation is always willing to welcome one more.

So, if this is the case, here are a few rules/tips/etc. to get you through 2009 without being called a bandwagon jumper.

First, the rules.
1. No pink hats. Unless there's some breast cancer day, pink hats are big no-nos.
2. When Kevin Youkilis is up to bat, he is not being booed, everyone is yelling "Yooouuukkk"
3. Never, EVER mention Bucky Dent or Aaron Boone without some sort of negative or
expletive.
4. If someone brings up Yaz during game, they are not talking about birth control, they are
talking about Carl Yastrzemski.
5. 99.9% of the time we will never root for the Yankees to win. The only exception to this rule
is if a Yankees win can secure the Red Sox the Wildcard or the AL East.
6. You cannot like both the Red Sox and the Yankees. Not possible, don't even try.
7. Starting the "Yankees Suck" chant when we are not playing the Yankees is a bad plan. It
either makes everyone think you are drunk or a brand new fan.
8. If someone brings up Williams, Fisk, Lynn, Yaz, Pesky, etc, and you don't actually know
anything about them, shhh!
9. You must know something about baseball, be sure to know what a sac-fly is, a hit-and-run,
what is and is not a save, drop third strike, fair and foul, and have a little idea what the
batting average means.
10. If you are surrounded by fans who start the whole "that's it, we're done" nonsense, they
are old fans, they've been around for a while, and they don't actually mean "we're done",
they still have hope, but its a lingering knee-jerk reaction, and the longer they've been a
Sox fan, the longer they will have said reaction.

Now, the traditions:

We'll start with songs. Songs at a baseball game are important. They take up the time in the middle of innings when we're switching sides, get the fans back into the game, and entertain everyone. The Red Sox have several which are played at almost every single home game.

First, is Sweet Caroline.
Sweet Caroline is played at every game in the middle of the eighth inning. The lyrics can be found here or on the big screen at Fenway.

Next, we have Tessie.
Tessie has some history. It was originally from a Broadway play and utilized by the Royal Rooters in the early 1900s to inspire the Red Sox and taunt opposing teams. In 2004, if was re-recorded by the Dropkick Murphys and several members of the Red Sox organization, and it tells the story of the Royal Rooters. It is the second of three songs played after every Red Sox win at Fenway Park.

This is from the CD Warriors Code, by the Dropkick Murphys, explaining Tessie:

"We recorded this song in June 2004 and after giving it to the Red Sox told anyone that would listen that this song would guarantee a World Series victory. Obviously no one listened to us or took us seriously. We were three outs away from elimination in game 4 at the hands of the Yankees and receiving death threats from friends, family, & strangers telling us to stay away from the Red Sox and any other Boston sports team and get out of town. Luckily for us things turned around for the Red Sox and the rest is history."

Then there's Dirty Water
Dirty Water was recorded by the Standells and debuted on the radio in 1966. It is the first song played after every home victory by the Red Sox and is a tribute to Boston. Lyrics can be found here.

Finally, Joy To The World
Joy to The World is a song by Three Dog Night, it is the last of the three songs played at home Red Sox victories. Check out the lyrics here.

Finally, here are some random 2009 tid-bits you might need to know.

-Dustin Pedroia's listed height and his apparent actually height are different. Say nothing, he's a beastly player.
-Kevin Youkilis is Mr. Intensity. He's not really called that. One of his nick-names is "The Greek God of Walks". He is also not generally called that. Mostly, we call him "Youk"
-Jason Varitek is one of 4 (3?) Captains in Major League Baseball. So the "C" on his chest is a big deal.
-Wakefield pitches knuckleballs.
-Terry Francona is also referred to as "Tito". He doesn't chew tobacco, but he does go through tons of double-bubble every game.
-"PawSox" refers to "Pawtucket Red Sox" the AAA team for the Red Sox organization.
-The mascot is "Wally the Green Monster", this is because the thirty-seven-foot, two-inch left field wall at Fenway, the tallest of such walls in the majors, is called "The Green Monster". It was not actually painted green until 1947.
-When they call Jon Lester a "southpaw" this means "lefty"
-The AL East is the division the Red Sox play in. It is a tough division, because the Yankees spend so much money and the Rays have had first-round draft picks for years, so they have a lot of young talent. The Orioles and the Bluejays are also in the division.
-The bull-pen band is a term for when the bull pen gets bored or wants to distract the other team and they bang on the fence and shake things to create music. They are actually quite good.
-A Fenway Frank is a hot dog.
-Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo are the NESN announcers for the Boston Red Sox
-Fever Pitch was not that good of a movie.

That's about all I can think of for now, so if you're just joining us, welcome to Red Sox Nation, you'll love it here.

Some Sox Beat the "Spring Training Rush"

2009-02-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Red Sox minor league facility in Fort Myers was packed with veterans and newbies getting their workouts in.

Rocco Baldelli, Brad Penny, John Smoltz and Takashi Saito all arrived two days before pitchers and catchers were supossed to report to get their feet wet with a new team.

Co-aces Josh Beckett and Jon Lester were there as well, along with Kevin Youkilis. Lester and Beckett weren't scheduled to report until tomorrow (thursday) and Youk wasn't supposed to be in until Sunday, there they all were, the proverbial early birds just trying to get the worm.

Of course, this goes right along with Youk's reputation as "Mr. Intensity", and for me, means that baseball is back. And this is a good thing, because if I have to hear one more thing about Miss October (A-Rod) having juiced, I might scream.

There seem to be certain teams, certain locker room cultures across the league that seemed to condone the use of steroids at one time or another. And if you are in that culture, you're probably going to do it. I'm not defending A-Rod, seriously, would I actually do that? But if he's stopped, he's stopped, and you don't have to add an asterisk to any of his stats from those years because we will all do it in our minds, our own mental asterisks.

But with Spring Training officially starting tomorrow, we can move past the ugly and into what might be baseball's most optimistic time. At this juncture, everyone thinks 2009 is going to be a great year, and for some teams, it will.

The Yankees made all the flashy moves this off-season, landing CC, Burnett, and Texiera. So that gives them a one-two-three punch of Sabathia, Burnett, and Wang. But who is their fourth starter? And their fifth? Joba made a splash last year, but he could turn into a Buchholz, he's got fast stuff, real rocket arm, but how many innings deep can he go? His technique makes him very injury prone, so the Yanks would be smart to keep his pitch count low. And now that everyone has seen Joba, they are going to start figuring him out. And who's the other starter? Pettite?

And the Rays? The Rays are sort of the dark horse of the AL East. Either they caught lightening in a bottle last year and will be bottom of the barrel again this year, or they'll still be competitive in the increasingly tough AL East.

As for the Sox, I'm liking the rotation and the 'pen. We've got Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Smoltz, Penny, Wake...I'm not too sure what the rotation is going to look like, because you can never count out Masterson and Buchholz.

And while the Sox will miss quite possibly the greatest right-handed hitter of our time at Spring training, the Sox can make up for missing Manny with a meaty bunch of hitters. Pedroia, Youkilis, Drew, Ortiz, Bay, and Lowell, if they are healthy, make for a frightening batting order.

The focus this year, though, for the first time since 2000, will not be on "when will Manny show up". The focus will be on the team, and their goal to win another World Series, and with the team we've got now, its a plausible goal.

A Hairy Situation: Boston's Best (Facial*) Hair

2009-02-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

*may include some non-facial hair

While we wait anxiously for baseball season to start, recover from last night's buzzer loss to the Lakers, and wonder about Matt Cassel now that he's been tagged, I've decided to lighten the mood and take a look at some of the best hair around Beantown. These are in no particular order, because I had a hard time judging soul patch against stash against scruff.

So, without Further Ado, here are some hair-raising examples.

And so here we have Dustin Pedroia's scruff/goatee. This changes throughout the season, sometimes he's clean-shaven, sometimes he's just got scruff, sometimes he's got scruff and goatee, sometimes just the goatee. We applaud Dustin for his artistic shaving, and it is our opinion that the ever-changing hair is somehow tied to Tito...but we have no proof.

Next...

Josh Beckett for the Red Sox and KG for the Celtics representing the "Soul Patch"

Now, many of the C's rock this look from week to week, but Josh is the main member of the Red Sox who so effortlessly rocks the soul patch. Again, we have no explanation for the tuft of hair these gentlemen prefer, but the way they play the game, we don't question it.

The New England Patriots O-Line, AKA "The Mountain Men". Their signature beards are grown throughout the season until they look like this. Its either an intimidation tactic, a bonding experience, or both, but either way, I feel sorry for some of their wives. They make our list for the sheer lumberjack-ness of their hair.

Jonathan Papelbon's Hair. While it doesn't count as facial hair, its too much fun not to mention here. On one side, we have the mohawk. The entire Rays team had those last year, and they weren't intimidating, especially on Joe Madden, but on Paps, we like it. On the other side we have the signature spiked look, which was rocked for most of the 2007 World Series run. So while its not on his face, we love it and him, so he makes the list.

Tom Brady may have the world's most famous stubble, but he has been known to rock a bit more of a beard, which we suspect is in support of his mountainous o-line. The stubble is, however, much more attractive, and on Brady's already handsome face, makes him look rugged and manly. The beard...not so much. While we appreciate the bonding, we think Tom should stick to the stubble.

Then we have everyone's favorite slot machine, Wes Welker. He, like Pedroia, likes to shake things up, but his most famous (or infamous) cut is the mustache. Now, we secretly called it the "porn star 'stache", but when he rocks it with a beard, its much less creepy. All in all, we're in favor of the light scruff, its less creepy, or clean-shaven, which is also good.

And finally...

Youk. Kevin Youkilis has been clean-shaven, but lately, he's been rocking the goatee. We much prefer the goatee. We have a theory that its an intimidation technique, and goes well with the intense, scary, persona he has when he plays (we also think that Youk doesn't shower to help with that persona, or at least, lets people think he doesn't). Its the most famous goatee on the Red Sox roster, and gives us all hope that Youk will always play with intensity, grit, and consistency. Funny how a little bit of hair can say so much. Maybe the goatee is why Joba Chamberlain is out to get him?

That's all the hair I have today. If I missed anyone or you think someone should not be on this list, let me know, maybe I'll add them in.

We'll be doing the "Best Of" for the next few weeks. Anything to get us through until opening day. Next up: "Best Fans", we'll look at Damon's Disciples, the Bleacher Creatures, and the Royal Rooters, to name just a few.

Varitek, Sox Together Again. Officially.

2009-01-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

Finally, the Varitek saga, which has kept us all hitting "refresh" on google news/Boston Globe/ESPN, whatever, is over. Reports are that Jason Varitek has agreed to the one year , $5 million dollar contract with the club/player options for the second year. All I have to say is hal-le-freaking-lu-jah!

Of course, now that the Captain is back, what am I ever going to obsess about? I mean, spring training doesn't officially start until Feb 14th, which is two weeks from now. And yes, there is that little game called the Superbowl on
Sunday, and I can obsess about the
Cassel questions and the NFL off-season.

Note to Patriots, if you are even listening: half the Baltimore defense are unrestricted free agents this year. Grab as many as you can get your hands on. Please. As for the Cassel/Brady drama...maybe that will be enough to keep me occupied now that the Tek saga is done, and the Sox unlikely to make any more off-season moves. But of course, since its the Patriots, the amount of information we'll be able to get on the Brady/Cassel situation (how is Tom's knee, are the Pats keeping Cassel, are they going to tag him...etc) will be slim to none.
Thanks for the closed-mouth attitude, Bill. Most days, I don't mind that, but when you want to know something, the Patriots can be down-right annoying.

Back to baseball. Red Sox Nation rejoice, we have a catcher. I know Tek was like an automatic out last season, but its not like there's anyone out there who can step in and take his place. Now we'll just ease Tek out of the position, introduce a new catcher, get the staff acclaimated to the new guy, so that we can phase Tek out in 2010. And you never know, he could have a brilliant season in 2009 and bounce back a little. Call me crazy, but it could happen.

Sox Reportedly Make Offer To Varitek

2009-01-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

According to a Boston Globe article found here, the Red Sox have formally offered Jason Varitek a deal. While the specifics are unclear, it is likely that it is less than the previously offered $10 million arbitration deal, it may be for two years or contain an option for a second year contingent on at-bats or something.

If you ask me, its about time.

While there is no word on any deadline for Tek and the Prince of Darkness (Boras) to accept this deal, pitchers and catchers report on February 12th, a few short weeks from now.

Back In The Backstop: The Case For Tek

2009-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Of the Red Sox active roster, the average age of the pitching staff is 28. Take out the highest and lowest two ages to avoid any one larger or smaller number significantly affecting the stats, and the age you get is 26.7.

That's a young staff, and with such a young staff, we need, and everyone say it with me, a VETERAN catcher. I really think Schilling said it best. The Sox need Tek so they can wean our lovely young pitching staff off the Captain and acclimate them to the "catcher of the future".

This may take some time. In the big leagues, Bowden, Buchholz, Masterson, Lester, Delcarmen, and Paps have never had a different catcher. It has always been Varitek. You are talking about a potential ace, several potential starters, and a firecracker of a closer who have developed a really close relationship with the Captain. Schilling also went on to say that Varitek "knows some of us better than we know ourselves."

Strong words. Now, we know the Sox have a standing offer on the table for Tek, and we know it is not the $10-$12 million he would have gotten earlier, however, I have to believe that for his pride's sake alone (a Captain needs a bit of pride to be a good leader!) they're going to offer $2-$5 million over a year or two. I'd say two with an option for a third year, because though he doesn't need to be starting, you could have the "catcher of the future" training under one of the greatest catchers of all time.

Now what several people have suggested (and while I believe its none of our business, I think it might be true) is that Tek is waiting for his divorce to be finalized before agreeing to any deal. It makes logical sense from a financial stand-point.

You know what else makes logical sense? A collective firing of the Prince of Darkness (Boras) by all the Free Agents his greed has royally screwed over this off season. Or the baseball owners pool their money and have him "taken care of".

Regardless, I think Tek will be back in the backstop come spring training, with some new young guy watching his every move, trying to learn. And who knows, maybe he'll have a comeback year. Call me crazy, but it could happen.

Sox Avoid Aribitration While Tek Clears The Air

2009-01-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

Theo Epstein has now gone six years without actually going to the arbitration hearing.

Papelbon signed a one year, 6.25 million dollar deal to keep him out of arbitration in his first year of eligibility, and they may not be finished. This was the biggest deal ever for a relief pitcher in his first year of eligibility.

Of course, after locking up Youkilis and Pedroia with multi-year deals, one can bet the Sox, with their available funds, would likely try and lock up their eccentric closer as well.

Javier Lopez signed a $1.35 million deal, which is a $500,000 raise from last year.

Also according to reports, the meeting that Jason Varitek had with the Red Sox without the Prince of Darkness (aka Boras), it was to clear the air with the team because they had been ignoring Boras's calls. He also stated that he had no idea that teams would forfeit a draft pick when he decided against the Red Sox earlier offer. How true this is, I don't know, but it is possible that our beloved Captain, baseball smart as he may be, may not know all the ins and outs of trade deadlines and arbitration deals. From his comments, Tek sounds sincerely apologetic and a little ashamed.

For my part, I'm going to believe him, and maybe that is why he decided not to take the $10 million, which I never understood why he didn't. It made no sense to not take that deal, and now I am starting to understand his reasoning behind not taking it. If he didn't know about the draft pick, and PoD (Boras) wasn't about to tell him, then he was going along, blissfully ignorant that taking him from the Red Sox would come at such a high cost for another team.

76 Days...

2009-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

76 Days and counting.

That's how many days are between now and the season opener against Tampa Bay.

22 Days, 20 hours, and 24 minutes

That's how much time (as of this minute) there is between now and when pitchers and catchers report to Spring training. Arg! I need baseball!

Right now is like the black hole of sports. Basketball is on, yes, and Direct TV is giving us a free preview of NBA League pass (yay!) but there's no baseball, and there's no football (not that I particularly care about the teams left, but still...) I really hate the Steelers (as all good Pats fans do) and we absolutely crushed the Cardinals, so if they win the Superbowl...I'll feel a lot better about the 2008 season.

But back to baseball. So, being that there is only basketball right now, and I am suffering serious baseball withdrawl, I have been absolutely glued to MLBNetwork. This weekend, they showed the 2007 World Series, and are showing the 2007 ALCS later, I think. It was nice to watch the series again because I wasn't so nervous and I could actually enjoy the game a little more. It was almost enough to get me through the next month without the game. Almost.

Finally, for all members of Red Sox Nation who have been anxiously awaiting this moment, single season Red Sox game tickets are on sale! Yeah!

And one final, final note. I got one of the nicest Christmas presents from my Dad. He got me a framed poster-sized picture of Varitek shoving his glove into A-Rods face. Amazing!

So Long, Hottie McHottie

2009-01-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

Josh McDaniels is going to coach the Broncos. While I'm glad he's getting a chance to move up and prove himself, I am going to miss that good looking mug on the sidelines. While I think the Pats will be minimally affected by this, since Josh had a good relationship with Tommy and Matty, (Brady and Cassel for those of you who don't have nicknames for them).

I think it will be interesting to see how he does, but I will have to start watching Denver games now...eh. I mean, he was the one bright spot on the coaching staff, the one who looked somewhat well-dressed, put together, hair always cut...now we'll just have the All-Powerful Hobo to look at. (note, I still love Bill, but he looks kind of homeless sometimes).

So farewell, Josh McDaniels, just not that well.

Sox and Youk, Together Again

2009-01-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

According to the AP (associated press) the Red Sox and Kevin Youkilis have reached a 4-year contract reportedly worth about $41 million.

So now the Red Sox have managed to sign both Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis and effectively limit their ability to seek arbitration and free agency. And Red Sox Nation heaves a sigh of relief. So now we have them both until 2012, if not longer.

This, I hope, is how the Sox are going to continue doing business. Both Youk and Pedrioa were drafted by the Red Sox, and raised in the farm system. I mean, look at the two of them! They both finished in the top of the race for MVP, which they both deserved, but I'm glad Dustin got it. Then, if you throw in Jon Lester, who is only going to get better...our farm system is looking pretty good.

Now the only hole the Sox have left is at catcher. And it's not like there's a lot of options out there, so just deal with the Prince of Darkness (aka Boras) and bring back Tek and all will be well.

Final random tid-bit, everyone's favorite Jockey, who happens to be the AL MVP, is going to be on the cover of MLB: The Show. There's no curse for that one, right?

Another random thought, I have a new obsession. The MLBNetwork. It is completely amazing. I watched highlights from the 1986 season the other night, and it was weird, because my dad always told me that he held me up to the TV during the World Series that year (I was all of a month old) and told me that I was watching the Red Sox, and that they always found a way to lose the last game that matters.

While that is no longer true, I found it really interesting to watch, since I clearly have no memory of watching it live. I haven't watched any of the re-runs from this year's World Series because I still have issues with cowbell. I'm not ready for more cowbell just yet, my ears are still ringing.

But you should check out MLBnetwork. They are airing Ken Burn's Baseball, which, if you've never seen it, its like Planet Earth, but for baseball. It's long, but they show it in segments, and it covers everything, from the curses, to the great players, the Negro leagues, the Black Sox...everything. I have really enjoyed watching it, you should look into it.

Baseball and the Radio

2008-12-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

On October 3rd, 1951, a single moment on radio and television forever changed the game of baseball and the way it was remembered by the fans. The Giants had come back from thirteen games out to tie the Dodgers for the pennant, resulting in a three game playoff. With the series tied 1-1, the Dodgers took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, with one out. Bobby Thompson stepped to the plate and made history.
The game, called on WMCA-AM radio in New York by Russ Hodges, took a dramatic turn that even the best Hollywood writers could not match . The pitcher threw, and Thompson swung, and Russ Hodges said this:
“there’s a long dive…it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! HEEEY-OH!!!....I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson... hit a line drive... into the lower deck... of the left-field stands... and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it... by a score of 5 to 4...”

This call soon became known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World”, and is forever etched in the minds of those who saw and heard it. George Plimpton, a noted American sports writer, remembers hearing the call over the radio: “I remember hearing it in Cambridge, England, on an armed forces broadcast system, and I was playing bridge at the time, and being a Giant fan, I can remember going absolutely backwards in my chair, foot coming up and hitting the bridge table, and these English friends of mine startled by the motion…tremendous.”
The next morning, American sportswriter Red Smith wrote: “Now it is done. Now the story ends. And there is no way to tell it. The art of fiction is dead. Reality has strangled invention. Only the utterly impossible, the inexpressibly fantastic, can ever be plausible again.”
In the space of a few minutes, baseball went from a game of batting averages, stolen bases and pitch-counts to a dramatic and exciting form of entertainment. While baseball was covered in the papers long before the crack of the bat was ever heard on the radio, or a home run ever seen on television, these two mediums propelled baseball into its status as the national pastime. The 1951 game is a prime example of how the radio-era of baseball had such a firm grip on the nation. The sports drama is unique in its ability to unite a nation despite race, ethnicity, religion or philosophy, and in its ability to entertain with the account of a “battle” for victory. Baseball historian Benjamin Rader commented that for everyone who watched the game live, on the first game televised nationally, listened to it on the radio or even read the account in the papers the next morning, “the game was high drama, and the drama of the sporting contest, unlike that in any other forms of entertainment, is authentic.”
Before 1920, baseball was only seen or heard by those who could afford to attend the games live. Everyone else had to wait at least a day, if not two, to read the box score and the game recap in the local newspaper. In 1920, a few enterprising fans used a variation of Morse code and primitive microphones to transmit the first “broadcast” of sporting events. A year later, with the advent of the more affordable Westinghouse radio, the game of baseball was changed forever. On August 5th, 1921, Harold Arlin of KDKA broadcast the defeat of the Philadelphia Pirates by the Pittsburg Corsairs using a wireless telegraph and converted telephone. The entire broadcast lasted just under two hours, but from that moment on, radio and baseball were indelibly linked, and neither would ever be the same.
That same year, Grantland Rice and Tommy Cowan broadcast the World Series for the first time for KDKA and WJZ Newark, respectively. Tommy Cowan repeated the play-by-play that was carried to him over a phone line from Sandy Hunt, who was sitting in a box seat at the game. Initially, teams were leery of radio broadcast, thinking that it would lessen attendance at games since the public could now sit at home a listen instead of come out to the parks. It actually had the opposite effect, and drove attendance numbers up. People heard the games on the radio, and then wanted to see what they had previously only imagined. Minor league teams especially resented radio, believing that audiences would rather stay home and listen to Babe Ruth than come out and watch Joe Nobody play ball for a minor league team. Teams ever went so far as to restrict live radio broadcasts of minor league games within 50 miles of the stadium. This, along with technological restrictions, led to the invention of the game “re-creation”. This was a method to broadcast games only a few innings behind, complete with sound effects and dramatic calls, without actually being at the park. The stats were transmitted via telegraph in an alphabet code that the announcer would then translate and transmit the game as if he were sitting there “live”. While many home games were done this way, it was especially useful for away games. It cost about $25 to produce and air a re-creation of an away game, as opposed to thousands if an announcer was sent with the team and his voice was transmitted back via telephone line to the home radio station. Gordon McLendon, Red Barber, and Mel Allen were some of the most famous voices in early baseball radio, with McLendon leading the way in innovation and devotion to as accurate and entertaining a broadcast as possible.
Most Americans in this time had never seen a live, big-league baseball game, either due to location or cost. The advent of radio brought the games to a wider audience, and names like Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Ruth, and Gehrig, and pitches like the knuckleball and curveball took on a whole new meaning to radio listeners. In an interview with Publisher’s Weekly, New York Yankee’s star Yogi Berra recalled his childhood experiences with baseball and the radio. “When I wasn’t at games, I was listening to them on the radio…radio definitely allowed me to ‘see’ more of the games. The smack of the ball would just give me goosebumps.”
Another advent of baseball and the radio in the 1920s was the “color man” or “color commentator”. Nowadays, this commentator is usually a former player or coach who can put the game in a different perspective than the play-by-play announcer, to add a more personable story to the onslaught of statistics and pitch counts. Graham McNamee became the first color announcer in the 1923 World Series, when play-by-play announcer Grantland Rice handed the microphone over to him in the third game of the series. This broadcast was historic not only for the fact that it was the first World Series to be broadcast nationally, but also for what McNamee did for radio broadcasts. Well aware that the game was being seen in the imaginations of fans everywhere, McNamee did his best to “paint a picture” using sound and story-telling techniques to make the listener feel as he was there.
As radio’s “Golden Age” continued, the popularity of baseball grew. Clear channel stations in cities like New York, Boston, Detroit and Chicago began broadcasting every game, and in 1934, the World Series was sponsored for the first time. Baseball’s commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis had a firm hand on sponsors and broadcasters during this early period, a practice that continued well into the television age.
Not only was baseball on the radio lucrative for station owners and teams, it had a special impact on the audience. In the 30s, it was sometimes possible to walk down a neighborhood street and not miss a second of a game, as it was blaring loudly from a portable radio on many front stoops. Announcers captured the minds of a young generation of fans and created a shared experience of listening and the imagination. Author Pete Hamill, a novelist and journalist, recalled his experience growing up in Brooklyn: “[it] was something that involved gray scoreboards, Red Barber, peanuts…Gladys Gooding at the organ…the crack of the bat…beer, hot dogs, and laughter.” Legendary sportscaster Vin Scully echoed the same sentiment, recalling summer days of playing sandlot baseball, then sitting in the shade of a tree and listening to the broadcast of the local baseball game. This sort of activity inspired Scully to pursue a job as a sportscaster , which brought him to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and then to the Las Angeles Dodgers, where he has remained a staple of baseball broadcasting since 1959.
Today, the radio is experiencing a re-birth in regards to baseball. Now, you can listen to your favorite team, and the home radio station, from anywhere in the world. And if you happen to be close to your favorite team, you can tune into your local AM or FM station that carries the games. Though the technology is different, the way it is broadcast remains the same, allowing radio fans everywhere to experience this same thing that fans have experienced for almost a century.

FCS Playoffs: James Madison Squeaks By Wofford, Prepares for Villlanova in Round 2

2008-12-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Round 1 of the FCS (that's 1-AA) playoffs has come to a close, and the first round clearly favored the home teams.

James Madison played host to the tough offense of Wofford, and what a game it was. While the Dukes had a hard time containing the triple option Wofford offense, Wofford’s D was likewise unable to contain James Madison QB Rodney Landers, who became just the fifth player in FCS history to rush for 3,000 yards (3,250) and pass for 3,000 yards (3,116).

The Dukes also started with great field position every time, starting (on average) on the 35-yard line. Mostly because Wofford refused to kick to JMU return specialist Scotty McGee. It was probably a good plan considering the one time they did, Scotty burned them with a 37-yard return to let the Dukes start on their own 48. McGee also found use on the offensive side of the ball on several long-yard situations due to his speed.

The Dukes led by two touchdowns at half time, but Wofford tied the game heading into the fourth quarter. The following JMU drive stalled, and ended in a field goal, 31-28 JMU, with twelve minutes left in the game.

Wofford again began to drive, and going for it on 4th and 6 at the JMU 40, the Duke’s defense stepped up and stopped the drive just three inches shy of a first down, causing a turnover on downs with nine minutes left.

JMU marched down the field, with QB Rodney Landers and RB Eugene Holloman rushing every play. On 3rd and goal, Landers dragged two Wofford players into the end zone to score what would be the game-winning TD.

The last touchdown upped the score to 38-28 JMU, and left a little over three minutes on the clock for Wofford to drive, score, recover the onside kick and score again. The one thing that hurt Wofford is the crowd noise. Normally a shot-gun team, they went almost entirely under center the fourth quarter, and drove down the field, finally scoring a touchdown in 15 plays, covering 56 yards and taking 2:19 off the clock, leaving them with one minute to onside kick, recover, and at least kick a field goal to go to overtime.

The entire stadium stood waiting, holding its collective breath as the onside kick went up, and was caught by Bosco Williams to seal the win for JMU. Two knees later and the game was over, final score JMU 38 Wofford 35.

So the Dukes move on to round two, facing off with CAA rival Villanova at 3:30 PM on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The Heir: The Tom Brady-Matt Cassel Debate

2008-12-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

The talking heads have spoken. Matt Cassel has gone from Brady's heir-apparent after having two back-to-back 400-yard games to the inexperienced backup who lost TWO fumbles in last night's loss to Pittsburgh.

They're like the Red Sox. The team leading the A.L. East losses and all they need to do is win to take a share of the lead back and they play really well to start it off, but a few mistakes cost them the game.

This game, I am giving a little leeway to Matt; it was nasty, his receivers couldn't catch the ball, and they were playing a phenomenal defense. It just got to Matt. That's where you can see his inexperience showing through, in the bad-weather games when it's cold and the defense is really good.

Is Matt Cassel the heir-apparent to Brady? No. Matt Cassel is passing his graduate exam from Brady-U. So far, he's done pretty well. If you look at the games we lost (aside from the San Diego game), they were all because of mistakes: a fumbled snap, penalties, bad defense in sudden-death overtime, or three fumbles and two interceptions like last night.

I'm still not sure we would have won the game last night, but we should have beaten the Jets by holding them to 3rd-and-long in overtime, and we should have beaten the Colts, were it not for a penalty and Jab not being able to catch a perfect pass. While some of these things can be attributed to Matt Cassel, there are also many beyond his control.

Brady is still better in the pocket in reading defense, finding the open man, and getting away from tackles. So, do I think Brady will be replaced by free-agent Cassel? No. Do I think he's better than most starting quarterbacks in the league? Definitely. I think at the end of this season, especially if the Patriots pull off a miracle and make it into the playoffs, Detroit or Minnesota should come calling.

With their running game, decent set of receivers, and good defense, Minnesota would flourish with a QB who is not a turnover machine and who can hit his receivers. If they were to add in Matt Cassel, Minnesota would be even more of a playoff contender.

Detroit would need more help than just adding a good QB to the mix; that organization needs a makeover from top to bottom. But still, the addition of Cassel would dramatically improve their chances.

So, back to the Brady-Cassel debate: There shouldn’t even be one. Yes, Tom has been injured this season, and yes, he probably won’t be his normal self at first, but he’ll only be 32.

We’ve got him for three to five years or more, barring injury, and since he doesn’t seem to be injury prone, this being his first big one, Tom Brady should be right back in the starter position.

Cassel is a better running QB, but he’s not quite good enough in other areas to replace the reigning league MVP who is simply not done yet.

Do I think Matt Cassel will be a starter? Of course he will. Teams with subpar QBs would be crazy to not snatch him up, and he will do well: He’s trained under the best and come up in one of the best systems out there.

My prediction is the Pats and Matt part ways amicably, and he’ll head off to go be great somewhere else.

FCS Playoffs: Predictions!

2008-11-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

Most D1-AA (or "football championship subdivision") players, coaches, and fans tuned into ESPNU at 7PM to see who was going to the FCS playoffs. Here's the bracket as it stands:

#16 Wofford at #1 James Madison

#15 South Caroline State at #2 Appalachain State

#14 Maine at #3 Northern Iowa

#13 Texas State at #4 Montana

#12 Weber State at #5 Cal Poly

#11 New Hampshire at #6 Southern Illinois

#10 Easter Kentucky at #7 Richmond

#9 Colgate at #8 Villanova

The CAA is well represented with 5 seeds in the playoffs, with 3 (James Madison, Richmond and Villanova) in the top 8. The other two: New Hampshire is ranked 11th and Maine ranked 14.

Lets look at how these schools stacked up against each other:

JMU 24, Maine 10

JMU 38, Richmond 31 (why they kicked to Scotty McGee...I still don't know. Look it up on youtube.)

JMU 23, Villanova 19 (another last-second victory on the craziest looking pass. Again, look it up on youtube)

Richmond 44, Maine 17

Villanova 26, Richmond 20

Villanova 24, New Hampshire 13

New Hampshire 28, Maine 24

With the exception of the Richmond/Maine game, none were blow-outs, making me think that the CAA is pretty tough. This is the CAA's 18th straight season with multiple bids for the championship.

I personally cannot wait to attend my first playoff game. GO DUKES! But the competition this year is pretty tough.

The winners of the first round will advance to the Quarterfinal Round on Dec 6th. That will go down like this:

Eastern Ky/Richmond winner vs. South Caroline/App State winner

Colgate/Villanova winner vs. Wofford/James Madison winner

Weber State/Cal Poly winner vs. Texas State/Montana winner

Southern Ill/New Hampshire winner vs. Maine/Northern Iowa winner

Then onto the Semifinal round, which is TBD and the remaining two teams from the semis will go on to the Championship game Dec 19th in Chattanoga, Tenn.

Here's my bracket:

For everyone wondering why I have Montana beating App State here's the one simple reason: I think App State will beat Richmond, but it will be a painful, smash-mouth game with injuries galore.(note: I am not hoping for this. As a Patriots fan I have a new view on injuries (Tom Brady going down was hard to watch) and I don't want any player hurt, I just remember how tough it was playing both of those teams. Someone is bound to get hurt.)

My champion? James Madison.

Call me biased, but here's to hoping.

Oh Say Can You Sing? You Pick!

2008-11-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm gonna take a little detour off of off-season baseball moves (lots of talk, not so much action at the moment) and do a little poll. We've all heard the National Anthem sung hundreds of times at major sporting events, but which times were the best? I have a list here for you to look at, submit your vote in the comments section! Two of these versions got me all kinds of choked up.

First, we have Faith Hill

Then, these little girls (ranging from ages 6-8) singing the national anthem at a Texas Tech game.

Whitney Houston at Superbowl 25

Marvin Gaye at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game

John Williams Conducting the Boston Pops World Series Game 1 2007

Christina Aguilera (at age 11) Sings at Game 2 of the Stanley Cup

Mary J Blige at the 2004 NFL Kick-off

Carrie Underwood 2007 World Series Game 3

The Backstreet Boys Singing the National Anthem at the 2008 World Series Game 1

Finally, the Crowd at a Red Sox game helping a handicapped man sing

>

Hope you all enjoyed this! I did. Nominees were chosen based on singing ability, arrangement, creativity, and pure heart. Clearly, there are several I have left off (Hendrix, etc) but these are some of my favorites.

Back to the regular baseball blogging next time.

Epstein Arrives At GM Meeting Ready To Work

2008-11-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Theo Epstein arrived fashionably late to the GM meeting in Dana Point, California, after swinging by to watch Clay Buchholz pitch in the Arizona Fall league. With the Red Sox facing several key financial and player decisions this winter, the GM meeting has become more important than ever.

The Sox have depth in every position except for catcher (which we won't go into at the moment) which gives them a little wiggle room when it comes to personnel. If we like someone, we have lots of chips to trade, and with the loss of some big money contracts, this should be a good winter for trading - if necessary.

Theo spoke to the press, and has informed everyone that Timlin, who pitched six years in Boston, will not be returning to the Red Sox if he does not end up retiring. He also hinted that "The Mayor", Sean Casey, will likely not return. Epistein also confirmed that he has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount of years and funds.

If they can do it, the Sox may be interested in bringing in a big name pitcher, like CC or A.J. Burnett, but are more likely to get a strong starter who will cost significantly less than the headliners. Throw in another strong arm to Dice-K, Beckett, Lester and Wake and you've got an impressive pitching staff. If they all remain healthy.

The Red Sox have yet to decide what they will do with rookie pitcher Justin Masterson, who pitched beautifully from the 'pen in the second half. His flexibility is a big bonus for the decently strong Sox pitching staff.

You have to love the new owners and our GM, they really do put all the money we, as fans, spend on the Red Sox back into the team. Of course, this year Theo may have to do something he has never done before: got to arbitration. So far, he has always settled with his players, and with the money they have, the team should be able to give raises to a handful of their best players (i.e. Youkilis, Papelbon and Pedroia).

Jonathan Papelbon made just under $800,000 last season, and Kevin Youkilis went from $424,000 in 2007 to $3 million in 2008. Look for both of them to receive considerable raises. The Sox will also try to lock up Dustin Pedroia through his arbitration years, probably with a raise.

Epstein will also meet with the Prince of Darkness (Scott Boras) himself following the GM meeting to begin talks on Jason Varitek and whether or not he will be returning to Boston. While no deal is likely to be made, if they come to a quick agreement, Theo would not be opposed to wrapping it up early.

Oh Captain, My Captain

2008-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

A quick message for Theo: BRING BACK TEK!

You knew it was coming. The Prince of Darkness AKA Scott Boras wants a four year deal for Tek. He's too old for four, but he won't take two. Here's what you do, Sox. You offer him two years with two additional option years. I realize that he's like an automatic out at the plate. I realize that he's expensive (mostly due to greed on Boras's behalf) but I'm worried about the team without him. If he retired, they'd be fine, but if he was playing somewhere else, like Detroit, it would end badly. I realize the Boston mantra is generally "out with the old" but this is not Nomar or Manny or anyone, this is Tek. This is the CAPTAIN. He is the leader, and I'd rather have us bite the bullet on a two year deal with options or a three year deal and keep the soul of this team.

Intangibles are important. Look at the change in the locker room pre- and post-Manny. They were a totally different team after the trade. But that wasn't just Manny being gone. They played for each other, not just with each other. Even if we brought back healthy vets like Lowell, you'd still be losing the rock of the team in Varitek.

Besides, its not like there is a stellar crop of catchers out there.

On to more free-agents-to-be.

Casey and Kotsay are both free-agents. I feel like we should keep one of them as backups, they both have decent bats (Casey more than Kotsay) and play good defense (Kotsay more than Casey). I'd rather keep Kotsay, as much as I love Casey, because he can play infield and outfield. Of course, with a healthy JD Drew, Jason Bay, Ellsbury, and possibility of Crisp returning, will we need it? (answer: yes. You never know who is going to get hurt. it's always better to be prepared).

Alex Cora is up for free-agency, and I don't think we'll keep him if we can't dump Lugo off on someone. That's a shame because he's a decent back-up we can groom to become a really great manager. Have you ever heard this guy talk about baseball? He is so smart! And Tito loves him. Personally, I'd rather have a Lowrie-Cora infield than a Lowrie-Lugo one. Yipes! I'd like to keep Cora (if we can) and shift the infield around. Have Pedroia play short, Youk play second, and Lowell at third, picking up Texiera to play 1st. Then we can have great back-ups in Cora and Lowrie so the guys can have a day off on occasion.

Timlin and Schill are both up, but guys, you need to retire. Do it now when you can go out with people still loving you. Don't do a Brett Farve. You're done. Go play golf and look at your shiny World Series rings.

Byrd and Lopez I have mixed feelings about. If we can keep them for a bargain, good, if not...eh.

Up for arbitration:

Paps. We need to get him a raise and an option deal. I wouldn't tie him up for years because of shoulder injuries/etc. but he's a great closer. Maybe give him the same option Wake has? Or something similar.

Cash. Wake is back and he will likely be too. Tek can catch Wake, but if we get a new catcher (shudder) we'll need Cash and his experience with the knuckle-ball.

Pedroia. Give him a long-term deal (with a raise). This kid is for real, and he's young. Lock him up.

Lester. Same as Pedroia. In about three years, Lester could be the best pitcher in baseball. Period.

Youk. This one is a no-brainer. Give the man a raise and lock him up for a few more years.

So that's my picks for the off-season. We need a pitcher. Maybe another bat. And bid on CC to raise the price for the Yankees. (he he)

Sayonara Cinderella, Goodbye Billy Penn Curse!

2008-10-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

For all you Red Sox and Cubs fans, skip the next section, it doesn't apply. For everyone else, keep reading.

The Phillies have finally done it. It has been 28 years since the Phillies were here last, and 25 years since any professional sports team from Philly had won anything. This is called the "Curse of William (or Billy) Penn". It dates back to the construction of One Liberty Place, which became the tallest building in the city, rising over the height of William Penn's statue on City Hall. One year and four months ago, the statue was moved to the Comcast center, the new tallest building in Philadelphia. With the Phillie's fall classic win, it breaks the Curse and frees all Philadelphia sports teams to start winning again.

This is not the only curse to have been broken in the new millennium. The so-called "Curse of the Bambino" (insert eye-roll) ended in 2004 when the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The "Curse of the Black Sox" ended in 2005 when the ChiSox won their first World Series since 1919 and the Black-Sox scandal. Curses still in effect: The Detroit Lions' Curse of Bobby Layne and the Chicago Cubs Curse of the Billy Goat (which, by the way, is even more fascinating and superstitious than the Red Sox curse)

Of course, the curse of Billy Penn is the only curse to have an effect on ALL professional teams in a city, the other curses only applied to a specific sport.

Okay, its safe for everyone to read again.

I have a house mate who is a Phillies fan and she is ecstatic today. I gotta say I am glad that game 5 is finally over. I am also glad the Rays are still ring-less, because that means we will not have to hear about how the Rays won game 7 and went on to win the World Series every time they play the Red Sox. Now, its only "they beat the Red Sox and went on to lose to Philly 4 games to 1". Not as much of an accomplishment. Thank goodness!

It was a series marked by rain storms, and the first time in over a century that a game was suspended. I think the suspension was unfair, because the game should have stopped in the 5th, even if they were going to finish all 9 innings at some point, but it seemed like they waited until the Rays had tied it up. Because a good portion of the country wants to see Cinderella win. Everyone wants to see the little guys do well. For my part, I wanted the Phillies to sweep little Cinderella away with blow-out after blow-out. I'm not sure if that's bitterness over losing in game 7 or annoyance that the AL East's power has shifted to a Ménage à trois that I, personally, never wanted. I was happy with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

Brad Lidge notched his 48th save in 48 tries to be perfect in the 2008 season. Cole Hamels ended his Becket-like post-season by winning World Series MVP.

All I have to say is congrats Phillies, and now that the World Series is over, we can officially look towards next year, where (hopefully) the red Sox will be in the Phillie's position. For now, we cheer on the Brady-less Pats, who are tied for division lead with Buffalo (how weird!) and the Celtics, who are calling this season: Unbuntu II: The Return (or repeat?), and I will continue my campaign to keep Jason Varitek and get Dustin Pedroia and/or Kevin Youkilis the honor he deserves: MVP!

Frozen Fall Classic

2008-10-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Phillies and the Rays are held in suspense due to ridiculously wet (and cold) conditions. And the poor Rays had to go to Delaware to spend the night because they had already checked out of their hotel.

Of course, a game suspension is unprecedented, it has not happened in a century, what are the chances that it would happen? They probably should not have played the game at all last night, but they did, so tonight (possibly) we will start in on World Series Game 5 part II. Will is be over tonight or will we have a game 6? Regular stats do not apply. The Ray's streak when Longoria has an RBI does not count, because that was yesterday. The Phillie's issues with hitting with runners in scoring position need not carry over, though they have from game to game lately.

Look for a wet game tonight, and cold, which I put in the Phillie's favor. They play in the cold in March and April and again in September and October, while the Rays play indoors.

For my housemate's sake, I hope it is over tonight. I switched over from MNF to see what was going on and I was shocked. I can't believe they played in weather like that, but I also can't believe they suspended it. How have we made it through 112 World Series without a suspended game for weather? That is a ridiculous feat. Its clearly possible but also somewhat mind-boggling. And Bud Selig...poor Bud Selig and the umpire crew are bearing the brunt of the fan anger. Had they called the game in the 5th, the Phillies would have won. Even if they had suspended the game in the 5th, which, weather-wise, they should have, the Phillies would be going into tonight with the lead, so they are, understandably, angry at the refs and the commish. And had they called the game sooner, perhaps the Rays would have found a hotel in Philly and not in Delaware.

For now, I continue my stint as a Phillies fan. So lets go Phillies!

Rays Relief is a Relief For the Phillies

2008-10-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well, the Phillies took game 4 in spectacular style last night, and being that I am temporarily a Phillies fan, this is a good thing.

The game was close-ish until the later innings when Philly just opened up on the Rays 'pen for homer after homer. It makes me begin to think that maybe the Rays didn't beat the Red Sox, the Red Sox's injuries finally caught up to them and they lost. I mean, really, the Rays being in the World Series is really a giant scouting game for the Yankees. They are mostly locked up until 2009, but the next year, the Evil Empire will come calling.

As for the Sox, I hope we rob the Jays of one of their starters, like AJ Burnett or something, keep Tek on a two year deal and phase him into the coaching staff slowly while grooming a young guy. I think bringing in a guy from another team would not be good for the pitching staff, but as all of you who read me regularly know, I'm a Tek supporter. The players have already come out and said they will be shocked, disappointed, sad, worried about the kind of team they are on, etc. if he isn't signed. Now all we gotta do is keep Boras from being too greedy...(like that's going to happen)

Without the big money contracts of Manny and Schill, we have a good bit of money to work with and really, not that many holes. We have the Cora-Lowrie-Lugo shortstop debate, and there's no one we can dump Lugo on at the moment, but this means we don't need a shortstop. Pedrioa and Youk are solid infielders and even solider bats. If Mikey comes back from the surgery OK, then yay! If not, we should pick up Texiera, maybe we should pick him up anyway, since Mikey might be on the way out at the end of next year...(hopefully retiring... I don't want him to play for anyone else) Papi will be back to his old self, so no need for a DH, but we'll probably keep Casey around as a good overall backup. Then we've got Bay, Drew, Coco, and Ellsbury in the outfield. The starting rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester and Wake is still pretty potent (I know Wake led the team in losses, but go back and look to see how many of those were 1-run losses where we couldn't generate the offense)

So, we add a pitcher, maybe an infielder, or a good backup like Kotaras who can play both pretty well, maybe bring up a new guy to work in the 'pen. We'll be good. The big question is catcher, and with limited prospects around the league, and Tek meaning so much to the team, it would be a stupid decision on Theo's part not to keep him around.

Here's to game 5. May it silence the Cowbells forever.

Also, Congrats to KEVIN YOUKILIS who won the Hank Aaron Award! Yeah! Here's what he had to say (and it makes me love him even more!)

"Well, I don't think I can ever compare myself to Hank Aaron in any way," Youkilis said. "I'll never see myself in that level. So to win this award, I don't know, I'm a little humbled by it. But it's great just to be able to have an award that's named after somebody that exemplified so much in this game and has brought so much history to this game. It's an honor just to be named in the same sentence. So for me, I'm thrilled."

Are Your Ready For Some Football?

2008-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Pats take the field tonight against the high-powered Broncos offense. Good news for the Pats: there is no defense to speak of. On the other hand, the Pats D and the offense have been inconsistent, driving fantasy owners and fans crazy.
My fantasy team tanked this week, but it tanked like a Rockstar. At this point, there is no way I can win, so I concede the week to make myself better in the long run (by not having to get rid of any of my insanely talented RBs.)
Mostly, I just really need the Pats to pull it off tonight because I'm still reeling from last night, as I'm sure most Boston fans are. I can now fully devote myself to the blogging and watching of football, and won't have to split my time until the NBA season heats up.

On the college front:

JMU is still number one and mercifully had a bye week to nurse all their many injuries. Next week we take on Nova, which should prove to be a difficult game. Nevertheless, I have faith, as I always do.

So go Dukes! and Go Pats!

All Good Things...

2008-10-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

...must come to an end. I have to say, in the bright (and cold) light of morning, I am almost glad its over. I would have liked it to be over after another four games and a ring...but my stress level goes down and my number of hours sleeping goes up.

I will watch some of the fall classic, but only when they play in Philly, because if I ever hear another cowbell, it will be too soon. Maybe the Rays should have Christopher Walken throw out the first pitch?

Anywho, the Red Sox are gassed. Last night everyone just looked tired. So I think in a small way, they're glad its over. Now its time to marvel at the fact that they never should have made it as far as they did, take a few days off to rest, and start figuring out how we can get CC or some other pitcher without giving up anyone we like. I really like our line-up next year. For the first time in my memory, the Red Sox are young. Pedroia, Lowrie, Coco, Ellsbury, Masterson, Lester, Bay, Papelbon, and Youk have many years left in them. If you look back on the Sox, this rarely happens. And these kids are battle tested. There are only two things the Sox must do this off-season: get Tek back, and get another starting pitcher, whether we take one from somewhere else or develop them.

I'm going to take a few days off of hard-core baseball following to catch up on that all-important school work which has fallen by the wayside. I continue my campaign for the Captain, because you can't just get rid of a captain, even one who has struggled so much at the plate, you have to phase him out, into retirement. Just the reactions from his homer in game 6 proved one thing: they need him. He is the soul of the team, and if we get rid of our soul we'll turn into the Yankees.

One final note before I head off to get lunch (yum!) Our playing season may be over, but the Nation still has work to do! The 2008 This Year In Baseball Award has several Red Sox on the ballot!

Vote Pedroia for Hitter, Dice-K for Starter, Jacoby for Rookie, Tito for Manager, Paps for Closer, Dustin for Defense, Lester's No-No for Performance, and Youk's on-the-wall triple for Oddity (this one is under Damon's name).

And the best part is you can vote as many times as you want and it's really very easy! So go vote HERE

Well, Someone Has To Go

2008-10-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Okay kids. Here it is, game 7 of the ALCS. Anyone else but me incredibly surprised to be here? (Think back to Thursday before the 7th inning and be honest with yourself)

Tonight, Jon Boy takes the mound against Garza.

We're putting our best foot forward, I have my lucky shirt, and join my incredibly superstitious friends in keeping my fingers crossed. Look at this survey on the Boston Globe's website:

See the choices? You gotta love superstitious baseball fans.

So I was all kinds of cursing TBS last night. I don't care if you have a power outtage, the Steve Harvey show was a BAD CALL. The Office would have been a little less annoying. So I logged in to all the various websites, watching TBS Hotcorner (which I am not a fan of) listening to WRKO (love them!) and watching gameday pitch-by-pitch. So of course I found myself yelling agrily at BJ Upton before long. I called home and my mother, though I love her, occasionally choses the "hometown" boys over the team that the rest of my family is insane about. Not a very nice thing to do in the regular season, but a cardinal sin in the post-season, especially when facing elimination.

Note on the "hometown": I graduated high school with Justin Upton (DBacks), BJ's little brother. BJ did not go to my school, he went to a local private school, though I have met him, David Wright (Mets), and Mike Cuddyer (Twins) - all local boys. Thus, he's a "local" boy and my mother loves it when anyone from our area does well. I usually do too...just not in the postseason when they're playing my team.

Back to the game. The Rays lead 1-0, but never fear! Youk is here! Youk launches a solo shot to tie the game. Thank goodness, because with the way both Sheilds and Beckett were pitching, it was going to be a tight one.

Yay for Youk, because he hits a sac-grounder which scores Pedroia on the go-ahead run in the third. Then Becks gives up a solo homer to Bartlett, and we're tied again in the 5th. But it could have been worse, had the Rays not put on a hit-and-run which allowed Tek to throw out Navarro at second. So we come to the 6th. Two outs, Tek is up. We love the Captain, and watching him struggle is more painful than most players just in a slump. On a 2-0 pitch, Shields hung a fastball to the corner and bam! Tek hit the go-ahead solo homer and the Sox never looked back.

I mean, if you're going to have only one hit this series, that was a really great time to do it. It got the Sox pumped up even more and the 2-out rally continued, thanks to an E by Bartlet and some clutch hits from Coco, Dustin, and Papi, who, by the way, hit a double and an RBI single last night.

The bull pen, which came in for the 6th, shut it down. Oki went two beastly innings, Masterson settled down marvelously after hitting a batter, and Paps, even though he looks a little gassed (yipes!) got it done in a big way.

So now there's one game left. Winner goes to the World Series, loser starts shopping for Halloween costumes. Tonight we hand the ball to the de fecto ace of the team, Jon Lester. To be quite honest with you, win or lose, they have done a GREAT job. And I really feel that if we can hit with men on (stranded TWELVE last night!) and Lester can keep the game under control, we'll be golden. Though I'd like us to blow them out so Paps can rest. We need him and he needs it.

So good luck Sox, the Nation is behind you.

No Freakin' Way!

2008-10-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long hiatus, but midterms, projects and one nasty cold
have combined to keep me sleeping when not watching games or doing
homework. Notice how all of these things have to happen in the same
week? The Sox drop three games, I catch a monster cold, I have two midterms, a paper, and a project due and I have a massive shoot for the project that isn't due for two weeks. On to the craziest comeback I've ever seen. Period.

So, the Sox were down by 7 heading into the 7th inning, and I was contemplating the merits of being a temporary Phillies fan.

And then Pedroia hit an RBI single and scores Lowrie. Finally, the Sox were on the board. Here I am thinking: at least we weren't going to get shut out.

Pedroia Gets it Going

Then Papi comes up, and with two men on, Papi swings...its going...going...THREE RUN SHOT! PAPI HITS A HOME RUN!!!!
At this point, I call my dad, who has gone to bed and tell him to put the game back on we're only down by three runs and we've still got seven outs. Somehow, we can feel the momentum shifting our direction.

Papi's 3-Run Shot

Paps comes back for the top of the 8th and has a shut-down inning. And the momentum continues to shift. Then back come the Sox in the 8th. JBay gets on and bam! Mr. Clutch JD Drew comes up with a 2-run homer.

JD Drew's 2-Run Homer

Now the lead is down to one tiny little run. Then Mark Kotsay hits a towering 2-out RBI double and scores on a Coco Crisp single to tie the game. Even though Coco was thrown out at second (there were some weird throws in there, so he thought he could extend the single...) he is beyond excited, throwing his helmet and Fenway is going NUTS. PS...check out Mike Lowell when Kotsay doubles. I tell you what, he may not be playing, but he is still in the game.

Kotsay Doubles

Coco Ties the Game

In the 9th. Masterson is on and he gets into a little bit of trouble, but then gets Pena to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Key 463 Double Play

So we head into the 9th, Pedroia, Papi and Youk up. (Pretty good order, huh?) Pedroia grounds out, Papi strikes out and its all up to Youk. He hits one to Longoria and I'm thinking extra innings, but it bounces off the glove of Pena and Youk is on 2nd. They give an intentional free pass to JBay and take on JD Drew. (AKA, Mr. Clutch) JD whacked a screaming liner passed Gross to score Youk and end the game.

JD walk off single

And so the Red Sox staged the second greatest comeback in MLB postseason history (by one run) and force a trip back to St. Pete. The momentum shifted big time in the Sox favor, just like it did the Rays after the extra-innings victory in game 2. Here's hoping they can keep it and head back to the Fall Classic! If not, whatever. This game was uh-mazing!

Red Sox Roll The Dice-K

2008-10-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

The lineups are out, and here's how the Red Sox pitching will break down:

1. Dice-K
He's a heart-attack inducing pitcher, and with the Ray's tendency to run, that may cause a little trouble for the Sox. However, Dice-K has shut it down on the road, so giving him the first start in the Trop is probably the best call Tito can make.

2. Beckett
He looked rusty, but not injured in his last start. And the game still went 12 innings, so even the high-powered, fast moving offense of the Angels couldn't take that much advantage of the ace. This time he'll be pitching on normal rest, so expect October Beckett (the 2007 version) to return.

3. Lester
Jon Lester is a beast. He will get the ball at home, where he is absolutely stellar.

4. Wake
His record doesn't reflect how well he has really pitched this year. He's going to give up a run or two, but in the regular season, the Sox had a hard time getting him the bats to back him up.

5. Dice-K (if necessary)
6. Beckett (if necessary)
7. Lester (if necessary)

I'm going to be honest, here. If I could split myself in two and have the neutral sports mind talk to the Boston sports fan, here's how the conversation would have been:

Neutral: The Red Sox are in the postseason, which should be an accomplishment in and of itself considering the division they play in and the injuries they have sustained.

Fan: They're going all the way!

Neutral: It is unlikely that they beat the Angels, but that would be a huge accomplishment for a team as banged up as they have been. Top that off with several inexperienced starters and the loss of Manny, it isn't likely.

Fan: I just don't want them to be out in the first round.

So that's my internal conversation with myself. The Boston fan in me just refuses to give up and believes the Red Sox are going to repeat, but the rational part of my brain realizes that the Red Sox are the underdogs.

Who ever thought that the Red Sox playing the (Devil) Rays would be the underdogs of the series?

That Dirty Water Never Tasted So Good, So Good, So Good

2008-10-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Angels, it's been nice...

Watch Jed Lowrie's Walk-Off Single!

Sox win. Yay!

Lets talk some post-season baseball. First off, what a start for Jon Lester. The Angels were a tough team, and, as Tito said, "we had our hands full [with them]". So now the best team (record wise) in the AL and the best team (record wise) in the NL are both gone.

Good, good things happened last night:
-Dustin snapped his October slump by hitting a rocket RBI double off the Monster (or "Monstah" depending on where you live)
-Tek chased down a young guy like a Teddy Bruschi or Rodney Harrison going after a quarterback, getting the out on a suicide squeeze that didn't quite work.
-Lester finishes the ALDS going 14 innings, scattering 10 hits with 11 Ks and 3 BBs and a 0.00 ERA (that's right, ZERO point ZERO ZERO. As in goose-egg) Can we just say beast?
-Bay leads the team in post-season BA (.412), OBP (.474) and SLG (.882) with 7 hits, 5 RBIs and scoring 3 runs. He hit what could have been an inside-the-park home run, had it not bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.
-Lowrie got quite possibly the most clutch single of his career (more to come, I hope!) scoring Bay for the walk-off single with 2 outs in the 9th.

As with all things, we will take the day to celebrate, then look to the future and the extremely tough Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. After battling the Angels, I feel like the Sox are up for any battle that gets thrown at them. Dice-K is pretty good against the Rays and excellent on the road. Beckett looked rusty in game 3, but I think he'll be much better when he faces the Rays. Then we have Lester, who is probably the best pitcher in baseball right now. Throw in Masterson and Oki who are tough, and Manny D and Paps, both with 0.00 ERAs this post-season, and the Sox are looking pretty good, if we can just get that offense going a little more. Now that Dustin got his first hit, I think we're going to be just fine.

Just for a little fun, here are some post-season pics for your enjoyment! (from www.boston.com, click to make them larger!)

Finally, because life wouldn't be complete without some Papelbon antics:

Those shirts, by the way, say "Cinco Ocho: He don't know how he do..." and on the back it says "He just do".

Hopefully, Cinco Ocho (Papelbon for those of you who don't know) will be doing what he do and hopefully we'll be singing Dirty Water again soon! Go Sox!

How To Ride The Red Sox Roller Coaster

2008-10-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm finally sitting down to do this after last night's game. I reiterate how much I hate west-coast games and how excited I am that they are playing in the Fens tomorrow. I also gotta say, I usually don't watch games with my dad. Being in school and all, you know, he's not there. I'm home for the weekend so I got to watch it with him (its been about two years since we've watched a playoff game together). Watching with my dad truly highlighted the absolute difference in generations of fans. I'm from the generation where we don't remember the heartaches as much. I mean, the first time I saw the Sox in the World Series, I was a month old and they lost (1986 WS). My mom eventually took me away from my dad, for fear that instead of the remote flying at the TV in frustration, it would be me. Of course, my dad would never actually throw me at the TV, but I digress...

So we're watching the game, and I get nervous, turn my hat inside-out, change shirts, etc., but I don't give up. I am an eternal optimist. The whole "Sox fans are all crazy pessimists" is a stereotype and you have to look at the ages of these people. Those of us born in the past 20 years or so only remember a few bad years, like 2003. But we mostly remember 2004 and 2007. While we've heard all the stories of all the bad years, we didn't live through it.

So we're watching the game, and my Dad is like a yo-yo. He can go from loving the Sox to needing a prozac in 30 seconds or less. Two outs in the first, Drew is up to bat, Papi and Youk are on base. Dad is thinking of JD's game 1. Then he hits a double and scores Papi. Next up, Jason Bay. At this point, Dad is just amazed, because the Red Sox never rally with 2 outs. Lets be honest, here, no one really does. So Bay steps up and launches a three-run shot, becoming the first Red Sox player ever to homer in his first two post-season games. (Think he's enjoying his first trip into October?)

After that, we watched (me nervously, my dad, angrily) as the Angels pecked away at our lead, until finally, in the eigth, its tied 5-5 on a sac-fly in the 8th (inherited runner from Masterson). Due to the day of rest, both Tito and Scioscia had the closers on in the 8th. Paps shuts down the inning, continuing to have a 0.00 ERA in the post-season (its only two games, but still...) At this point, I have changed my shirt to bring some good kharma and my Dad is close to giving up. And we both really, really, really want to strangle the rally monkey (seriously). So Papi hits a double and we come to Drew with one out in the ninth. JD's been fierce tonight, and me, the eternal optimist, have already said before this inning: one fo them could hit a home run, you know. My dad scoffed at this but a two-run dinger from JD Drew let me say "I told you so". JD Drew hit a homer off of K-Rod, with the count 2-2. That just doesn't happen. All of Red Sox nation is again celebrating JD Drew's clutch homer (remember last year?) which immediately silenced the crowd and put away the monkeys (seriously, monkeys?).

Down to the bottom of the ninth, Pap is back, and Hunter bunts, but is out on a good play by Youk. Then Matthews works Paps for quite a few pitches, and fouls one off. It's going to land in the cameras, but Youk reaches in and grabs it for an amazing catch and the 2nd out of the 9th. Then Paps gets Kendrick to end the game and put Boston ahead in the series 2-0. So here's to game 3, and for my father's health (I seriously worry about his heart during the playoffs) I hope they blow the Angels out of the water.

In other news: I'm currently watching the Cubs continue to collapse. Its the top of the 8th and they are down 3-1 to the Dodgers, two out, one guy on. My prediction is the Dodgers are about to achieve what the Brewers managed to avoid today: the sweep. Any one taking the ChiSox at home? I am. I have this feeling that series is going to go 4 or 5 games. Obviously, I'm gonna take the Sox at home to finish the sweep of the Halos. Maybe killing the rally monkey in the process...you know, maybe one time he bounces right into a black hole or something? Sorry. I have an inexplicable hatred for the Rally monkey. Not sure what that's about, but...eh.

Hopefully on the playlist for tomorrow: Sweet Caroline, I'm Shipping Up To Boston, Dirty Water and Tessie. GO SOX!

A Bay-utiful Morning For the Red Sox

2008-10-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, yes, technically it was not morning for the Red Sox, but it was for me as I sat, bleary-eyed, surrounded by research paper sources and cans of diet coke, on my couch last night/this morning. And since the Sox are an east coast team, we'll just say that very early this morning, the Sox took game one of the ALDS.

How did they do it? In that spectacular, down-to-the-wire, saved-by-great-plays, give-all-your-fans-a-heart-attack way that the Red Sox specialize in. The Angels scored first, capitalizing on an error by Lowrie which should have been out #3 but instead it lead to the Angel's only run of the game. Since the Sox were scoreless, hitting atrociously with men on, I thought that was going to be the game. Not good for a young player's psyche.

So we continue on, two outs in the top of the sixth, and Youk walks. So here comes Bay, who has struck out twice. At this point, I'm picking up my books so that when they go to the commercial for the middle of the innings, I'll be all prepared to do homework. Then Bay just rips one, and it keeps going, and I'm standing up, trying desperately not to wake the rest of my house up (lame people who don't like baseball and a Phillies fan who was done with it for the night) so I just did a happy dance and sat back down and called my dad. Its his fault I'm this crazy, anyway.

(image courtesy of mlb.com)

Lester was sick. Lester was a beast. Lester proved what I've been believing all season, he is one of the best pitchers in the league. And of course, Jacoby had a beastly night. I mean, the catches, the hits, the stealing. I'm just waiting for him to score on a wild pitch. From second. JD Drew and Mikey were back in the lineup, and though they didn't really produce, Mike hit a few that were well-hit balls but better defensive plays.

(image from mlb.com)

Oh, and something else historic happened last night. A second Angels player got a hit on Paps. The entire post-season roster is now 2 and 40 against the closer. I like that stat, I just want that big number to keep getting bigger.

Day off today, then again in La-La-Land for another late-night game. This one starts a whole 1/2 hour earlier, but since the next day is Saturday, who cares?

A final note: Jacoby Ellsbury, who had a stellar night including a great diving catch seen in the image below, has a new blog on MLBlogs, it's called "Jacoby Ellsbury's Postseason Blog" and you can read it here

(image from mlb.com)

There's Only ONE October - And It Has Arrived!

2008-09-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Sox are off on their way to the land of the La Las (otherwise known as Las Angeles) to face the Las Angeles Angels of Anaheim (they don't have enough fans in Anaheim so they incorporated LA too). Many Sox fans will be chanting the same thing they did this summer with the NBA Finals: "Beat LA". Odd how that works out.

Also, as to the question of Lester starting instead of Josh? Well, aside from my concern that Becks won't be ready to pitch at all (an irrational fear, I hope) Lester is a great back-up. I mean, how many teams would kill to have Lester or Dice-K come and be their Ace? (The Mariners, Nats, Os, Pirates and Padres are all raising their hands). I think pitching wise, so long as Becks is healthy, we're in good shape.

Lets look at the top 10 teams for the year...(* indicate post-season berth, bold and italics are to make a point)

1. Las Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) 100-62 AL West *
2. Chicago Cubs 97-64 NL Central *
3. Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays 97-65 AL East *
4. Boston Red Sox 95-67 AL East *
5. Philadelphia Phillies 92-70 NL East *
6. Milwaukee Brewers 90-72 NL Central *
7. New York Yankees 89-73 AL East
8. New York Mets 89-73 NL East
9-10 Minnesota Twins/Chicago White Sox 88-74 AL Central (one of them will *)

Sorry, a friend of mine continually claims that the national sports media has an east coast bias. But check out the top 10 teams! Half of them are from the east. Also, the AL has 6 of the top spots, and their final playoff contender, the LA Dodgers, are ranked 14th (going by wins/losses) falling behind every team in the AL East except for the Orioles. If we were to go purely on wins/losses, there would only be one playoff team in the AL not from the East. And it would mean that half of the NL teams came from the East. So there is your east coast bias. Well earned, in my opinion.

So break out the beer, the rally caps/towels/flags/t-shirts and get set for a great October. Lets go over some final stats before the Sox take the field against the Angels very late tomorrow night:

Fielding:
Red Sox: .986
Angels: 985
Edge: Red Sox (mostly because they've had Youk playing at either corner and 4 different people at short and still have a better fielding percentage than the Angels)

Batting:
Red Sox: .252 (let us mention this, though. Pedroia has hit .583 against the Angels in Anaheim this year. Astounding!)
Angels: .305
Edge: Angels

Pitching:
Red Sox: 4.01 ERA (3 starters: 2.58 ERA)
Angels: 3.99 ERA (3 starters: 2.48 ERA)
Edge: Angels (but only slightly)

Bullpen:
Papelbon and co: Only 1 Angel has a hit against him in the past 2 years, no one has a hit this year against him
K-Rod and co: Record-setting year, the Sox are batting .133 against him this season
Edge: Neither. While the Angels bullpen has been more consistent, the Red Sox bullpen is coming in hot. It's anyone's ballgame.

Bench:
Edge: Red Sox have talented and experienced veterans/youngsters, and they have been well prepared this year with all the various injuries.

Clutch:
Angels: K-Rod is clutch. I mean, big time clutch, plus the extra bats added this year will be a big help.
Red Sox: Dice can load the bases, and 9 times out of 10 get himself out of it. Lester...he turns around series, Becket...domination. The Sox got grit, and everyone has pulled their weight this year because of injuries.
Edge: Red Sox (again, very slight)

This is going to be a good series. I can't wait to watch!

Red Sox Honor Pesky, Prepare for the Post-Season

2008-09-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's almost October. The weather is starting to change, the leaves are turning colors, and most importantly, eight teams are gearing up for the post-season. Well, seven. By Wednesday we'll know the eighth.

The Red Sox honored Johnny Pesky by retiring his number. Finally. I fully believe the Red Sox are a little harsh in their restrictions on retiring numbers. But...Johnny deserves this, and he will always be remembered. He's got the Pesky pole!

On to the post-season. Lester will get the start on Wednesday due to a minor oblique injury suffered by Josh Beckett, who will start game 3. Tito's got some roster decisions coming up, including what to do with Lowell and Drew. Drew played 7 solid innings on Sunday, without an issue. Hopefully, this is a good sign.

And for everyone who really wanted the AL East crown...don't worry about it. Good thing is, as of Wednesday, everyone is 0-0. Yes, the Angels killed us this year, but remember, those games came right as Manny was at his worst. The teams that met in the regular season are not the same teams that will take the field on Wednesday.

So prepare your rally caps, your favorite lucky t-shirts, and your hope for this coming October. May it be a long one for the Sox. Also, thank the good Lord above that you aren't a Mets fan. So when you're worried about playing the Angels, think of it this way: it could be worse, you could be the Mets.

I'm so excited. LETS GO RED SOX!

Lester Lights Up The Indians To Keep The East In Sight

2008-09-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

Jon Lester almost showed that lightening strikes twice. He threw five innings of no-hit ball against the Cleveland Indians. Of course, we all knew he wasn't going to get a no-hitter, this close to the playoffs, Tito wasn't going to let him get above 90 pitches. Still, five innings of no-hit baseball gives your team a very good chance to win.

(Video courtesy of mlb.com)

Then the offense was rocking and rolling, including a shot Youk hit, taking it to the Monstah Seats!

I love this time of year for baseball. Although I do admit, I thought this series against the Yankees would mean more. Oh well.

Also, totally off topic, and if you love the Office keep reading. (Note if you haven't seen season 5's premier, STOP! Contains SPOILERS!)

Red Sox Clinch Playoff Spot Squeaking By The Indians

2008-09-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

After dropping the first game against the Indians, the Red Sox rebounded to win two close ones against the Tribe.

First after rocking Cliff Lee's world in the 4th and 5th for 5 runs (note, on any other pitcher this would not be "rocking" but for Lee...oh yeah). Youk and Pedroia came up big with 2 RBIs each, and Bay drove in the game-winning run.Youk hit a 2-run homer in the fourth and Pedey came through with a 2-run double in the fifth. After Youk was intentionally walked in the 5th, Bay made the Indians pay with a 2-out RBI single.

After Paps notched the save, the Sox celebrated. ESPN First Take wondered if the celebration was over the top. Uh, hello, I think the Indians would kill to be where we are. So would 30 other teams, it would do the accomplishment a disservice not to celebrate. Just because they are defending champs doesn't mean they should treat this whole thing as ho-hum. I'm sure the Yankees would love to be in this position right now (PS, enjoy October golfing, A-Rod, I hear its fantastic!) Not only is this a huge accomplishment, because very few teams have managed to return to the post-season the next year after winning the World Series but also because of how absolutely banged up the Sox have been this year.
So congratulations Red Sox, you are going to the Post-Season! (And the Yankees aren't for the first time in 13 years! Yay!)

Now on to last night's game. They were clearly trying to get everyone ready for the post season, having clinched and no longer worrying about the Wild Card race. Obviously, we still want to win the East and avoid the Angels in the first round, but if we can do it by resting the big guys and getting some guys a tune-up. JD Drew was back in the line-up tonight for a three-inning tune up, then both Van Every and Bailey got some playing time (with Bailey ripping a triple in his first at-bat of the night and scoring the game-winning run of Kotsay's double). In both nights, the bull pen was put to work, but they seem to be shutting it down and getting it done, Manny D even got the save instead of Paps.

Now, the only thing left to do is have the Rays lose the next four and the Sox win the next four. Unfortunately for us, that means one more game against the Indians and three against the Yankees in a series that, surprisingly, will not matter. Although I'm sure there will be a bit of taunting about the Red Sox win ending the Yankees 13 year post-season streak.

Next game is tonight, 7:05 Sowers vs. Lester. Go Sox!

Add on: Here's another great video from Cinco Ocho (otherwise known as Papelbon) Check out this video and many others here

(video courtesy of Comcast SportsNet)

OT- JMU Rank #1 In Coaches Poll!

2008-09-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

James Madison University, after rallying to beat #1 ranked App State on Saturday has taken the spot on top of the coaches poll. Go Dukes!

An Ode To The Cathedral

2008-09-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Farewell Yankee Stadium, it's been fun
Some games we lost, some games we won
You've stood strong for many, many years
Your closing brings me to tears
Not because I root for the Yanks, believe me
But because of all the things you've stood to see

Pedro Martinez notching 17 Ks
Most ever against the Yanks in a single day
Curt's damaged ankle and the sock that it stained
Damon's grand slam as the pennant they claimed
Papi's homers gave us hope that soon,
We would have a reason to forget Aaron **** Boone
It was the place that Teddy Ballgame got his first start
And where Lou Gehrig touched all our hearts
It was here a 1-hitter and a catch by Yastrzemski
Kicked off the season of the Impossible Dream

You've witnessed history, both the good and the bad
Some times you were happy, sometimes you were sad
And even a Sox fan has to admit
The greats who played here are hard to forget
Names like Mantel, DiMaggio, Yogi and Maris
Gave us all memories that we could cherish

Records have been set, many have been broken
Teams have caught fire, others were caught choking
And when the Sox come to play when you are gone,
They'll fondly remember you, but then play on

So from a Red Sox fan to the great stadium,
So long, farewell, and thanks for the fun

Sox Blank Jays, Yanks halt the Clinch

2008-09-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

Okay. So all we needed was a Yankees loss after Dice, Oki and Paps combined to shut out the Jays. But it was the last game to ever be played at Yankee stadium, did you really think they were going to lose?

Nope.

Lets honor the House That Ruth Built after the Sox Traded Him For Goodness-Knows-Why with the top 5 Red Sox moments at Yankee Stadium (in no particular order)

1. 10/19/2004 ALCS Game 6: The Bloody Sock. Schill pitches great, giving up only 1 run in 7 innings.

2. 10/17/2004 ALCS Game 4: Papi's 2-run shot in the 12th to win the game and keep the Sox alive.

3. 10/20/2004 ALCS Game 7: Sox cruise by the Yanks 10-3 and go on to win their first World Series in 86 years.

4. 4/14/1967 Rookie Billy Rohr kicks off his Major League career and the "Impossible Dream" season by coming within one out of a no-hitter. A soft grounder blew the no-hitter, but the Sox still got the shut-out.

5. 7/16/2008 All-Star Game. J.D. Drew became MVP of the game going 2-4 and hitting the game-tying home run in the 7th. The game went 15 innings, and featured 8 Red Sox players and the skipper, Terry Francona. A long game, but a great send off for the stadium. :)

That's all I got. I'm going to bed. Bring on the Indians.

Eh...

2008-09-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

We lost to Miami. Miami.
The winning streak is over and I don't even want to think about the Patriots until I am no longer angry. Good thing the Sox won, or I'd be really evil.

Sox Slug One, Drop One At The Trop

2008-09-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

After looking like they were hitting in a home-run derby, the Sox failed to produce and lost the second game on a walk-off single in the 9th. These things happen, you know. All is not lost, Sox fans. We were tied for the lead, now we're one game back. If we take the rubber match, we'll be tied again. We'll also have split the series overall with the Rays.

I would rather lose a one-run game on a bit of shakey pitching then my ace be clobbered by 6 home runs and giving up 9 earned runs in just three innings (ehem, Kazmir). Becks had a stellar game, the offense just couldn't produce in the second one.

Also, congrats to Jason Bay, who welcomes a daughter, Evelyn Jane. Yay! Tonight, Wake takes the mound tonight. Go Sox!

Hello and Welcome!

2008-09-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

After continually posting Patriots things on (transplanted) Nation, which is a baseball blog, I have decided that two blogs are necessary. One for football, one for baseball. I'll start making football entries here starting this week.

Enjoy!