Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch first being suspended for a year by MLB then fired by Houston's owner Jim Crane, I'd look for the next shoe to drop being a heavy fine and suspension for current Red Sox manager Alex Cora. I'd also expect the Boston Globe (owned by Red Sox owner John Henry) to do a big expose on the Patriots in response... Q: What did the fish say when it bumped its head on a cement wall? A: Dam!... Why do I feel the phrase "Stuck on Stupid" is going to make a big comeback in 2020... "Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money." - Moliere... GOOP has a candle called "Smells Like My Vagina" while Burger King has a meatless burger called "Tastes Like My Ass"...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congratulations to the Astros for making it to the World Series. And as a Red Sox fan I'd like to remind Yankees fans that Boston won the World Series last year... Glad to see the NBA not doing anything to prevent people from wearing Stand with Hong Kong t-shirts at their games. Let's hope these protests don't peter out... I've made this observations before but I see more Tulsi Gabbard signs when driving in New Hampshire than any other Democrat candidate. I fully expect her to finish in the top 3 in the NH primary... This is a good explanation for the basis for the hate Hillary Clinton seems to feel for Tulsi. A feeling I think is mutual...  The Athletic has become the daily sports fix I used to get from the Boston Globe Sports section decades ago. I didn't mind paying for the Globe all those years ago and I don't mind paying for The Athletic now...  Deep sea explorers have found the wreck of the Japanese carrier Kaga which was sunk during the Battle of Midway. Coincidentally there's a big Hollywood movie on Midway coming out next month. Midway was one of the most important battles in US history. Perhaps the best book on the battle is Shattered Sword which I recommend with the caveat that it is pretty dry and detailed history at times... This is so cool. I hope the people tip this busker to the max when they see him... "Hillary Clinton" a Haiku..

Nick Cafardo

The first thing to understand about Nick Cafardo is that he was a good guy. I mean the type of guy who you've never heard a bad thing about. Everybody liked Nick Cafardo.

The second thing to understand is that he was very good at his job. Especially covering baseball. He was with the Boston Globe since 1989. Imagine covering sports in a town as critical as Boston and nobody having a bad thing to say about a sportswriter - IN BOSTON! Everybody liked Nick Cafardo.

The last thing to note on the passing of Nick Cafardo is he was just 62-years old.  He was working at the park despite it being his day off. He loved his job and he loved baseball. But he was just 62 and he leaves a wife and two kids. He was just 62-years old.

Don't take any day for granted. And find something you love to do. Like Nick Cafardo loved covering Boston sports.

Enemy of the People (In Boston)

"Beware false prophets, who will come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:15-16

About 350 newspapers today will run coordinated editorials today telling President Trump that the media is not the "enemy of the people."  Apart from the obvious on how such a coordinated message kinda proves the bias of the press personally I know the press is the enemy of the people - at least in Boston.

I'm a huge sports fan and for years I was addicted to the Boston Globe sports section but as I got older I learned the ugly truth. The sports journalists in Boston are not to be trusted and for the most part I've weaned myself off all the major outlets (with the exception of a few trusted voices).

John Tomase literally made up lies about the New England Patriots and yet he's still gainfully employed. As far as I'm concerned as a fan of the New England Patriot's he's my enemy. Ron Borges besides being a plagiarist let his personal animosity towards Bill Belichick for choosing Tom Brady over close friend Drew Bledsoe bias ALL of his reporting. For decades he tainted whatever Boston media outlet he was associated with from the fans perspective. And don't get me going on Dan Shaughnessy who has been force-fed to Boston fans continuously. I consider the Curly Haired Boyfriend an "enemy". I could go on and on about Boston sports media who have broken trust with Boston sports fans.

And don't get me started on people like Felger & Maz and the dumpster fire that is Boston sports talk radio.

Now I'm supposed to read a coordinated editorial response and say "OK I'll trust the media to be unvarnished purveyors of the truth"? No thank you! You couldn't even handle honest reporting when it came to sports!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm grabbing my musket if Donald Trump loses the election. Oh wait no I won't - I don't have a musket. And I am also not insane... Heh heh... How the mighty have fallen - the Boston Globe sports department doesn't have a single reporter at the World Series. The paper that gave the world Peter Gammons, Gordon Edes and Bob Ryan is not represented at baseball's biggest event... Interesting advice on how to bet on horse racing. Can't wait to test this out... If the Indians wins the World Series look for the Paper Lace song The Night Chicago Died to have a sudden resurgence on Cleveland radio stations... I agree that this would make a great Scorsese movie. I picture Jeremy Renner as the lead...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Please - I really hope somebody asked Peyton Manning about his record in cold weather games after last night's loss to the Chargers. Please! Please! Please!... Jacoby Ellsbury took out an ad in the Boston Globe (owned by Red Sox owner John Henry) to thank fans. How come these ads are never taken out in the Boston Herald (which is not owned by Red Sox owner John Henry)... I don't think I'll be seeing Saving Mister Banks anyways but knowing its a bunch of crap is even more reason to stay away... The Internet Map - cannot find A Large Regular on here - so obviously the map is incomplete...Confession - I have never seen any of the Home Alone movies (and have no plans to do so)...  LBJ in the White House pool. I love photos like this... Having a giant Yankees sticker on your car or truck is a good way to insure you WON'T be getting out of a ticket if you get pulled over by the State Police on the Mass Pike... Shaolin Kung Fu Monks... I just find the sound of the word "burgled" amusing. I keep thinking it sounds like something the Urban Dictionary would define as a BJ in the snow or cold, "She burgled me in the ski gondola!"... MacBrown O'Texas would be a great name for a cartoon character...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So the Red Sox have signed AJ Pierzynski to a one-year deal. This feels a lot like when the Boston Bruins acquired Ken "the rat" Linseman. Will be tough rooting for AJ... Jesse Owens' Gold Medal from 1936 Berlin Olympics up for auction... The Nationals were lucky to get Doug Fister for almost nothing. As lucky as an average guy who happens to be in the right place at the right time when a super model decides she needs to have revenge sex... Vintage advertisements that weren't exactly politically correct... The BBWAA needed 4 tries to elect Rogers Hornsby to the Hall of Fame. Very, very flawed process... 19 shocking facts about Detroit's bankruptcy... Jarrod Saltalamaccia was a solid player and top shelf person during his time in Boston. I wish him nothing but the best with his new team. Godspeed Salty...  I think this idea was written only half in jest. I think it would actually work. Why not naming rights for sections of the newspaper?... Funny how some people who think it is wrong to lie to kids about Santa and the Easter Bunny still hold fast to the idea that Obamacare is actually a workable solution... Glorious! Dropping a red hot nickel ball onto various things. I love the Internets!... All the baseball Hall of Fame debates are petty compared to the injustice of KISS not being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm pretty sure that Jeremy from those T-Mobile commercials ran away from home. I know I would have... Norway looks so beautiful... Last week I stayed at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas (beautiful place). One day I noticed a scale in the bathroom and I got on. The scale had me 15 pounds lighter than the last time I weighed myself at the gym (maybe two months ago). I wonder if the scale was accurate (good news) or if it was purposefully set to give a lower reading. If the latter - then that's genius! "Honey the scale says I'm down 5 pounds - lets get room service!"... The Kraft Family (on behalf of the New England Patriots and Revolution) took out a full page ad in the Boston Globe congratulating the Red Sox' World Series victory. I haven't seen anything about an ad in the Herald which is amusing. John Henry owns both the Red Sox and Boston Globe - so the Kraft's weren't just congratulating the Red Sox - they were also giving John Henry's Globe some revenue... This makes me proud to be a St. Peter-Marian alumnus... When I read stories about "protesters" - in my mind I change it to "polyesters". Always improves the story 100%... Black and white cows - is that supposed to be some sort of camouflage? Or proof that God wants people to eat beef?...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I wonder if Aaron Rodgers is rethinking the A-Rod nickname?... Is it "duck" tape or "duct" tape?... "Matt Leinart" is French for "Will QB for food"... Can someone remind me what the point of the Occupy Movement was and what it accomplished?... What if A-Rod was only taking steroids in an effort to transform himself into a centaur?... Regarding that lab grown beef that was in the news recently. If they had lab grown chicken - could it really be any worse than Chicken McNuggets?... Steve Spurrier really is an American original.... President Harding in 1920 started the tradition of answering questions directly from reporters. Is that tradition coming to an end? If I were a Republican President I'd probably stop it... When John Henry takes over the Boston Globe - it will be interesting to see if he keeps Dan Shaughnessy for long. He could hire five up and coming writers for the salary he pays Shaughnessy. It would be the Sabermetric thing to do...

John Henry Buys Boston Globe

Red Sox principal owner John Henry has reached an agreement to purchase the Boston Globe for $70 million.

I read about the transaction in three articles this morning. First one via the Globe, the second was via the NY Times, and the last was via Breitbart. What was interesting was the Globe article did not mention the pension liabilities at all (an important nugget for the business section to overlook completely don't you think), the Times just said that John Henry was not assuming the "Globe's pension liabilities", and then Breitbart said that the pension liabilities are estimated at over $100 million. Adding in those pension liabilities really puts a different spin on the real net for the NY Times in the deal - doesn't it?

What maybe bugged me the most was the fact that the Worcester Telegram and Gazette was lumped into the deal like it was an after thought. The Telegram and Gazette was the paper I grew up with. I have to think if the NY Times Company never touched the T and G that it would have been worth more than $70 million by itself today.

Bob Ryan's Goodbye

Bob Ryan says goodbye after 44 years.

I grew up with Bob Ryan writing about the Celtics and Peter Gammons writing about the Red Sox. Bob Ryan was always passionate about sports and it showed in his writing. That's why I'm amused by people who only know him from PTI or Around the Horn thinking he's some old curmudgeon. This feels like an end of an era. The Boston Globe sports section is a shadow of its former self.

I am glad he singled out Jackie MacMullan for praise but I am also curious about Bob pointing out "I have never once written to provoke or to attract attention." Is this a shot at Dan Shaughnessey who was not mentioned in the column and is known to write only to provoke or to attract attention?

Terry Francona Still Classy - Boston Globe Still Not So Much

Yesterday Terry Francona broadcast his first game for ESPN covering his old team - the Boston Red Sox. This of course spawned a media circus. Still Francona didn't shirk away from answering questions. He handled things with class, humor and dignity.

That's more than can be said about those who fired him and those who smeared him on his way out the door.

It needs to be said that the Boston Globe's Bob Hohler has become troll-like hiding under a rock somewhere since his hit-job piece on Terry Francona. Has his byline been seen since he smeared Francona? Has he answered any questions from reporters like Francona did yesterday? No - absolutely gutless!

And let's not let the Boston Globe off the hook. Remember the Globe's priority of protecting sources - they published the name of the woman who anonymously turned in mass murderer Whitey Bulger but they hide behind "unnamed sources" when it comes to allegations of marital problems, pain-killer use and chicken and beer in the clubhouse. Remember that the next time someone from the Globe gets on their high horse regarding journalistic ethics.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If the sources who leaked the stories about the Red Sox drinking in the clubhouse and dugout were given whistle-blower status by the Federal Government or were protected somehow by the FBI - would the Boston Globe then reveal who they are? That's what they did with the woman who turned in Whitey Bulger... Toby Ziegler's best rants from The West Wing... Joe Biden continues to warn of rapes and murders if the Jobs Bill isn't passed. Based on recent news - does he mean these rapes and murders will come from the Occupy protesters?.... Cool International Space Station flyover video... Teddy Roosevelt was not keen on those who worked to convert others to their religions. He didn't like it because first the proselytizer would have to destroy the person's existing beliefs to get them to accept the new beliefs. I had never thought of it that way... Sin City meets Disney... Teddy Roosevelt's boiled his own personal religious convictions to doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. Not a bad creed if you think about it... Sports by Brooks has a good point - the NCAA went kicking and screaming into Title IX - fighting it every step of the way. Now they try to use Title IX as the reason for not paying players. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.

The Curse of John Henry

OK - I'll say it! Yesterday Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe had an extensive piece on the epic fail of of the 2011 Red Sox. Among the "revelations" was the fact that Terry Francona had separated from his wife and was living in a hotel. Hohler missed or refused to see the big picture though - a fish always stinks from the head down. How come there wasn't any talk about principal owner John Henry's personal life? If marital issues are fair game at the Boston Globe - why no mention of John Henry's divorce and remarriage?

Think of it this way - the Red Sox last tasted post-season success in 2007 when they swept the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. That was also the year that owner John Henry got divorced and you can argue when things started going downhill with the hometown nine. The divorce coincided with the creation of Roush-Fenway Racing. But of course that wouldn't diminish the attention and focus of John Henry on the Red Sox. Then John Henry married a woman who was almost half his age, Linda Pizzuti, in 2009. She got pregnant and had a baby girl with Henry in 2009. That will obviously change a person's priorities and focus. A man of Henry's age - would it be OK to ask him about any Viagra usage? I mean if Francona's marital situation and prescription pill use can be put on the table by the Boston Globe - shouldn't they also be asking the team owner if chemically induced tumescence and fatherhood made his ability to oversee the company slip?

Then we have the purchase of the Liverpool Football Club. At the time of the purchase Henry said that it would in no way take away any resources or attention to the Red Sox. But bringing that up - doesn't that show it was in ownership's thinking? And giving the player $300 headsets and a night on John Henry's yacht - doesn't that show he was out of touch with the team? I mean how many players do you think just gave those headsets away? And were these the Dr. Dre headsets the team was pimping the year before? How gauche if there were.

Ownership is now on recod of saying they didn't know things were that bad in the clubhouse. If that is the case - then when did they start to lose touch of what was happening in the clubhouse? Couldn't this be traced back to John Henry's divorce as easily as it could to Terry Francona's marital issues?

I guess the real point is that John Henry, Tom Werner and especially Larry Lucchino should spend more time getting the beams out of their own eyes before sending their anonymous sources to complain about the mote in their ex-manager's eyes.

The Globe Deal

A deal has been reached between the New York Times Co. and the Boston Globe's largest union.

The Boston Globe's largest union reached a tentative deal with the New York Times Co. shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, agreeing to a substantial pay cut, unpaid furloughs, and modifications to the lifetime job guarantee provisions that protect almost 200 employees in the Boston Newspaper Guild, according to sources familiar with the deal.

With the agreement, the guild, representing more than 600 editorial, advertising, and business office employees, became the last of the newspaper's major unions to agree to concessions with the Times Co.

Emphasis added. Does this mean that almost one-third of the guild employees had lifetime job guarantees? Yikes! The article goes on to say that the lifetime guarantees "was widely considered a roadblock to any potential sale of New England's largest newspaper." Taking the Globe out of the hands of the New York Times Co. can only be viewed as a good thing.

I also got a kick from this nugget - as part of the negotiations the union offered a "lengthening of the workweek from 37.5 to 40 hours". Are you kidding me? My empathy with the Globe workers is almost nil.

The Red Sox the Buy the Boston Globe?

The Boston Herald today reported a rumor that principal Red Sox owner John Henry has mad overtures to purchase back the 17% of the Red Sox as well as the struggling Boston Globe from the New York Time Co.

I have no doubt that John Henry has probably indicated his willingness to buy-back the shares in the Red Sox. It makes sense that the Red Sox would want to get the 17% of the club the NYT owns. The valuation of the Red Sox keeps going up. The question is why would the Red Sox want the Boston Globe? Why would they want to do a reverse Tribune / Chicago Cubs situation?

The answer is - they probably don't want to buy the Boston Globe but that may be part of the cost of doing business to get that 17% back. If that was the case - then I wouldn't be surprised if the Worcester Telegram was also made part of the package since that central Mass paper is also owned by the NYT Co.

The smart money says that this never happens. The Red Sox have no need to take on distressed properties. They can let the New York Times continue to struggle and maybe get good terms for that 17% from the bankruptcy judge when the New York Times eventually has to sleep in the bed that they have been making.

African Americans in Baseball

OK it is once again time for my pet peeve - the Boston Globe's penchant for talking about the lack of African Americans in baseball. Today the subject made up a large portion of Nick Carfardo's "Notes" column under the guise of "The diversity count".

The University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports will likely release its annual racial and gender report later this month, telling us how Major League Baseball graded in diversity issues in 2008. The institute's report last year showed that African-Americans constituted 8.2 percent of major league rosters in 2007 - a 20-year low and a growing concern for MLB.

Carfardo then goes on to list by team the number of African Americans on the team rosters for this season. The punch line of course is that the Red Sox have none. African American's make up roughly 12 percent of the population - so on the surface the difference between 8 percent and 12 percent would seem to indicate a problem but the numbers are completely skewered.

The census numbers would count both Manny Ramirez (a US citizen) and Coco Crisp (a natural born citizen) the same and classify both as African Americans. People who do these baseball surveys though would count them differently - Crisp as an African American and Manny as a Dominican. That's the real reason there is a difference between the 12 percent population number and the 8 percent "diversity" number.

The Red Sox are a very diverse team - 32% of the team would be classified as other than white by the census. The "white" population of the US is 74%. See how numbers can be skewered?

Hey - gay and lesbians make up 4 percent of the population but I can't think of any openly gay baseball players. Maybe that Globe can make that their next crusade. I mean the study Carfardo used was a racial and gender report. Does the Globe not count gays as people? Why does the Globe hate gay people?

Just kidding - a report on gays in baseball would be just as asinine. Teams like the Red Sox put the roster together with the eye toward which players give them the best chance to win. Not based upon the color of their skin. No wonder the Globe is going out of business.

The Boston Globe

The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut The Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions swiftly agree to $20 million in concessions, union leaders said yesterday.

Seeing how the above sentence is taken from Boston.com - the Globe's website - you would have to say that the threat is real. I must say that I'm stunned.

Stunned at how completely incompetent the upper management of the New York Times Co. continues to be. The Boston Globe was purchased in 1993 for $1.1 billion and now it may be shuttered unless it can shave $20 million off operating costs? Please.

I have no doubt that some of the cuts and concessions are necessary but the real problem here is not the economy, it is not the state of the newspaper industry - it is the senior management of New York Times Co. Specifically Pinch Sulzberger - the man who has almost single-handedly turned New York Times Co. stock into junk.

I have no doubt that the Boston Globe will fail as a business if its fate remains in the hands of such a klutz as Sulzberger. No doubt. It is time for local ownership to take back the Globe. Someone like Jack Welsh. That's the only way the Globe will survive. The concessions being called for today are just a band-aid on a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Dan Shaughnessy Can Stick It

Dan Shaughnessy had a maddening column yesterday that I am compelled to comment on. The column lamented that today's basketball stars are not as accessible as the players of days gone by.

Shaughnessy specifically was speaking about the Celtics teams of the 80's and how he and Bob Ryan were so close with the team. Shaughnessy then tells lots of interesting tales including one about Cedric Maxwell:

We knew that Cedric Maxwell would always have Dolph Schayes paged over the terminal intercom when the Celtics were waiting for baggage. Anywhere in America. Every trip. For years.

"Would Mr. Dolph Schayes please meet his party at carousel seven?"

One day in Salt Lake City, Dolph Schayes just happened to be at the airport and appeared at the carousel asking who was looking for him. Max loved that one.

That's a great story but here's the problem - I read the Boston Globe sports section religiously in the 1980's and I never saw Shaughnessy (or Ryan for that matter) bring up the Maxwell story or any of the other stories Chinless mentions. It would be one thing if the writers used to fill the readers in on anecdotes like the one above but if they were keeping them to themselves - for the reader what's the difference? Boo hoo - Shaughnessy and the other writers don't get access and don't get to be chummy with the players. My heart bleeds for him. But what is the difference to the readers if those stories never made the paper anyway?

Red Sox / Angels Live Blog

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I'll explain my absence shortly. For now I figured I'd just start typing and hopefully something amusing will come of it.

6:45 - The Red Sox have one loss in their last 11 games and of course I had bet on them that night they lost their only game while I was out in Las Vegas. I came home on a red-eye flight last Thursday and I think I picked up a bug on the plane. I've been coughing like bastard since late Friday. I've started right in taking Mucinex but I think the lack of sleep coupled with the fact that I went out on Saturday and went to the Red Sox on Monday has left me in a weakened condition. I feel like crap. I've been drinking lots of fluids and trying to get plenty of sleep but I can't help but wonder if I've got he same bug that's been plaguing the Red Sox locker room.

6:57 - In case you didn't get my Red Sox flu reference - Jason Varitek has missed the last 4 games and Dice K has to skip his regular start tonight because of the bug. Gordon Edes is also missing from the pre-game but I'm guessing that's because he's leaving the Boston Globe to move to Yahoo! Sports. It used to be that the Boston Globe had the varsity roster of sportswriters in Boston and that the Boston Herald was the JV. Now the roles are reversed. I used to read the Globe sports religiously. Now I can't tell you when the last time I went out of my way to pick up a copy of the paper. Best of luck to Gordon Edes on his new venture. He's always struck me as a class individual.

7:05 - Jon Lester gets the start tonight. Combined Lester and Clay Buchholz are 2-3 in 9 starts with a 4.94 combined ERA. That's slightly above the league average. (Gary Matthews Jr. increases that ERA with a HR to make it 1-0 Angels). Lester and Buchholz look great compared to Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes of the Yankees who are a combined 0-5 in 7 starts with a combined 9.20 ERA. Just sayin'.

7:19 - Excellent night for watching TV in the Boston area tonight. You have the Red Sox on at 7:00 and the Celtics playing the Hawks on at 8:00 and later tonight at 11:00 one of the HBO channels has been showing Deadwood episodes each night. Is it bad that I'm actually looking forward to the Deadwood repeat more than anything else? Speaking of Deadwood - I'm still amazed that W. Earl Brown who played Dan Dority also played Mary's brother Warren in There's Something About Mary. And no - I have not seen his baseball. The Angels pick up another run to make it 2-0. The Red Sox are lucky that it's only 2-0.

7:36 - Some people would argue that the Red Sox have been lucky their whole season so far. The Red Sox are 15-7 going into tonight but according to the Pythagorean W-L they should be 12-10. I'm a fan of the Pythagorean but it's still took early in the season and the sample size still too small. Lyford does a great job breaking down the Pythagorean on a weekly basis. Julio Lugo drives in JD Drew to close the score to 2-1.

7:55 - The Angels scratch out another run to make it 3-1. And speaking of small sample sizes - I get a kick out of this comparison;

David Ortiz - .181 BA / .292 OBP / .277 SLG
Kevin Cash - .227 BA / .292 OBP / .272 SLG

And I make the comparison just as Cash gets a double to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning.

8:02 - Cash comes in to score to make it 3-2. I should mention that Cash is a graduate of the Jack Cust school of base running.

8:17 - I meant to post something on John Smoltz getting his 3,000th strikeout last night. Is there any doubt that he's a first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher? Just saying but I'd also like to point out that Smoltz is a career 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA in the post-season. Compare that to Roger Clemens' 12-8 with a 3.75 ERA in his post season career. I'd take John Smoltz over Roger Clemens any day of the week.

8:27 - Hey - speaking of steroids guys - Gary Matthews Jr hits his second HR of the game to make it 4-2 for the Angels.

8:36 - David Ortiz tied the game with a 2-run HR and makes me $20 in the process. I have Ortiz in my HR pool with my buddy Tim. I also have Vlade and Kotchman while Tim has Manny, Youkilis and Torii Hunter for his picks.

8:48 - Casey Kotchman puts me up $40 for the night but also gives the Angels a 5-4 lead with his 6th HR of the season.

8:57 - During a game break they showed Matt Stairs hit 2 HR against the Rays. I have no idea where that game is being played. It certainly wasn't the Trop or the Rogers Center. Is there any player out there today in greater need of a nickname than Matt Stairs? Also in news around MLB - there is a report that Jimmy Rollins actually has a broken ankle. Meanwhile the Celtics are up by 13 in the second quarter.

9:25 - Just checking on some fantasy stats and do you realize that Dustin Pedroia is the second best fantasy 2nd baseman going behind only Chase Utley?

9:50 - Made a couple of moves in one of my fantasy leagues. I dropped James Loney and picked up Casey Kotchman. I also dropped Manny Corpas (I have two good closers ahead of him) and picked up Rich Hill. I'm just picking up Hill because he's got 2 starts next week. I hope I don't get burned by that move. Speaking of being burned by a move - I still contend that the Yankees were burned badly by their decision to pick up Gary Sheffield instead of Vlade Guerrero when they had the chance. If they signed Vlade then they would have won at least one World Series these past 4 years. Angels pick up an insurance run to lead 6-4.

9:58 - Red Sox go quietly in the 9th and lose for just the 2nd time in a dozen games.