Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Ever notice that in that "skinny legs" Peyton Manning commercial the "regular" legs Peyton Manning is wearing pants throughout? Is that because regular Peyton Manning's legs aren't much bigger?... Rex Ryan checking out Bill Belichick's coaching record... I keep saying it - doesn't Jay Cutler seem like this generation's Jeff George? Are the two guys related?... Cool - a dramatic reading of the Joker's monologue from The Killing Joke... Despite the success last year - things aren't all that rosy in Baltimore this year for the Orioles. Could Dan Duquette be on his way out? If so would Dave Dombrowski consider him for a return engagement at the Red Sox GM?... So true!... I think if you are willing to bet on the WNBA - you would also be willing to gamble on the Special Olympics... Cool site. I'm going have to bookmark it and do a deep dive...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tough to pick a team to root for between the four remaining MLB teams but kind of leaning towards the Orioles just because of the great job Dan Duquette has done. It should be remembered that he only got the job because other candidates deemed it too radioactive... Pool and beer help you live longer! Later today I'm going to work on extending my life expectancy!...  Would love to see an episode of Louie where Louis CK goes for a picnic in the park with his kids and runs into the missing Russian from The Sopranos...  39-years ago tonight SNL first took to the air. The original thought was to have Albert Brooks as the permanent host... For proper elocution a person must have consistent vowel movements... This website is awesome! I will buy all my Christmas gifts there!... Block Me Amedaeus would be a great name for a fantasy football team...  Fantastic article on the one of a kind Bob Ryan... Always remember that the word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent". To truly listen you should be silent... Big as a hat! Great joke from Big Stupid Tommy... The Obama Drone artist seems like a great guy...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

CC Sabathia's real name is Carsten Charles Sabathia... Who said it - Joe Biden or Michael Scott?... Have to wonder if the Nobel committee chose to give the Nobel Prize to the EU in an effort not to pay the prize money (who would collect?)... Very cool betting story. The moral as always - be sure to quit when you are ahead!... Talk about making chicken salad out of you know what. It should be remembered that Dan Duquette only got the Orioles GM job because other candidates thought the position was too radioactive. Now Duquette has re-established himself as a top GM in the game. Good for him!... Cool - a diamond bigger than the Earth?... Hate to think that this may be it for Scott Rolen. Sad to see him go out on such a sour note... SNL should do skit about ESPN peon that is sent to tell Bobby Knight that the network no longer wants to use him on TV... For proper elocution a person must have consistent vowel movements... I'm a Red Sox fan but part of me wants to see the Yankees win this series just so I can hear all the people arguing that Alex Rodriguez should be left off the 25-man roster against the Tigers. That would be delicious...

Johnny Pesky

There isn't a true Red Sox fan out there who wasn't saddened by the passing of Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky. Peter Gammons does a great job explaining why Pesky was so special.

One story I haven't seen told in any of the testimonials since his passing is how Pesky almost quit on the Red Sox in 2003.

It's well known that in 1997 Red Sox GM Dan Duquette told Pesky he was no longer welcome on the Red Sox bench. This was done at the request of clueless manager Jimy Williams. This indignity lingers in the minds of Boston sports fans just one step below Rick Pitino stripping Red Auerbach of his ceremonial title of President of the Celtics. Pesky was able to out-wait Williams and the new John Henry led ownership restored Pesky to his rightful place at Fenway Park and at spring training. Pesky even outlasted Duquette who was fired by John Henry et al. The balance of where Johnny Pesky belonged in the Red Sox world was restored.

Then came the horrible year of 2003 which is recalled by by most Red Sox fans of first Pedro being left in an inning too long by Grady Little and then Aaron Bleeping Boone hitting a season ending HR off Tim Wakefield. But 2003 was also the year Johnny Pesky almost quit the Red Sox.

First came the ruling from Major League Baseball and Bud Selig that Pesky would no longer be allowed on the bench during games. Then the Red Sox traded his favorite player - Shea Hillenbrand. Pesky was so upset by the trade that he wanted to quit on the Red Sox but Hillenbrand talked him out of it.

The fact that Pesky will be eulogized by Selig - the guy who kicked him off the Red Sox bench while the guy who kept him from quitting the team he loved will be mostly forgotten just doesn't seem right to me.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'd pay good money to watch Niall Ferguson destroy Paul Krugman in a debate on the proper role of the government in the economy... Jeremy Guthrie is 3-6 with a 7.02 ERA for the Rockies while Jason Hammel is  7-2 with a 2.87 ERA for the Orioles. If that trade was not made by Dan Duquette then the Orioles are in last place with the Red Sox right now. How come Boston can't get a GM like that?... Over the weekend Rodney King died - taking with him to the grave the answer to who really killed OJ Simpson's wife. At least according to how many remember recent history... Obama plays 100th round of golf. If you added up the time golfing and the time spent at fund-raisers it should equal at least a full year's worth of time... The George HW Bush documentary 41 on HBO is well worth the time. A good film about a good man... Heh heh - this just made me chuckle.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rogers are all still on pace to break Dan Marino's single season passing mark of 5,084 yards. Brady is on pace for just over 5,400 yards... Here's some hope for Baltimore Orioles fans - in Dan Duquette's first draft with the Red Sox he took Nomar Garciaparra and Carl Pavano who he used to trade for Pedro Martinez... Emmitt Smith is the all-time rushing leader and Brett Favre is the all-time passing leader but does anyone think they were best RB or QB in NFL history?... If I was to write a Wade Boggs biography I would title it Strangled on the Toilet - just because I don't like Boggs... I'm going to use the word "feisty" to describe random objects this week. This potato chip is feisty! What a feisty gas pump! What a feisty idea!... Teddy Roosevelt thought Thomas Jefferson didn't deserve credit for the Louisiana Purchase. Roosevelt argued that US settlers moving into the territory would have forced the matter anyway. It was far cheaper for France to sell us the "rights" to the land than defend it militarily. Besides fighting the French would have forced the US into an alliance with England which France also could not afford... People forget that in addition to drafting Nomar, Kevin Youkilis, Freddy Sanchez and others for the Red Sox - Dan Duquette also saw fit to draft people like Mark Teixeira, Pat Burrell and Aaron Harang but was unable to sign them. Can you imagine if the Red Sox had Mark Teixeira all those years?... I like the Mitt Romney idea of asking "Is this program so critical that it is worth borrowing money to pay for it?" before spending any federal funds on a program. That's the right mindset...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady are all still on pace to break Dan Marino's single season passing mark of 5,084 yards... On this date in 1955, Doc Brown hit his head on the edge of his sink and invented time travel... What type of person gives out pretzels for Halloween?... Happy 59th birthday to basketball original and all-time great Bill Walton... Two women in a canoe happen upon a murmation of starlings... I think part of reason Phil Simms criticized Andrew Luck has to do with Simms' inability to grow a beard... Just want to mention that I was perhaps the first to call Dan Duquette getting interviewed by the Baltimore Orioles. He just may be the most qualified person who actually wants the job... Happy 38th birthday to Johnny Damon. He is just 277 hits away from 3,000 for his career. If he gets to that mark it will be interesting to see if it is enough to get him into the Hall of Fame... I have never seen Back to the Future II or III for that matter. I have no desire whatsoever to do so...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 60th birthday to Dwight Evans. The 8-time Gold Glove winning Dewey should have gotten much more Hall of Fame consideration then he got... Promising Assistant GM's want nothing to do with the Orioles - that's why it could be opportunity for someone like Dan Duquette who once was a big deal but now has trouble even getting interviews... Best part about the Baseball-reference.com front page update is the disclaimer... So was real reason Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block was smoking that cigarette in that commercial post coital related?... Today would have been Charles Bronson's 90th birthday. In his dreams Chuck Norris wishes he'd be as badass as Charles Bronson... Big Adrian Gonzalez fan and big Red Sox fan but Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers should have won Silver Slugger for 1st base... Awesome beer map... On this day in 1913 the US introduced the income tax. A day that will live in infamy... Yesterday was Palindrome Day (11/02/2011) and I just wanted to note that best palindrome ever is "Lisa Bonet ate no basil"... 10 Retro Illustrations of Pop Culture Icons... Today is Michael Dukakis' 78th birthday. Funny how you never hear anyone wistfully thinking of how great a Dukakis Presidency would have been.

Dan Duquette as Captain Sobel

I'm a huge Red Sox fan and also a big fan of both the book and HBO series Band of Brothers. For whatever reason - yesterday it occurred to me that if Dan Duquette was a character in Band of Brothers that he would have been Captain Herbert Sobel (played in the series by David Schwimmer).

Captain Sobel was responsible for the training and environment which made Easy Company into the lean-mean fighting machine they showed themselves to be in battle. The Tacoa men were Tacoa men in large part because of Captain Sobel. He was also greatly despised and had trouble dealing with people. It was hard to like Herbert Sobel.

Dan Duquette created the foundation of the first Red Sox team to win a World Series Championship in 86 years. Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon and Nomar Garciaparra - they were among his Tacoa men. Duquette also had a real problem dealing with people. Nobody shed any tears when the Red Sox decided to go in a different direction from Duquette. Many in fact were absolutely giddy. As giddy as the people in Easy Company when they learned that Captain Sobel would not be the one leading them into battle.

It should come as no surprise that Captain Sobel was ultimately done in by a revolt by the non-commissioned officers. They would not follow him into battle and they let their feelings known to the commanding officer (Colonel Sink - played by the great Dale Dye). Don't you think that Dan Duquette's demise was similarly sparked by players putting a bug into John Henry's ear?

Both Duquette and Sobel had to watch as their replacements became successful, beloved and famous. And both Duquette and Sobel had front row seats to watch as that happened.

Maybe my next post could be about the similarity between Theo Epstein and captain Winters?

The Mitchell Report

Hundreds upon hundreds of baseball players not named in the Mitchell report must be saying, "there but by the grace of God go I" this morning. It is foolish to think that this is a comprehensive report on all the players who used steroids or HGH. It is just the tip of the iceberg. That's what makes this attempt at clearing up the problem a bit of a sham in my eyes.

Some random thoughts on the report.

- Dan Duquette must be feeling a certain level of vindication today. In normal circumstances - Roger Clemens would have been in the twilight of his career. Instead Clemens went to Toronto and juiced.

- I'm amused by Roger Clemens' threatening to sue for libel over being named in the report. This reminds me of when Palmeiro threatened to sue Jose Canseco after Canseco named Palmeiro in his book. Or when Barry Bonds threatened to sue Curt Schilling when Schilling called him a cheat.

- I'm guessing that ESPN is going to pull those Roger Clemens commercials where Roger is nervous about riding the roller coaster at Disney. That commercial is ripe for parody. So is that Suzy Waldman sound bite from this year when Roger joined the Yankees.

- I feel bad for Mo Vaughn. He's in the report for getting HGH after he hurt his ankle late in his career. Assuming he was clean - why would he have needed a referral if he was a user? - all Mo did early in his career is now tainted by the decision he made late in his career.

- What no Brett Boone?

EDIT: I meant to mention that perhaps the most positive result to come ut of the Mitchell Report will be ESPN dropping Fernando Vina and David Justice on their baseball telecasts and from Baseball Tonight.

One of the Great Trades in Baseball History

With Johan Santana on the market and the Twins asking a king's ransom for him - I started thinking about the trade that brought Pedro Martinez to Boston. The more I look at the trade the more I start to marvel at how one-sided it was.

In November of 1997 Pedro Martinez was traded to Boston from Montreal in exchange for pitching prospects Carl Pavano and Tony Armas. With the Red Sox - Pedro went 117-37 and won 2 Cy Young Awards. Carl Pavano went 24-35 for Montreal before being part of a 8 player deal in 2002 that sent Pavano to the Marlins. Tony Armas went 32-41 for Montreal before leaving as a free agent after the 2004 season. Pedro had more than double the wins and less than half of the losses of the guys he was traded for.

When the greatest trades of all-time are mentioned - the deal that brought Pedro Martinez to Boston is often oddly left out of the discussion. Dan Duquette doesn't get the credit he deserves. Not only did he trade for Pedro Martinez but he also made the deal that sent Heathcliff Slocumb to Seattle in exchange for Jaso Varitek and Derek Lowe.