Rooster Ramblings

-- Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: I’ll be relieved if the Sox have a double digit lead over the Yankees at the All-Star break.

-- Manny’s agent should send J.D. Drew a thank you card. He has single-handedly made Manny seems like Lou Gehrig after years of complaints about Ramirez' mysterious line-up no-shows. Fact is, Manny has played more games than Derek Jeter since 2003. And the Japanese Iron Horse, Hideki Matsui? 68 fewer games played than Manny since 2003. The only shame here is that we have to suffer through J.D. Drew to fully appreciate what we’ve had in left field. Hopefully, Manny’s here for many more 100 RBI seasons.

-- I’ll be stunned if the Celtics don’t draft the Chinese 7-footer, Yi Jianlian, if he’s there at No. 5. Our comrade-in-blog Junior Gong makes a great counterpoint that Ainge needs to get the most NBA-ready player to save his job. Still, I can’t see Wyc Grousbeck turning his back on the potential marketing income from China. Call it the Dice K ripple effect. Jianlian’s sure to move a lot of green jerseys overseas – he’s already got his own Nike commercial in rotation in China. We can only hope he’s good enough to crack the C’s rotation here.

-- Time to kill a myth left over from the NFL draft. One of the more oft-quoted lines – from Mel Kiper to Trey Wingo – was “you don’t pass up a potential franchise quarterback with the first pick if your team needs one.” The Raiders were hailed for following this rule and the Dolphins were KILLED for ignoring it and leaving Brady Quinn on the board. After hearing that concept spouted a million times in a week, you actually start to think it makes perfect sense. One small problem -- it doesn’t make sense at all. If any one man has shown the folly in this concept, it’s A.J. Smith of the San Diego Chargers. Twice in the last six drafts, Smith has been in the No. 1 spot where his team could’ve had Mike Vick and Eli Manning, both hailed as franchise saviors at the time. In both cases, the Chargers went away from the franchise QB (Manning actually forced them, too) and spun those two picks into LaDanian Tomlinson, Shawn Merriman, Philip Rivers, Nate Kaeding, Roman Oben, Tim Dwight, Reche Caldwell and Tay Cody. Not a bad haul, eh? By going away from the lure of the savior college QB, the Chargers actually saved their franchise. On the flip side, the Falcons are left with an all-star dogfighter and the Giants have a poor-man’s David Carr. Ouch. So what does this mean to the Raiders and Dolphins? If the Chargers are any guide, both franchises will regret not trading out of their spots to address more needs.

-- I’m a huge hoops fan, and like many of you, I miss the Celtic glory days. However, as much as it sucks to see Tim Duncan still raising trophies with the Spurs rather than here in Boston, not once have I ever watched Duncan play and actually felt cheated I haven’t had the chance to watch him play every night. I know, I know – he’s one the all-time greats, but has anyone ever considered a Tim Duncan game required TV viewing?

-- Just curious: are we SURE that Flip Saunders knows defensive double-teams are allowed in the NBA?

June Sw_ _ n and Franc the Tank.

Hope these past few games are not a sign of things to come. Looking at the standings, it seems as if the Sox need to really worry about not dropping the ball against the other divisions in a strong American League, rather than a comparitively weak East. 6 of those 9 teams are at least .500, with some of them well over the mark. The ChiSox are only a few games under, and the Angels actually have more wins than Boston does. While the Rangers just flat-out suck, even KC has given the BoSox trouble at times in recent years. Games against Arizona, Atlanta, and San Fran are gonna be tough games as well.

Fortunately, this is their first stumble this season, and even the great teams are due a losing streak here and there. They are definitely talented enough to be able to right the ship after these past few days, but if they dont watch out, a 10 game lead can quickly turn into a 7, 6, or 5 game lead with plenty of baseball left to play. Hope Schilling can stop the bleeding tonight, followed by another Beckett gem. Maybe Theo does need to pull a trade for another bat sooner than expected, but damn, that catch by CoCo last night was sweet, and good defense like that doesnt always come around so easily. Saving runs can be just as important as scoring runs.

Much respect for Tito last night in getting thrown out over one of the worst strike calls I have ever seen. Cool to see him whip the chaw from his mouth, and especially cool when another umpire tried to butt in, only to have Francona tell him to butt-out. He must have said, "All Fuckin' Night" a half-dozen times. Great stuff. Real stuff. Not like the crap that Lou-ser Piniella pulled this past week. (But certainly not as creative as the minor league manager who threw the rosin bag grenade.) Hope this can provide a spark to the team. Go Sox.

For a good laugh..

Check out Matt Damon on Letterman last night.. Speaking about the Sox, Yankees, Clemens, and laughing in the face of all those New yorkers. Good stuff...

Cheers.

Moves?

Trading deadline starting to inch closer. If things don't change I think you need a bat in the outfield, as Coco/Drew/Pena/Hinske, cannot seem to get it together. Since Drew is untradable (wow is this turning out to be a crap deal) I think it'll have to be some type of combo of Coco/Pena/Hinske, for I don't know who. Even though I really don't want to move Coco, I think it's getting to that point where you have to consider it.

Also, we need a backup catcher. Mirabelli is older than Varitek…oh and he sucks. He can catch Wake and has an occasional big hit. But he can't run the staff and his bat is too weak. And Kottaras waiting in the wings is not a good security blanket.

I never propose trade targets since I never know what makes a guy available. BTW, I heard that NY and Chicago are talking about an Abreu for Jermaine Dye trade. Ummm…I don't get it. Why the f*ck would you do that if you were Chicago? It's like the Yankees can cast some spell on other teams that make them trade away their best players to them. I guess that spell is called, CASH. Oh well. Maybe the newly spendy Red Sox should try and move in on Dye. Something needs to happen to bolster the end of the lineup. Minor holes to fill. Good problems to have.

Cheers,
-JS

Lowell to the Bruins?

As a Florida Marlins fan and a big Mike Lowell fan, may I be the first to say how feckin' cool it was to see Mikey put -a-hurtin' on Robinson Cano yesterday, (even though he was able turn the double-play). Not much to opine upon, but Ive seen alot of baseball, as have we all, and cannot remember ever seeing a play like that one- at least so far away from the ice. I mean, he waited for Cano to get anywhere near him, got set up, and then checked Cano. Hockey style. Lowell is as genuinely nice a guy as you will ever know, and it was a clean play, but WOW- what a baller. It was great. As was his 3-4, 4 RBI day against the Yanks.

And as for Doug Mientkiewicz, do ya'll think that he wants to keep the ball that he almost caught before getting clobbered by Bonecrusher Lowell?

Quid pro quo

It is pretty much the only Latin phrase I know and strikes me as the most plausible reason that Theo shelled out $70M over 5 for this stiff in right field. There had to have been a deal brokered by Boras that signing JD equals signing Dice-K. I don't find myself in agreement much with Bob Ryan but boy did he tag this one on that conference call with Theo before the deal was finalized. How bad have things gotten? Well, the vast majority of fans were most concerned about Drew's ability to stay on the field when this deal was announced and yet last night most were probably pumped to have him out of the game with a sore hammy. I would love to see him go on the DL right now because Hinske looks like an upgrade. At the very least can we get him out of the 5-hole already? Manny is heating up like crazy right now but he isn't going to get any pitches with Nancy batting behind him. I thought at the beginning of the season that Jacoby Ellsbury very well might be brought up in the 2nd half to take over for Coco in center field but now I'm wondering if we might need him to replace Drew. Theo has made a lot of questionable moves but none look worse right now than JD. For my sanity please tell me there was a Quid pro quo.

Kobe in Green?

Well, it seems as if Kobe Bryant wants to be traded, as he told a reporter yesterday. Could this be the Celtics chance to bring in a franchise player that they sorely need to compliment Paul Pierce? He is still young, and he can put up 50 points on any given night, as well as put people in the seats at the New Garden (or the Old Fleet Center, whatever it is now.) And he would command a price. Therefore:

Is Kobe Bryant worth the Celtics top pick this year, and say, a conditional 1st round pick next year? This probably translates to 2 potentially good players for a great player in Kobe. Contrary to my past post where I was against trading the pick , I say go for it, Green. Pull the trigger, Danny.

How about some NBA chatter and feedback from ya'll.

Sox Magic Number is 102

In case anyone was wondering, the Sox magic number is now 102. That puts them on track to clinch by late August. Go ahead and throw 1978 out but it ain't happening this year.

By the way, is it me or will it be a little anticlimactic if the Yankees are officially out of it by the time that Roger joins the team next week?

Happy Memorial Day!

And with the 5th pick...a winner

Well, its too bad that the Celtics didnt get the opportunity to choose one of the top two guys in this years draft. Danny Ainge, while falling victim to another bad break and a somewhat flawed drafting system, didnt help the situation by whining about it to reporters- we saw that nationally- as if his was the only team to miss out on Oden or Durant. He looked and sounded like such a weenie, with all due respect to the fine work he did as a player for the Green. I did read some of his quotes afterwards, and he did try to put a positive spin on things, but you could see and tell that he was absolutely crushed.

Unnecessarily.

Ya'll should be glad that you guys got the #5 pick, because historically, that pick turns out to be pretty darn good.
Lets look at some number 5 picks from the last 23 years, since 1984:

At the top of the list stand Sir Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen, both Hall of Famers.

Next up we have Mitch Richmond, Duane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Vince Carter, all of them bonafide stars w/ a few potential H.O.Fers

Then there’s Juwaan Howard, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, and Steve Smith, all solid players in their own right.

The drop-off starts here with a smattering of Tony Batties, Kendall Gills, Kenny 'Sky' Walkers, and on down.

That’s 11 quality players out of 23 years- nearly a 50% success rate; a chance to get a goodie of your choice, not the choice of a ping-pong ball. So as long as ya’ll dont pick a project player, or a skinny, Euro, eighteen-year old that no one has ever heard about, or trade a decent pick before a chance at development, or trade the pick for a #9 and a #16, or trade 'the Truth' Paul Pierce for 3 lesser players, the Celts are in a good position to improve their team significantly, especially in the East. All these other up and coming teams did it, so can the Celts. Another bright spot is that both Oden and Durant will be playing in the West, so the Celts wont have to play against them very often, except hopefully in a 7-game series a few years down the road.
So while the #5 pick wont sell as many season tickets as Oden and Durant would have at first, a proper pick will insure, at the least, some better basketball to come from the Celts in the near future, and hopefully improve their image as a quality franchise once again, both locally and nationally. Go Green.


p.s.- I know that this is borderline old news, but I just had to throw some hoops onto the blog. And I so wanted the Celts to get Durant.

Idol Thoughts

Schilling is at best a # 3 or 4 starter for the rest of this season unless the velocity on his fastball increases.

I'm not sure whether I should be proud or ashamed of the fact that I picked Jordan Sparks to win it all two months ago

It looked to me, Jerry & Don last night that Lugo and ARod were jawing over his elbow to Pedroia when ARod was on 2nd base last night...I see Beckett plunking him next weekend

Anyone catch the crowd shot of Terry Hatcher on Idol last night? She looks like a surgery gone bad on Nip/Tuck...I thought it was Michael Jackson for a second

While good arguments can be made for either Brady or Manning as the best NFL QB there has never been a doubt that Manning is superior when it comes to fantasy football but I have a feeling this year Brady shoots to the top and will probably go very early in a lot of drafts

Boston is really having a bad week...The Sox lose 2 of 3 to the Yanks, The Celtics fall all the way to 5th in the draft and finally last night our own Joe Perry was on stage performing with Sanjaya. How low can you go Joe?

Nice of ESPN to show Roger going against the Sea Dogs last night, he definitely didn't look ready for prime time

Carrie Underwood in Playboy would set sales records

Are the Yankees Tiger Woods?

And the Red Sox Phil Mickelson?

How come there aren't more national articles about how the Red Sox are kicking ass and taking names in the AL East? Doesn't the team with the best record in MLB deserve some national attention?

A quick scan of ESPN.com and SI.com MLB front pages shows a link to one article about the Sox-Braves series and a multitude of articles about the Yankees' turmoil.

This led me to wonder if the Yankees are the MLB equivalient of Tiger Woods. When Woods is +2 on a Friday in any big tournament and Golfer X (call him Sean O'Hair if you want to) is -4, the headline is never Golfer X leads the Blankety-Blank Classic, it's always, Tiger Woods is 6 Strokes off the Lead. Now we all know that Tiger can and has made extraordinary comebacks over the weekend in a given tournament, but until it's Sunday and he's clearly out of it, they won't stop showing him.

So, here we are. The Red Sox have the best record in baseball and there are articles about Joe Torre, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, and a highlight clip of Derek Jeter, but only one article about the Red Sox in both of the major sports sites.

I guess we'll have to wait for the Sunday of the MLB season (August/September) to get any real attention.

If that's the case, in the end, I guess I don't really mind that much. I'd rather be Phil Mickelson wrapping up The Players on Sunday and taking home the trophy…

…and maybe Sunday will come early this year with another series victory in the Bronx.

Cheers,
-JS

2004 Redux

Any members of Patriot/Sox Nation remember 2004? Yes, that's the year we pulled off the bifecta winning our second Superbowl and our first World Series in 86 years. That was something else. Could this be the year that we repeat that feat?

Yes, it's only May and so my prediction is premature to say the least but I can't help feeling really good about both our local sports teams. According to ESPN, the Patriots and Red Sox are number 1 in their respective power ranking polls. Injuries could certainly change things in a hurry but that's the case for any team, right?

What is somewhat astounding to me is that right now the Sox have a 9 1/2 game lead on the Yankees. As the A's, Twins and other MLB teams have proven in recent years, no lead is ever safe in baseball but there is evidence to show that the Yanks have a tough road ahead. If the Sox go a mere 62-60 down the stretch (just a game over .500), they will win 90 games. The Yanks on the other hand would need to go 72-51 down the stretch to reach that same milestone. Not impossible mind you, but still a challenge given their starting pitching.

At the end of the day, the games still need to be played. Playoffs need to be won and rosters need to stay healthy. You gotta love our chances though. And with any luck, we may even end up with a franchise player in the NBA draft. If that happens, might we be looking at a trifecta in 2009?

A Letter to Ricky Marley (err... Williams)

Dear Ricky,

How are you doing? It's been a while since we've spoken, but I heard through the grapevine that you've had another tussle with the Commissioner. How does that happen?

You were so close to making a triumphant return to the NFL and now it looks like you're headed back to the CFL or maybe for a stint in Europe (gasp!).

Did someone sneak you a *brownie* or was it second hand smoke? Please tell me it wasn't by your own free will?

What's this going to cost you? A couple of million? How much pot would that buy you after you retire?

Have you thought about Dolphin fans? They must be crushed by this news. Hopefully, we'll have a post or two from them here.

Please take a minute to repond here... We'd love to hear what's really going on.

Best - Jim

The Incredible Shrinking Globe

Junior Gong leaves his fortified compound in Johnsvegas every morning and before he hops on the train grabs a copy of the Boston Globe for his morning commute to South Station. This costs him $0.75 and most days it isn't worth the money. He isn't sure the exact date that the Globe morphed into The Lowell Sun but sure enough their sports section today is no better than the local Lowell rag he read as a lad every evening.

The Sunday sports section used to be close to an hour's read in their heyday but now is finished within 15 to 20 minutes tops. During the week you can get through it during a 5 minute shit. Half the time the weekday editions contains as many AP articles as those by Globe columnists. Their so-called Big 4 are simply atrocious and all are well past their prime. Here is my quick rundown of their team:

• Shaughnessy-The only thing consistent about him is that he mails it in on a regular basis. I will actually be very surprised if we don't get an October preview of Detroit vs. Boston in the ALCS this week with the Tigers in town. Detroit has George Romney...we have Mitt. They have Kid Rock, we have Aerosmith. Comerica Tower and the Handcock Tower. Break out the template Dan.
• Ryan-The last interesting thing he had to say was that Joumana Kidd should be slapped. Boorish BC columns and pining away for the 80's NBA to return is no way to ride into the sunset. His bloated ego leads him to believe that his piss is really champagne.
• MacMullan-Great reading for an insomniac but hasn't produced a memorable article in the last several years
• Borges-Continues the fine tradition of plagiarism at the Globe picking up the torch from Mike Barnicle, Patricia Smith and Jeff Jacoby. He has had a major hard on for Belichick every since Bledsoe went down which makes his football articles mostly unbearable.

One of the most amazing things about these 4 is that print isn't even their worst medium. Ever catch any of them on TV?

I do enjoy McCabe on golf, Reiss on football and Blaudschun on horses & the NCAA but none of these talented folks get enough print in my opinion. Until the Globe puts out to pasture the aforementioned dinosaurs Junior Gong will continue to feel cheated most days when he drops down his $0.75.

Shame on me

I admit it, I threw in the towel yesterday in the 8th inning. I stopped watching the game just a bit too early. Just like most of the others that I have talked to. Ugh.

Thoughts that went through my head at the time:

• 7-1 is still a great record for Beckett, he was bound to lose at some point; and I'll take this loss over one from the Yankees or any meaningful game. And we can't take any risks with those blisters...
• If it was 5-3 I'd have time to watch the end of this game
• Manny is hurt, what the eff? Strike out Mo Pena, no thanks .. BTW, when is the last time that he has hit a meaningful homer/extra base hit any way? And we need one.
• There's probably going to be some cape traffic that I can beat if I leave now (I wasn't home, and needed to drive from the south shore into Boston); and I really would like to go for a run before the sun goes down
• Who is Jeremy Guthrie? Because I have never heard of him and he is lights out right against the best (and hottest) line up in baseball. Let him have his one day to out pitch someone like Beckett. Fine.
• That really pissed me off when Ortiz grounded into that double play (in the 6th I believe?) - they just don't have it together today

I was wrong. I, like many others let myself down by giving up yesterday. Perhaps I should go to red sox nation confession. I was bitter, and I walked away on my boys. I have to thank that Baltimore defense for their gifts though, much love to them and their mothers on this special day. They must be proud.

There's something special here though. Good teams don't come back when they are down 5 runs with 1 out in the 9th. This team is certainly not a good team. They are special. Would love to fast forward to October... when we are still up 8 games.

Strange Daze

Is it me or does it seem like this is too easy? The Sox take two out of three from Minnesota in the Metrodome, and three from the Jays where the home team forgot to show up. Unless Beckett suddenly pulls a Matt Clement on us, we'll take the rubber game of the series against the O's today.

To date, the starting pitching has been outstanding. Amazingly, the bullpen has been even better (2.20 ERA if you throw out Davern Hansack's garbage time against the Jays). The bats have started to heat up to the tune of 42 runs in the last five games. Oh yeah, the Sox are actually stealing bases, bunting and manufacturing runs too. Who are these guys?

What scares me is our lack of injuries when the teams around us are falling apart at the seams. The numerous woes in the Bronx have been well-documented in this blog. The Jays and O's must have been jealous and decided to follow the Yanks lead losing key components like BJ Ryan (Jays) and half the starting rotation (O's). Based on Doc Halladay's last two starts, he'll be on the DL soon.

As much as I love our early season success, I'm starting to get a little nervous. We've seen this pattern before where a team goes out and blows away the field early. The knights of the keyboard talk about how the team is going to run away with it. Next thing you know, the team is struggling down the stretch and either limps into the playoffs or misses the playoffs because they catch the losing bug when the games count.

The Sox, at least on paper, seem to be different. We know that the the starting rotation is a proven commodity. None of us are surprised that Beckett, Dice-K, Schilling and Wake are all off to good starts. We also expected the line up to produce and at least pieces of the bullpen to hold down the fort once Papelbon was re-elected to close. What we didn't expect is to be this healthy (was I the only one that thought JD Drew might already be on the 60 day DL?)

So maybe we will be more like the 1998 Yanks who won 114 games and went on to win the World Series. That team averaged 19 wins a month and maintained momentum all year long. Let's hope we're not the 2001 Mariners who won 116 but then lost in the second round to the Yanks.

Looking forward to today's game and Beckett being the first 8 game winner in MLB. Until then...

Rooster Ramblings

-- Seeing as the Red Sox have always been a major backer of the Jimmy Fund, I've got a fundraising idea sure to be a hit with the fans. The Sox brass donates a $1000 each time Curt Schilling issues a "no comment." The Rooster, for one, would be glad to donate to that cause.

-- If David Ortiz isn't convinced that Barry Bonds took steroids, who are the baseball reporters to argue? In the land of the talking heads and knights of the keyboards, there's an eery silence surrounding the physical validity of a certain soon-to-be 45-year-old who's returning and throwing in the 90s. I guess we're to assume these gifts are natural, fellas? The journalist silence on this is reminiscent of the lack of digging that occurred when Bonds broke the McGwire's single-season record. (Oh, and in related news, George Mitchell just ordered a steak at Abe & Louie's.)

-- Because he has been the era's most dominant closer (and player perhaps), the tendency is to assume that Mariano Rivera will, of course, bounce back from his early season troubles. But there are some troubling signs for the Yankees. Namely, when you faced Rivera in his prime -- well, even just last year -- and you went down two strikes early in the count, you knew what was coming: the high fastball. And was it the most unhittable pitch in the game. This year? Not so much. Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro (Marco Scutaro!) have already beaten Rivera in the ninth with home runs off the high heat and our own Jason Varitek repeatedly fought off the two-strike high heat in the Bronx (as big an indictment of the pitch as you'll find). It says here that the Yankees' fortunes the rest of the way will be tied more closely to Rivera finding that pitch than they will to Roger Clemens giving them five innings every fifth day.

-- Tom Caron is to NESN what Ernie Johnson, Jr. is to TNT.

-- Yeah, Year One was frightening, but how's Year Two of the Hanley Ramirez trade treating you? Beckett's 7-0 and Mike Lowell is on pace for a career year (making his feared $9MM salary a bargain). Meanwhile, Anibel Sanchez was just sent back to AAA by the Marlins. Props to you, Theo. (Now about that Arroyo deal ....)

-- This just in: Floyd Mayweather likes money.

-- There's a rumor floating around the NBA that if the Suns flame out against the Spurs, they are going to make a run at the No. 2 pick and Kevin Durant, sacrificing their first round pick (which could be as high as No. 5) and any player outside of Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. This, of course, could raise some interesting possibilities for the C's. Would you sacrifice Durant and a player (Gomes?) for the No. 5 pick and, say, Shawn Marion? I would. The scary part of this, however, is that the decision rests with Danny Ainge. While Danny has drafted well, he consistently has been fleeced in trades. This draft -- and subsequent off-season of moves -- is culmination of three years of playing the young'ns and building their value. Make the wrong moves now, and it will be devastating for the franchise. The lottery is May 22.

-- It's great to see old friend Christopher Trotman Nixon go 8-for-10 in back-to-back games against Orioles. Not so nice: seeing that SS Alex Gonzalez has 7 dingers for the Reds. I'm not so sure we will see a better defensive shortstop suit up for the Sox in our lifetimes.

-- Finally some sad news to report: I went to get me some ribs before a Sox game last week and discovered dust gathering on the tables and chairs at the Linwood Grille. Yup, the barbecue has been shut down for good. Apparently, it is going to re-open as an "American grille" at some point. Like we need more of those ... Bastards.

Money it's a gas...Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

Money get back

I'm all right Jack keep your hands off my stack.

Money it's a hit

Don't give me that do goody good bullshit

I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set

And I think I need a Lear jet

Today's announcement that Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement (the 4th time for those that are counting) and joining the New York Yankees came as no surprise to this observer. In fact I predicted as much in my earlier blog about Mo Rivera and his struggles. At almost every step of his career Roger has always been about the money and the Yankees were always going to be the highest bidder. I'm just thankful this happened as quick as it did so we wouldn't have to read crap article after crap article about this being such a tough decision for Roger and how torn he is over 3 teams. Roger is all about the money and if you can kiss his ass while handing over a king's ransom than all the better. Kudos the Yankee's organization for doing a great job on both counts.

This is a solid move for New York but one that they absolutely had to make given the state of their pitching. While it makes the Yankees better I remain quite happy he didn't come back to Boston. It would kill me to have to root for a Sox starting rotation that included two guys that make me cringe almost every time they address the media. Roger is a complete phony and despite his better living through chemistry I have doubts on just how effective he is going to be in the American League at age 45.

I prefer my lasting memories of Roger in a Red Sox uniform to be:

• Asking out of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (go ask McNamara about this one)
• Wearing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shoe laces and eye paint before purposely getting himself tossed out of the final game of Oakland's sweep of Boston in 1990
• Being fat and out of shape his final four years here where he compiled a 40-39 record and cavorted around town with someone definitely not named Debbie

Rooster Ramblings

Let me get right to it ...

-- Big ups to the Sox brass for the annual new wrinkles to Fenway and their orchestrated tributes to the past. But who knew that this year’s loudest nod to the past would be to ... Schaeffer Stadium? I’m talking about the new Conigliaro’s Corner seats at Fenway. Um, steel benches surrounded by chain link fence and tacked on top of the right field skyboxes? I can’t confirm this, but rumor has it that Rod Rust is escorting people to their seats up there. And, as if the skyboxes themselves weren’t cold enough on April/early May nights ... by the seventh inning of Thursday’s game versus Seattle, those poor bastards atop the new seats looked like the plane crash survivors from the movie “Alive,” huddling together to protect from the wind. If that game went extra innings, there was definitely going to be bonfires lit and limbs barbecued up there.

-- If Dustin Pedroia wants to get a hit in his next at-bat, he should start his swing right ... about ... NOW! There’s only one pertinent Pedroia question left: before sending him back to Triple A, is management trying to merely strip him of his confidence or are they trying to crush his soul, too.

-- Reason No. 7607 to decline that invite to sit in the Green Room on draft day: just seconds after being selected 20 spots lower than you expected, a giggly Deion Sanders asks you on live TV how it feels to lose out on so many millions of dollars. Ouch ... Btw, the lasting memory of the Emasculated Brady Quinn era may be him sheepishly mouthing the words “Wow” to his girlfriend when Ginn’s name got called rather than his. With each successive pick, his girlfriend looked like she was morphing into a pissed-off Kelly Preston from “Jerry Maguire.” Brady, you PROMISED me you’d be a top five pick -- you LOSER! Homeboy better be careful or before long she’s going to be sending shots of herself in a bikini to Rich Eisen.

-- And another thing about the draft coverage – Hey, Suzy Kolber. I wannna kiiisssssss youuuu. In a perfect world, we'd get a drunk Joe Namath evaluating each draft pick. Now THAT would required viewing.

-- I've listened to more than a few people say that they are digging the NBA playoffs this year. Maybe the Golden State upset had a lot to do with that. Still, when I'm flipping channels and I see Barkley and the halftime show, I'm stopping and watching him for the halftime duration. The game action itself? As Borat would say,"Nawwwwwwwwwwt."

-- Finally, the Rooster comes to you today with a plea: it’s time we Boston sports fans band together and demand term limits be placed on sports writers and broadcasters in this town. The idea is simple. If you get a job as a writer at the Globe or a broadcaster at WBZ, you get four years in the dream job and you’re audi – no exceptions. New blood gets cycled in, and the old jaded blood can do as many guest spots on different shows as he or she wants. I mean, for a town that boasts of its educated population, how are we stuck year-after-year with the likes of Bob Lobel, who on his best day can only boast of being lucid? Then there’s his stooge sidekick Steve Burton and his comical habit of finishing his thoughts by looking straight into the camera, earnestly tilting his head and pursing his lips as if he’s just delivered some pearl of wisdom on Tom Brady being a “gamer.” (Note to Steve: the phrase “Really?”is NOT an acceptable follow-up question in an interview.) The Globe? Well, do I even need to waste my energy on them? The answer, friends: term limits! In fact, why not have open campaigns for national writers we’d like to have here to cover our teams? I’m ready to start The Committee to Elect TJ Simers. Who’s with me?

-- I lied. One last thing, a riddle: What makes a Rooster smile? A: A 10-game lead over the Yankees at the All-Star break.

The Josh Hancock Legacy

I don't even know where to start with this whole Josh Hancock situation, so I guess a stream of consciousness will have to do...

When the news first came out, I was a bit surprised everyone (the entire league) was jumping on the "Josh Hancock is a hero that was taken from us too soon" bandwagon. I had a conversation with Aaron right after the initial news came out, commenting on how it seemed premature. Let's see... he was 29, single, in his hometown on a Saturday night (after 12:15am) and driving on a highway when he slammed into the back end of a tow truck with its emergency lights on... it sounded a bit like alcohol might have been involved.

The only tragedy here is the poor decisions he made that night:
1. Drinking too much (twice the legal limit in Missouri)
2. Refusing a cab ride from the restaurant manager.
3. Talking on the phone while driving too fast.
4. Not wearing a seatbelt (although experts say this wouldn't have saved his life in this case).

The irony is that his team (St Louis Cardinals) is owned by the Busch family, who made their fortune brewing beer, which might just have been at the center of this "tragedy." They're now planning to ban beer in the St Louis clubhouse after games... what's next, banning brats for the Brewers?

I'll echo what St Louis Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklaszf wrote this morning... "If you want to honor Josh Hancock, remember how he died and call a taxi for yourself, or for someone next to you."

Your thoughts?

Boston Sucks Chant?

Apparently it actually happened:
Boston Sucks Chant Heard in Bronx

Wow. That's awesome. See my post on 4/25 if you're wondering why I think this is cool.

Did anyone else here this?

Cheers,
-JS

Quick Thoughts

Quick thoughts from the weekend:

1. I'm officially ready to see Alex Cora start everyday at Second Base...I was actually ready about a week ago, but now I guess I'm making it "official". ;-)
   The guy's a gamer
2. Is it me or does it feel like the Red Sox aren't that good? I mean they're good, but they don't seem like the type of fearsome team that you would think would be behind the best record in the AL. I guess maybe that means they're more of a "team" since you never know who's going to step up.
   
3. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver may actually be a better broadcasting team than Jon Miller and Joe Morgan...I know that's not saying much...well it's actually saying that Jon Miller and Joe Morgan might be the worst broadcasting team ever. If they ever team up Morgan and McCarver, that will surely be the first sign of the Apocalypse.
   
4. I don't care about their so-called bad attitudes, I'm freakin' psyched for Brandon Merriweather and Randy Moss...and I'm sorry a fake moon is funny. It's not "disgusting", Joe Buck.

That's it.

Cheers,
-JS

Pats/Dolphins Day 1

A quick rundown of who you will be seeing twice a year with the Miami Dolphins, and the Pats lone pick.

1.Ted Ginn, Jr.- you all know who he is from the National Championship game. He is our replacement for Wes Welker- a stud kick-returner and slot reciever who can light it up. A bit smallish, but should provide some spark to what has been a flat offense the last few years. Worthy of a #1 pick, Im not so sure just yet. We will know better once he gets clobbered a bit by a DB at full speed. But Im glad the Dolphins didnt take Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn. Didnt like him to begin with- too cocky- and, seeing that he fell all the way to 22, he wasnt seen as the real deal in many coaches eyes. I'll trust our coach and GM on this one.

2.John Beck, QB, BYU. - Hopefully, Quinn will turn out to be a bust, and this guy will at least be decent. A very smart player who cannot throw deep consistantly, but doesnt force passes, and can lead a steady offense.

3. This is who the Dolphins got from the Pats for Welker- a badasscenter to hopefully anchor an emerging offensive line. http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=miami2&page=nfl/draft/2007/bio.aspx?p=6525

4. Lorenzo Booker, RB, Florida State (cue tomahawk chop) No one has heard of this guy because Bobby Bowden didnt use him as well as he could have and should have.. He is a solid runner, though. He will be the #3 back, behind Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Look the fuck out.

Four very promising picks on the offensive side of the ball for the Fins-agreat Day 1.

As for your hometown Patriots, of course, Bill Bellachick makes the most of his only pick on the first day, again dipping into the endless well of Miami Hurricanes, a badass free safety that can hit hard, tackle well, and provide a serious presence on the field. Oh yeah, NFL scouts compare him to Ed Reed. "Hey Lee Evens of the Bills. Get off the turf, put your teeth back in your mouth, stop convulsing, and meet Brandon Meriweather of the Pats"

And once again, its ALWAYS football season at my house.

Exit Sandman

Say your prayers little one

Dont forget, my son

To include everyone

Tuck you in, warm within

Keep you free from sin

Till the sandman he comes

Mariano Rivera might need to go shopping for a new Metallica theme song if his awful start to the 2007 season continues for much longer. No music accompanies your jaunt from the bullpen when you enter the 9th inning trailing by 3 runs though. Last night was just the latest of a string of bad outings for the once great closer who has blown his only two chances for saves this season and wakes up today with an ERA over 12. Last weekend when he imploded against the Sox it seemed to be a situation where his famous cutter just wasn't cutting but last night was about lack of control. The cutter was cutting but he was leaving it out over the plate or just simply missing the strike zone. Torre was forced to wake up from his nap and remove him with the bases loaded and only a single out recorded. The fact that Joe then summoned his lefty specialist (Michael Myers) who can't seem to get out any lefties (see Big Papi, Carl Crawford) only serves to highlight how big of a problem the Bronx Bombers have if Mo has lost it.

The Yank's pitching will get better only because it really can't get any worse. Wang is their best pitcher and I expect him to be solid and while Pettitte wasn't good last night he has pitched well this season. Mussina will help once he is healthy and I'm sure Cashman will make a serious run at Roger with a huge check in hand...and we all know how much Roger values money. However, they have no backup plan if Rivera has lost his magic. The Yankees can win games by outslugging opponents but to close out games they need the Mariano Rivera of old instead of the old Mariano Rivera we have seen this season.

Perhaps it finally is Exit Sandman time for Rivera. A much more fitting Metallica song for him now would be Fade to Black:

No one but me can save myself, but its too late

Now I cant think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though it never existed

Death greets me warm, now I will just say good-bye

3 cheers for NBA; Big Raz-berry for D.A.

With the fate and reputation of the NBA depending on it, I thought this topic should resurface at the top, with all due respect to the previous Camby blog, as opposed to simply a comment, so here goes:


While the NBA surely isnt what it used to be during the Michael, Larry, and Magic years, I beg to differ that no one cares about what happens in the league anymore. New England might not care about the NBA right now, but there are three reasons for this:
1. Everyone up there is into the Pats and the Sox, hardcore, summer and winter, spring and fall, day and night, and who can blame you, because while they are winning championships:
2. The Celtics have sucked for the last 5 years.
3. The Celtics will continue to suck as long as Danny Ainge is in charge.

Its not D.Stern, its not players leaving college early, its not the dress code, its not the strike 10 years ago, and its not global warming that makes Boston uninterested in the NBA. Its not the NBAs fault that Boston is the 2nd worst team in the league. If they were the 2nd best, things would be different for the Green and Boston. If you want to talk about sports that no one cares about, lets talk hockey or boxing.

Here in Texas, where football is KING and baseball is queen, the NBA still thrives here as the Mavs, Rockets, and Spurs all have a healthy, successful fanbase. Here, as well as in the rest of the country, basketball is still a big deal. The league is on the verge of another climax, as its all about the young up-and-coming teams like Chicago, Golden State, Cleveland, Utah, Denver, etc. taking over the established teams . There is a ton of great talent, young and old. Wade, Melo', and James are givens, along with Luol Deng, Chris Bosh, Baron Davis, Steven Jackson, Carlos Boozer, - I could go on and on. There is still Kobe, Shaq, Wallace, Kidd, Nash, Ming, Billups, and look at A.I. and Marcus Camby in Denver.. again, I could go on.

Its unfortunate that the Celtics arent on that list, as they should be- all these teams in the playoffs now were worse than the Celts a few years ago- but Danny Ainge can take alot blame for that, for reasons we all know of. Thus, there has been no reason for the 617 to tune into the NBA, which leads to local apathy and then league apathy, turning into the rest of the NBA passing the Celtics and their fanbase by, leaving once-proud Celtic fans with a seemingly unrealistic view of the NBA beyond Route 128.

I guarantee that if the Celtics were in the mix with at least a decent team, Boston would care very much about the NBA. Its too great of a sports town not to. So even if the Celts are nowhere near the playoffs, Boston still needs to support the NBA. So for the next few nights, instead of worrying about whether or not Shrilling put blood on his sock over two freaking years ago, watch the new Bulls beat up on the defending champs, see the lights-out Warriors take it to the Mavs., and see if Kidd or Nash finally get a ring.

And pray that the Celts can get Kevin Durant.

Oh Mo!

It's never a good sign when your team is losing by three runs in the 9th inning and your manager decides to bring in your closer. It's even worse when that closer is Mo Rivera and he is forced to give way to Mike "I can't believe I tricked the Yankees into signing me" Myers with one run in and the bases loaded. What I found most pitiful was Rivera feeling the need to throw over to first base FIVE times to keep Coco Crisp from stealing second (which Coco ultimately did anyway). That's not the Mo Rivera I've come to know and hate over the years.

You're right, it's still April. These games don't really count. However, just like NFL pre-season games, you'd rather see your team win than watching them consistently get crushed. It might not mean anything but you can't help but let the doubts creep in. Well, the Yankees just fell to 6 1/2 games behind the Red Sox (and own the rights to last place in the AL East). 6 1/2 games certainly isn't an insurmountable lead for the Bombers to overcome but if I'm a Yankees fan right now, I'm beginning to second guess my team a little.

For starters, the Yankees have A LOT of money tied up in several aging veterans. While A-Rod seems to be earning his $27.7M/year, the Yanks have $10M wrapped up in perpetual DL inhabitant, Carl Pavano. Jason Giambi makes $23.4M, and while he can still hit, that is some serious cake for a DH that can't run. Abreu is making $15.6M a hefty sum for a guy that instills fear into no one right now. What's crazy is that among those four players, the Yanks are spending more than the individual payrolls of the bottom 13 teams in MLB.

At the risk of stating the obvious. the Bombers pitching situation is a mess. Bob Klapisch of ESPN wrote, "[the Yankees] best game this week was the one they didn't play -- Wednesday's rainout against the Blue Jays, which allowed Andy Pettitte to start tonight against the Red Sox." Hindsight being 20-20, one might argue that didn't end up being such a big advantage (he got pulled in the 5th inning of tonight's game.)

What's tough about the Yanks lack of consistency with their 9 man rotation these days is the fact that they are averaging 4.9 innings/start, lowest in the majors. History shows that this can kill your bullpen in a hurry. Poor Scott Proctor is on pace to pitch 162 games this year (yes, I'm exaggerating on that one.) Mariano Rivera's less than stellar showing tonight is one more data point supporting the argument that his best days may be behind him.

Two more games to go in the series. While I like our chances tomorrow with Wake facing off against Jeff Karstens, my rationale brain tells me that odds do not favor us in Sunday's game with Tavarez leading the charge against Yanks new ace, Chien Ming Wang. Even so, splitting the remaining two games is still a major victory for the Sox (that would be five out of six to start the season). Still a long way to go until September but I like what I'm seeing...

One Cheer for Camby

Marcus Camby was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year today, which, since he's a UMass alum makes it an important news story. It would be especially cool if anyone actually cared about the NBA anymore. What went wrong there? I was a fantasy basketball owner for a bunch of years in the 90's, when professional basketball was still interesting. Now I might catch the tail end of a regular season game (one) and use these playoffs games to put me to sleep. How did Dr. Stern screw this thing up?

One reason to click through to the story is to see the porn star mustache Camby's sporting in the stock photo. Reminds me a little bit of the soul patch Aaron strolled out a couple of days ago. Nice going gents.

the bloody soX-Files

The Bloody Sock Episode…A conspiracy theory erupts in MD around the Red Sox/Yankees ALCS and following World Series and is ignited by a well-respected broadcaster. Talk about a case that screams for Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to investigate as this is definitely an X-File. After all, Fox understands the dynamics of Red Sox/Yankees baseball since he grew up in Chlimark, MA and is a Yankee’s fan. He has shown an ability to uncover much bigger scandals than this. Scully grew up in Annapolis, MD which is just miles away from where this scandal broke and X-File’s creator Chris Carter named her after Hall Of Fame Broadcaster VIN Scully. She is forensic pathologist and could do wonders with an almost 3-year old bloody sock. The stars are aligned for this pair to get to the bottom of things because The Truth is Out There.

A ton of information and statements have been made since Gary Thorne made his now famous comments on Curt Schilling and the bloody sock but please don’t tell me that any of it has been the truth. The spin doctors have taking over and everyone knows that the Red Sox cover up the truth better than the Cigarette Smoking Man. Did everyone catch the sham press conferences yesterday where Mirabelli and Thorne co-concocted a story before each of them went to the media yesterday that was designed to limit the backlash against both?

I’ve listened to so many people screaming on WEEI about this and then last night Red Light decides to rip every media person on the planet a new A-Hole in his blog. So many people were yelling and screaming that the bloody sock was the ALCS. Actually, it was both the ALCS and the World Series. Thorne is referencing the World Series game because Curt wrote on his sneakers K ALS and the bloody sock guaranteed the K ALS (Strike out ALS) would get a ton of attention. Personally, I never doubted that the blood on the sock was Schilling’s blood. I have always contended though that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to know that the blood was applied to the outside of the sox as opposed to seeping through from the inside…especially the World Series game.

Does this take away from what Schilling did? I don’t think so because he risked his career by having that ankle surgery. I doubt many others of his brethren would have gutted it up in a similar circumstance. Would I put it past Schilling to dabble blood on the outside of the sock in the World Series game as a way to promote a charitable endeavor? Definitely not.

Now, what was said between Mirabelli and Thorne? We will never know for sure but I would think Thorne’s initial statements are way closer to what was actually said than what those two spewed for the media yesterday. Is it really a great secret that Schilling’s teammates in Philly, Arizona and Boston wouldn’t vote him most popular in the clubhouse? Christ, while I love and appreciate what the guy did to bring a championship to Boston he repeatedly rubs me the wrong way. I can certainly see why Randy Johnson and a host of other former teammates don’t have him on their Christmas card lists.

Will we ever get to the bottom of things and does it really matter? The answers are probably no and no unless Mulder & Scully are resurrected. Psst…Mulder go seek out the Dominican under the mango tree because he is the key to finding out the truth.

Me name is Junior Gong

The Yankees Suck Chant Sucks

Watching the weekend sweep over the Yankees was by far the most enjoyable time I've had watching baseball this year. Every game was wildly entertaining on multiple levels, and I had the pleasure of being at the game on Saturday.

I do have to bring up one thing that came up in each game. Near the end of those games when the Sox had the lead, be it the eighth or ninth inning, starting slowly, but gaining a head of steam, you could start to hear the inevitable cheer, "Yankees Suck, Yankees Suck."

This chant bothers me in many ways. The foremost being that, the Yankees don't, in fact, suck. Actually they're pretty fuckin' awesome. Winning the division, what is it now, 9 years in a row. Now I hate the Yankees as much as anyone, but let's put things in perspective. Would the defeat of the Yankees in 2004 ALCS been nearly as much fun if the Yankees sucked? Of course not.

I was in my local after we won the seventh game of that series and a couple of idiots (no pun intended) tried to get that chant going. I responded by yelling, 'the Yankees don't suck. That's why it's so awesome that we beat them,' much to the delight of some of the other patrons.

Remember how the World Series was almost, almost, a let down. That's cause the Cardinals sucked, and we just steamrolled over them. There was no drama, so it wasn't nearly as exciting.

One of the things that really bothered me about the chant before we won the World Series was that it made us sound like sore losers, and revealed what a deep seated inferiority complex we, as Red Sox fans, have when it comes to the Yankees. It was like, 'well we can't beat you, so we'll call you names.'

You'll note that there are never any Devil Rays Suck, or Kansas City Royals Suck chants. That's because they do suck and no one needs to point that out. (Though given recent history we might need a KC Sucks chant).

After the World Series, I was really hoping that this chant would die out, but it still seems to crop up (maybe not as vociferously as before 2004) and it's always embarrassing.

By far the worst thing for me is when the Red Sox are in another ballpark like the Sky Dome…err Rogers Centre, or the Trop, where Sox fans can have a dominating presence at an away game and the Yankees Suck chant starts. You'll note it's always when we're losing late in the game. It's as if we know we're going to lose, and it's the one way we can make us feel better about it…trying to denigrate a team that's not even there. The next to worst is when we're playing another team besides the Yankees at Fenway and the chant starts. Always the same situation.

I had one glimmer of possible relief when the Sox were up in Toronto…one of the games where we actually beat them. I thought, I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard a Red Sox Suck chant brewing. That made me happy. That made me think that the Red Sox are finally in the Blue Jays Fans' heads. Now if we heard that chant this weekend in the Bronx we'd really have something...

The late, great, Dave Halberstam

Not trying to bring a downer to the blog, but the sudden death of David Halberstam should be recognized.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070423&content_id=1926013&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

While Dave is no longer with us, his writing and viewpoints will continue to educate and entertain. His works on baseball alone are about SO much more than just hitting, pitching, and running the bases. They are about sociology, culture, American history, relationships, drama and art, and the overall humanity that surrounds the great game. His viewpoints come from someone who really understood the big picture of sports and society, and their direct influence on one another. (Check out his writings about Jackie Robinson.) Furthermore, his well-rounded writings and research on politics, wars, the 'real' 1950s, and a number of other topics were usually spot-on. The Bill Russell segment in his 1950s documentary is awesome, and, as mentioned in the article, he won the Pulitzer for his journalism covering the early days of the Vietnam War way back in 1964.(!) (He also wrote a book called," The Education of a Coach", which is all about how Bill Belichick became Bill Belichick.)

But it is his stories and memories of baseball in another time, place, and era that will indeed live on, woven into our American quilt alongside the game he was so passionate about, giving us a clearer perspective of what baseball and America were really like back then, in order to better understand where they, and we, are today.




(dont miss the pesky article Pesky saddened by Halberstam's death )

Any questions?

Cocksure

I love this word. It's a childish thing really. Cocksure sounds like it's a dirty word. It's not.

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: cock·sure
Pronunciation: 'käk-'shur
Function: adjective

1 : feeling perfect assurance sometimes on inadequate grounds
2 : marked by overconfidence or presumptuousness : COCKY

One might think I chose the word cocksure as the title of this post to describe the collective state of mind of Red Sox Nation after a two spectacular come from behind winds against the Jays and Yanks followed by another solid win over the Evil Empire again today. I didn't. The title of the post describes the look on the face of the man in the Yankees on-deck circle in the 9th inning of today's game.

To frame the situation, the Sox are up 7-5 in the 9th. They've squandered numerous opportunities to break the game wide open including a bases loaded situation in the 8th. At no point during the game did I get that "uh oh" feeling. However, this is the New York Yankees and they haven't exactly been putting up goose eggs recently (on the offensive or defensive side of the ball). We get to the ninth and in comes this blog's namesake, Jon Papelbon.

Game, set match, right? Not quite. Papelbon gets a fairly quick out against Johnny Damon. Then walks Melky Cabrera on four straight balls. Next up, Derek Jeter. The Nation's palms begin to sweat a little (not a lot, after all, we have uber-closer, Jon Papelbon, pitching for us). Papelbon makes Jeter look like Dustin Pedroia against Johann Santana on a couple pitches, the last of which sends Jeter to the bench. Now we get the mighty Bobby Abreu. Not a world beater but still dangerous.

So here's where the title of this post comes in. The Fox camera flashes to A-Rod swinging the bat in the on deck circle. He's got a little smirk on his face as if to say, sorry Boston, I'm about to ruin your Saturday night. And you know what, the guy should feel that way. I dislike A-Rod immensely but I will give the him credit. He's been lights out so far this season (of course this will not last when it counts -- mark my words). Except A-Rod never gets a chance to ruin our night. Abreu flies out to deep center. Game over. No more cock-surity from Mr. Rodriguez.

I know it's early. I know the games we care about come in months that start with "O"s, not "A"s. Still, it's sweet being a Boston fan and constantly getting a chance to tweak A-Rod's, and the Yankee's noses. It all stems back to the 2004 ALCS. Ah, the memories.

Two side notes. First, it looks like Varitek has broken out of his funk. Same goes for Coco. This will be huge for the Sox down the stretch. Second, I love Alex Cora. Guys like this make the game worth watching. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Rooster Ramblings

Some thoughts before oiling up for tonight's Sox-Yanks tilt ...

-- OK, so you’re John Gibbons, and you’re managing the Blue Jays in a division where you’re fighting for a seat at the table with the Red Sox and Yankees. You’ve got a chance to win an early series against the Sox at home, you’ve got your ace Roy Halladay on the mound with a two run lead in the eighth – aaaaaand you’re gonna pull him after 95 pitches? Really? You sure you wanna do that, big guy? ... Wow. What a gift. Next time you hear someone complain about Terry Francona, the Rooster hopes you point to that game to feel a little better ... A side note: Gibbons is the only manager in the majors who hasn’t played professional baseball. When Gibbons gets fired this year, someone needs to find JP Ricciardi’s email address. The Rooster wants to apply for the job.

-- So, I’m at Game On last Friday night enjoying a few libations with the fellas after one of the buttwhippings the Sox laid on the Angels. A couple of feet away there’s a steady steam of admiring gents making their way to a certain female who has her back turned to us. So, of course, we get a glance, and who is it holding court? Smiling Tina Cervasio – you know, the woman who has seemingly lost some buttons on all of her blouses this year ... Anyway, I’ve seen athletes out on the town with admirers lined up, and Tina certainly represented. Guys were popping by left and right -– she was the Belle of the Ball(game) and loving it ... So, I finally say to our boy C, “I’ll buy you a beer if you go up and say, ‘I’m a huuuge fan of your work, Hazel Mae.’ Sho nuff, not only does he charge up and do it, he asks her to sign her autograph on a cocktail napkin. The Hazel Mae comment? Didn’t even register with her (maybe doing Terry’s Take taught her to just smile through mindless banter), and she gladly signed the napkin. The Rooster, of course, bought another round of Stellas, and we toasted the Belle. Cheers, Tina.

-- Larry Bird, where have you gone? Sometimes you just can’t shake the feeling that if Bird had his choice, he’d be wearing a Pacers uni rather than a Celtics one in the Hall of Fame. I know, I know – that’s over-the-top. But one of the (many) disappointing things about the Celtics franchise is the lack of association that Bird has had with the team over the years. When I see Magic Johnson on TNT – and see him constantly talking about Laker pride – it makes me envious. For an entire new generation of fans, Magic Johnson still – and always will – equal the Lakers. Sadly, Larry no longer equals the Celtics.

-- The flip side to Bird is Cam Neely. No. 8 has stayed in the fold, only to watch the franchise sink to competing with the Big Apple Circus for customers. Enough. If Bourque or Neely – or both – were running the show, the Bruins would still matter in the hearts of people in the region. This is the no-brainer of the Boston sports scene. Right now, Bruins games at the Gahden are just an excuse to get the kids out of the house.

-- A-Rod and the Bombers are in for three. The Yanks can’t keep winning with that pitching staff, can they? I mean, gulp, it’s not possible right?

He Should be 3-0

Well the Red Sox are quietly off to a pretty good start, with the starting pitching really stepping up. The offense on the other hand...pretty hot and cold. Varitek and Crisp continue to cause concern. The end of the line-up just feeling pretty weak at this point.

Which brings to light the steaming hot shit sandwiches that Matsuzaka got served, with one run of "run suport" over the past 18 innings in the last two games he's pitched.

I had the displeasure to watch the Felix Hernandez one hitter from Fenway for Dice-K's first home start. Both of the last two games he's pitched, if the Red Sox had just hit normally would have been wins, and he'd be 3-0 right now.

On a slightly different topic. The namesake of this blog has been amazing. He just gave up his first hit last night. Having called for it over the winter, I'm of course thrilled that they moved Big Papelbon back to the closer role. That first save after the Schilling start in Texas was a true save where it looked like the game was about to go down the toilet and a great start was going to be wasted. I think we'll end up with a lot more wins overall with Pap as the anchor man.

Really excited for the first Yankees series this weekend. We'll see how our hot pitching fares against their hot bats. I hear pitching is very important, but that you can't score runs without good hitting...who knew?

Cheers,
-JS

Sunny San Francisco

Man is it beautiful out here in San Francisco. 65 degrees and sunny. Even better is the lack of rain!

I've been blogging my head off for my company at the Web 2.0 Expo so I don't have a whole lotta words left for Big P. right now. However, I couldn't resist mentioning two things:

- Was that an ass kicking the Sox put on the "Angels of California, in Anaheim, near Los Angeles but not that Close to San Diego" or what? I mean 25-3 over three games? Wow. I remember looking at the match up between the Sox and Angels a week ago when LA was 6-1 thinking, "this could be a close one". Not even close.

- Poor San Francisco Giants fans. I was walking by a sign the other day that was touting the '07 Giants. Want to know who the two poster boys were? If you guessed Barry Zito and Dave Roberts then you are correct. Yes, that's the same Barry "I'd be a 2-3 starter in anyone else but Pittsburgh, KC or Tampa Bay's rotation" Zito and Dave "I was a fourth outfielder for the Red Sox" Roberts. That's no disrespect for Roberts because he will always have a special place in my heart after stealing a certain base in a certain series against a certain rival. But a poster boy for your franchise? Yikes!

It's bad enough that SF fans have to look at Barry Bonds super sized head all the time. Now they have to hang their hopes on an overpaid, Jeckyll and Hide, curveball pitcher that may get 14 wins this year and a guy that is really a 4th outfielder for any decent team.

On that note, I can't wait for the Yanks/Sox series next weekend. Is it bad that I'm hoping for a 97 MPH fastball right up in A-Rod's grill? I didn't think so...

Drew Bledsoe's retirement

It was no real surprise last week to hear that Drew Bledsoe retired from the NFL after a long, pretty damn good career. He was done, he knew it, and just couldnt bring himself to play in a backup role somewhere, just as he left the Pats with the rise of Tom Brady. That being said, as a Dolphin fan who saw or heard him play against us twice a year for 12 years (9 with Pats, 3 with the Bills), I can offer nothing but solid respect for Bledsoe and his place in NFL lore. I dont know his record against the Fins, but I can remember that he would "bring it" anytime he played the Dolphins or anyone else, broken fingers and all. He was one of the first big name players in the Kraft era, the face of the franchise, helping guide the Pats to their second Superbowl, and helping to build a foundation that would later become a dynasty . Its possible that they couldnt have done it without him; remember in Pittsburgh when he came off the bench during the AFC championship to help lead the Pats to the SB ? This is the game and moment that I most remember Drew for. Lets hear it from ya'll and post up with some great DB moments, and does he belong in the Hall of Fame someday?

Its always football season at my house,
RedFish

Rooster Ramblings

Some random Sox thoughts from The Rooster:

-- Did the Red Sox REALLY need to let J.D. Drew wear No. 7 right after Trot leaves town? Granted, Trot never lived up to the huge expectations when he was first signed, but he was a Dirtdog for a decade. Meanwhile, Nomar’s number 5 continues to stay out of circulation. Maybe that’s fitting tho -- Trot’s uni continues to get dirty after he’s gone, and Nomar’s continues to stay clean.

-- Jerry Trupiano, wow, we miss ya big guy. I caught a few innings of the opener on RKO. Glenn Geffner was announcing an octave higher than Sanjaya.

-- There’s been a lot of nervous chatter on the local talk show airwaves about the potential trainwreck at the tail end of the Sox lineup. One thing I like down there: Pedroia doesn’t get cheated on his hacks. Varitek, on the other hand, looks Gedman-esque.

-- Raise your hand if you’d rather see Jacoby Ellsbury as the starting centerfielder right now.

-- Yes, we’re only a week into the season, but it already seems that the Yankees hopes of winning the AL East may hinge on two pitchers who aren’t even on their team now – Philip Hughes and the Rocket. If the Red Sox sales pitch works for Roger, it would be crippling for New York. Then again, at the rate the Yankees are pitching, Roger could name whatever price he wants and George would have to pay it.

-- Barry Bonds doesn’t look nearly as crippled at the plate as some writers led us to believe this offseason. The Giants come to Fenway at the Game 67 mark. If he gets some protection in that lineup, is it so unthinkable to believe he could be near the 18-20 home run mark? That would put him on the verge of Hank’s record at the Fens.

-- Do you get the feeling that this is the last week of the season where the Sox are remotely close to .500? Four terrifically pitched games out of the first six. Josh Beckett may have been the best sign of all. We all hoped for– and, in part, expected – Dice K magic. But the bar has been lowered for Beckett after last year’s 5.00 ERA. But if homeboy returns to the form that turbocharged the Marlins, this team could end up running away with the division.

Money

Three thoughts to start off your week:

1. John Papelbon is MONEY! Anyone who saw Big P. mow down the heart of the Rangers order last night (2 huge outs in the 8th and 1-2-3 in the 9th) can't help but salivate at the thought of what is to come.
2. Nice to see Ortiz get back on track. He's historically a slow starter so I don't think anyone was worried. Still good to see him break out with 2 HRs and a scorcher to Teixeira that should have been a hit.
3. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend the movie The Year of the Yao. It's a documentary on Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets' first year in the NBA.
   

Home Opener is tomorrow. Can't wait!

10 Ks for Dice K*

Phew. Can you feel the collective sigh of relief from Red Sox nation today? Imagine if Dice K had gone out and laid an egg similar to that of Monsieur Schilling on Monday? Instead, we got the masterful performance that we expected from the phenom from Nippon! I know his first inning was a little rocky but hell, it was 30 degrees in KC yesterday. Have you ever tried to play catch in 30 degree weather never mind pitching 7 innings against a major league team?

Meanwhile, our friends the Yankees are saying, "thank God we went out and got Andy "four innings" Pettite instead of really joining the bidding war for Dice K. And thank goodness we got rid of that Randy Johnson guy and his 17 wins." Granted, RJ did struggle mightily at times last season and his ERA was 5.00. But seriously, the Yanks can't feel good right now.

Back to Dice K. 10 strike outs in his first game. Nothing sucks about that. And you know what, to all those skeptics that throw out the "but it was against the KC Royals, those guys are a AAA team at best" -- those same Royals were ranked 11th in the league with a .271 team batting average last year. Those guys don't lose games because they can't hit -- it's their pitching that sucks.

I don't know about you but I can't wait until next Wednesday to see the Dice Man pitch again in Beantown. Badda boom!

*I have to give credit to NPR for the title of this post.

That's What I'm Talkin' About

Random Musings on Poisson d'Avril

Four interesting tidbits from the sports page of this morning's Boston Globe:

1. I'm feeling better about Coco Crisp who went 8-20 (.400) in the seven games after returning from an injured shoulder. Let's hope that's a sign of things to come.
2. Bill James 2007 baseball handbook projection of 33 combined wins for Schilling, Beckett and Wakefield makes me a little skeptical of his methodology. I predicted the three to win 45 games in a previous post. My guess is that the answer lies somewhere in between.
3. Would you be concerned if you were a Indianapolis Colts fan and your team just lost five important contributors: running back Dominic Rhodes (Raiders), linebacker Cato June (Buccaneers), cornerback Nick Harper (Titans), defensive lineman Montae Reagor (Eagles), and receiver Brandon Stokley (Broncos) and your team -- drafting last in every round btw -- was looking to fill holes through the draft? Makes be glad to be a Patriots fan.
4. Why does the Globe continue to put NHL/Bruins highlights first in the paper when hockey is easily the fourth most popular (and arguably maybe fifth after BC football/basketball) up front in the Sunday sports section? I'm guessing it's because they want you to flip through to the good stuff i.e. baseball, basketball and football. A happy medium may be to lead with baseball or football and sandwich hockey in the middle. Do I have too much time on my hands to worry about such things? Probably.
   

A quick note on the title of this post.... For those of you lucky enough to have avoided taking French in high school, "Poisson d'Avril" is the French equivalent of "April Fool's Day." Translated, it means "fish of April." Look at the Wikipedia entry if you're interested in the back story. Happy April Fools!

Pathetic

Sorry to break from our menu of sports talk but this morning I opened up my Yahoo! Music Jukebox and nearly threw up in my own mouth. As soon as my nausea passed, I realized that I HAD to do a post about this on Big P.

To give you a little background, I was a HUGE Black Sabbath fan growing up. I never actually got to see Sabbath in concert but did see Ozzy Osborne several times and also took in a few Deep Purple and Rainbow concerts. For any of you too young to remember (or too smart too care), after Ozzy's departure from the band in the late 70's, Ronnie James Dio took the helm for a few semi-successful albums -- most notably Heaven and Hell. After Dio's departure, Deep Purple singer, Ian Gillin took over. Both were pretty good but it IMHO, they were much better with their former bands, Dio and Deep Purple.

The funny thing was that back in the late 70's and early 80's, I loved horrifying my parents by listening to Sabbath's "devil music". I knew Ozzy was a little bit of an overweight, over-the-hill turd but didn't care. I also managed to overlook the permed hair and fringed leather of Iomi, bassist, Geezer Butler and drummer, Bill Ward. In the 90's, I started to realize how un-hip these pseudo-devil worshipping dildos were. However, nothing topped what I saw this morning...

I mean, WTF? Does Dio (third from left) not realize that he looks like my 87 year old grand father with a brown wig on? I mean seriously. And now these guys are touring? It's just sad.

I know that this new trend of bands from the 60's - 80's that pissed all their money away in drugs and mismanagement getting together for reunion tours is getting a little ridiculous but this is too much. Poor Black Sabbath. May the memory of when they were cool rest in peace.

Ugueth Urbina Sentenced to 14 Years

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five workers on his family's ranch, the Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday. The 33-year-old free agent was accused of joining a group of men in attacking and injuring workers with machetes and pouring gasoline on them at his family's ranch, located about 25 miles south of Caracas.

We always knew he was a little crazy when he was with the Red Sox. He had all the qualities that make closers great:

1. A slightly disturbing nervous tick
2. A good fastball with questionable control, and
3. A great nickname that fans can chant at the top of their lungs

If we'd only known he was skilled with a machete and gasoline we might have really had a Hall of Fame closer on our hands.

Good luck in jail Uggie.

Reason for Concern?

I'm feeling pretty good about the Sox this season. Based on what I've read and seen, that seems to be the general consensus of the national media. However, after reading Shaughnessy's article in this morning's Boston Globe, I am minorly concerned about the following three things:

1. Varitek - will he hit this season or is he Benito Santiago 2.0?
2. Coco Crisp - is he the center field equivalent of Kerry Woods/Carl Pavano?
3. I thought we could survive Dustin Pedroia this season if everything else clicked. If Varitek and Crisp hit below the Mendoza Line, slots 7-9 in the line-up will be mighty painful to endure.

Now I don't normally put too much thought into what Shaughnessy writes but he brings up some valid points. I'd love to get the groups thoughts on this one.

Last Night of the Patriots Dynasty?

I'm going to break ranks from the baseball talk for a second because I need help with some football questions. Namely, why is everybody bending over backwards to hail the Patriots for these free agent signings -- particularly the receivers? What in the name of Daniel Snyder is going on here?

Let's recap for a second WHY the Patriots needed to sign free agent wide receivers:

1) They've received little to no return on the first round draft pick they spent a year ago on Chad Jackson
2) The highly touted tight end position -- and the assumed ascension of Ben Watson -- hasn't really played out
3) Their best receiver is suiting up for the Seahawks, their most consistent playoff receiver is in Tennessee and the replacements for those two may have cost the team home field in the AFC title game last year

The bottom line is: the Patriots' mismanagement of the receiver position may have ultimately cost them the Super Bowl last year. In response, they've gone out and obtained Wes Welker, Donta Stallworth and Kelley Washington. While Welker has been productive, Stallworth is in the drug program and Washington hasn't even had 400 yards receiving in a season (shades of the David Terrell signing last year). Why do I get the feeling that these guys are on the Patriots roster because they were all that was out there on the market? It seems to me that the Patriots have been backed into a corner at this position to the point where they have had to scrap some of the criteria they use for evaluating players before signing them. This is a new direction for their front office -- and one that certainly hasn't worked well for others such as the Redskins.

Baseball 2.0

Curt Schilling gets it... not at the level of NASCAR, but he's onto something. If you haven't seen it yet, check out his new blog. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Check out this quote from today's post:

"Kevin Millar, even when he guesses right, can’t make himself swing at my curve ball... [snip]... With one out in the second Gibbons chased a good split, and then Millar comes up. For 3 years he’s talked trash, in person, through text messages, over the phone, about how I better never throw him my curve ball. Last year in Baltimore I started him off with it, he took it for a strike.

Today I shake ‘Tek 3-4 times, Millar calls time out, steps out and says to ‘Tek “What the hells he want an 0-0 curve ball?”, curve ball strike one. Curve ball again, yanked foul, now he’s laughing, and I am trying not to. Curve ball again he lays off. Count gets to 2-2 and he freezes on a 2 seamer inside for strike three. I don’t know if he’s debating the call or just talking, one never knows with him, but he never looks my way as I go into the dugout."

Occasionally, I'll meet someone who doesn't understand that NASCAR is possibly the only professional "sport" (let's just accept that driving around in circle at ~200 mph for a looooooong time is a sport) that truly caters to its fans. It's usually a painful conversation that has the other side leaving, resigned that I'm a redneck heathen.

Stats don't make a sport, so don't even start with fantasy football and rotisserie baseball being fan-centric. NASCAR lets fans in on the action, using in-car cameras and radios that peek in on pit crew negotiations. I don't even follow NASCAR and I know this much... speak to someone who really loves NASCAR and you'll be blown away by how they're constantly finding new ways to bring fans closer to the sport.

Back to today's post from Curt. This is the first time I've ever really felt part of one of the "major" sports. Sure being there for Game 2 of the World Series in 2004 was pretty kick ass, but this is a new paradigm. This is truly inviting fans into the game. Think about almost every time you go to Fenway... nice day, cold beers, interesting game, some truly great moments, but do you ever really feel like you're in the game? What would you pay to actually be in the meeting on the mound in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded, two outs and Big P getting ready to face ARod in late September? How about free? Would it be worth it?

Thanks Curt!

ps... Millar just joined the conversation. I love Baseball 2.0!

Hard Time Getting in the Mood

I live just outside Boston, MA and we just got pounded with a late season Nor'Easter. It's 12:30 AM and I am soaking wet after shoveling out from over a foot of snow and sleet. This comes on the heels of visiting sunny Las Vegas for our company's Community 2.0 Conference.

It was warm in Vegas. 80 degrees in fact. I was out by the pool on the last day of the conference thinking about spring in New England. I should be -- it's only a few days away. Visions of opening day danced in my head. Thoughts of Dice-K Matsusaka, the Sox prized new pitcher, throwing out the first pitch at Fenway made me long to be home. And then the snow fell.

Why am I surprised? This happens every year. It wouldn't be New England if it didn't. While the Red Sox wrap up in the confines of sunny Florida, I'll be slogging through slush and muck for the next few weeks. My new friend, Mukund Mohan, whom I met at the conference invited me out to CA to do a webcast today. I know he was joking but I might just take him up on his offer!

I like baseball.

My 2 Cents

My predictions for the rotation:

Schilling: 14-10
Beckett: 13-11
Dice-K: 18-8
Papelbon: 13-7
Wakefield: 12-12
Lester: 9-6
The Rest: 15-14

.. and to Adawg's point about offense, I can't disagree in the least... Thoughts welcome.

2 More Days...

Two more days until pitchers and catchers report. Can't wait for baseball.

A few predictions for the Sox starters:

• Curt Schilling: 16-9
• Josh Beckett: 17-7
• Daisuke Matsuzaka: 14-12
• Jon Papelbon: 14-10
• Tim Wakefield: 12-14
• Jon Lester: 8-4
• The rest: 15-10

I'm also going to project the Sox lineup to be in the top 5 in the AL in runs scored, slugging %, OBP, and OPS.

Thoughts?

Mr. Ineptitude

Following is a response by my cousin, Chris, to a John Clayton article I e-mailed to a bunch of my home brothers. The article was a post Pats-Bolts wrap up summing up why the Bolts (and Schottenheimer) lost... again. I couldn't resist posting this on the BP blog.

I loves me some John Clayton! There probably couldn't be a more nerdy (looking) guy in sports writing/coverage, but that cat knows his ball.

When you are a habitual offender at losing playoff games, would you expect anything else? A team that has Tomlinson pissed at the end of the game because of 'disrespect in my house.', yet Florence gets up for an imediate head butt on a simple takle play?!? C'mon.

You had yet another MVP team that has been surrounded by sycophants in both fans and sports writers alike, coming up against a hard nosed (only one pro bowl member) smashmouth football team, that also happens to be 13-2 in playoffs as the underdog yet again... what in heck did you expect? Watch the Chargers and their arrogance on almost every play. Watch the entitlement mentality of that team versus the (even though an exceedingly poor performance) unshaken, unwavering simplicity of 'BelichickBradyball'
one more time.

The best line is - after nothing was clicking on offense - "Every time I would come to the sidelines, I'd say, 'Let's try something else'." Simple, calm, cool and collected. You could watch Marty with every single missed 4th down try, and every Patriot gain saying to himself 'not again'. You aren't going to win the game on one play - you aren't going to win the game with one big LT run. You will win the game when you keep one play ahead of the other guys.

Something I found interesting that was talked about early, but missed later in the game was the fact that Marty didn't wear a headset because he was so confident in both his offensive and defensive coordinator. Funny how that headset slipped back on late in the second quarter. Funny how San Diego started to really scramble after that point. If I were the defensive and offensive coordinator and I was Mr. Playoff hex looking for his headset - I would have grabbed it out of his hands and stepped on it before he could put it on his fat head.

I was amazed at the lack of poise from the team with only two losses this season. Dodgy fourth and eleven call?!? Challenge an extremely obvious strip/fumble?!? Very odd play calling from a guy that had been there before. Granted, Marty has a rather inauspicious playoff record - but he's been there so many times you'd think he'd have his head screwed on tighter.

Unreal.

One playoff choke machine down, one more to go.

Although, to Clayton's point... Indi has shown a lot of the Pats resilience as of late. That is never a good thing. Manning doesn't get as shaken as he used to be, and he has become a bit of a grinder.

Thanks for the article, btw. It was a fun game to watch too.

I agree Chris, it was a fun game. I'm looking forward to an even better game this Sunday! I wonder if Peyton is going to enjoy any sleepless nights...