Throwing Stuff Against the Wall - Take II

Here's a prime example of journalistic standards being thrown out the window during the hot stove season. No by-line and no named source. Yup - every reason in the world to take this report as the Gospel truth. Just for the heck of it - let's deconstruct this report.

7Sports has learned that Mike Lowell has received contract offers from four separate MLB teams: the Braves, Angels, Cardinals, and Yankees.

For those outside of New England - WHDH subscribes to the Inside Edition-type school of pop journalism. So right away - you have to take everything with a grain of salt. Now consider the teams:

Braves - they already have Chipper Jones at 3rd and at his age I'm sure he doesn't want to move to the outfield and Chipper can't move to 1st because Atlanta has Mark Teixeira for at least one more year. With limited financial resources signing Lowell just doesn't make any sense.

Angels - this sort of makes sense. The Angels were very interested in A-Rod so they may be trying to bed Lowell on the rebound. However, Lowell projects to a .280 batting average, 15-20 HR guy playing in Anaheim. Those are Chone Figgins-type numbers and they already have Chone Figgins.

Cardinals - they have Scott Rolen clogging the way at 3rd and I'm doubtful they would sign Lowell before dealing with that situation first.

Yankees - of course the Yankees have to be brought into the discussion about any "name" free agent. How else are you going to jack up the contract price?

A source close to the Lowell side of the negotiations tells 7Sports that each offer is a 4-year contract, worth between $55-60 million.

So basically this "information" is coming from Lowell's agent. Hmmm... no possible agenda there.

The Yankees offer includes a request that Lowell play First Base, something the Gold-Glove-winning third baseman does not want to do.

So if this is coming from Lowell's agent - this is their way of saying Lowell does not want to play for the Yankees. This is good news for Red Sox fans.

The Red Sox have previously offered Lowell a 3-year contract worth $36 million.

Lowell is now waiting to see if the Red Sox will up their initial offer and try to keep him in Boston, in lieu of these newest offers from the four previously mentioned teams.

Translation - "please trust us that other teams have offered Mike 4-year deals. Just add in one more year and he'll sign. Mike just wants to stay in Boston."

My guess is that a deal gets done and the Red Sox sign Lowell to a 3-year deal with a vesting 4th year option. So let it be written - so let it be done.

Throwing Stuff Against the Wall

I'm amused by this time of year. It really is the most entertaining part of the baseball season. Baseball writers just throw stuff up against the wall because every once and a while - they'll be right. I bring this up because of Ken Rosenthal's (and the AP's) report that now the Yankees want A-Rod back at third but also want to sign Mike Lowell to play 1st.

In no other area of journalism can you make the kind of claims sportswriters can make during the hot stove season. It would be akin to me having a friend who is a registered Democrat saying that Hillary should tab Colin Powell as her running mate and me running a story saying "sources inside the Democratic Party say that Hillary may make a run at Powell for VP." Then when Hillary picks someone else - completely forgetting I ever wrote anything about Colin Powell. During the hot stove season rumors of barely a scant chance of becoming real are reported as breaking news. It happens every year.

Sure its true that someone in the Yankees has probably considered Lowell at 1st and maybe that person has even talked to Lowell's agent about Lowell's willingness to play 1st. Its also true I've talked to friends about leaving my wife to hook up with with Jessica Alba. And I think if I were Hank Steinbrenner I could hook that up, too. I bet Jessica Alba digs dudes with money.

Sometimes I think baseball writers have a Yankees version "Jump to Conclusions" mat. If the Yankees bring back A-Rod and Lowell is the next best free agent available then let's all jump to the conclusion that the Yankees will obviously have to make a huge offer to Lowell and put him somewhere other than 3rd base.

The funny thing is that if the Yankees were to overpay Mike Lowell and sign him to a 4-year contract to play 1st - most Red Sox fans would be disappointed but in no way heartbroken. They would sincerely wish him well. I know it must seem contradictory for me to say that on one hand I really want Mike Lowell back but on the other not mind him being overpaid by the Yankees and leaving for the Bronx but that's the way it is.

Mike Lowell's swing was made for Fenway Park. Yankee Stadium? Not so much. Lowell knows that but if the money is overwhelming - then what are you going to do?

Most people who follow baseball know that if the Yankees developed home-grown talent and then coupled that with strategic big free agent signings - then that is when they are at their most dangerous. It's no coincidence that the Yankee dynasty came with the emergence of home grown stars like Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Rivera. It's also no coincidence that the failure years came with the meddling Steinbrenner at the helm putting together a roster of top free agents willy-nilly.

If Lowell is over-paid to play 1st - then its a sign that the clearheadedness strength through the farm system of Brian Cashman is being replaced by the whims and tantrums of the new Steinbrenner on the block. That's good news for Red Sox fans. Under Steinbrenner the ratio of people to cake is too big.

I'm especially amused by the wrinkle of Hank Steinbrenner wanting to deal with A-Rod without agent Scott Boras being involved. I can just picture the way that he explains his reasoning for wanting to deal with A-Rod directly; "Well look - I already told you. I deal with the god damn players so the agents don't have to. I have people skills. I am good at dealing with players. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Hey Brian Cashman you going fishing on Saturday? "Nah, Hank Steinbrenner's going to have me come in on Saturday - I just know it."

Cleveland Indians

Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports has a "hot stove" look at the Cleveland Indians. I got a good chuckle out of this part:

The versatile Casey Blake also is a year from free agency, and nobody recognizes his value more than Shapiro. So expect a serious attempt to keep Blake in the fold as well. Maybe that's why the Indians announced Monday they have raised prime season ticket prices by 11 percent.

Yeah - sure. Good luck to the Indians trying to justify a big ticket increase so that they can re-sign Casey Blake. To be fair - Henson had just got done saying that CC Sabathia will be a free agent after 2008 and I think he meant to justify the ticket price increase on the re-signing of both players. The way its written is ambiguous and I chose to chuckle at the idea of re-signing Casey Blake to a mega-contract causing the ducat inflation.

It's also amusing to see the love for Casey Blake when everyone was ready to give 3rd base to prospect Andy Marte before the season started.

The Indians two big needs are a starting corner outfielder and a closer. I would go after Japanese free agent outfielder Kosuke Fukodome but I'm not sure about what they can do about a closer. Francisco Cordero coming over to the AL would be just as big a risk as sticking with Joe Borowski. And Cordero would be looking for Casey Blake type money.

If the Red Sox were to lose out on Mike Lowell it would be pretty ironic that the Indians would need an outfielder (Coco Crisp) while the Red Sox big need would be a 3rd baseman (Andy Marte). I chuckle at that almost as much as Casey Blake's contract necessitating an 11% hike in ticket prices.

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.

China and the New Cold War

This is scary.

It was no accident having that Chinese sub surface where and when it did. The Chinese are actively probing our defenses for weaknesses. Make no mistake - we are in a Cold War with China.

As just one man - there's not much I can do but what I can do is stop buying any goods that say "Made in China". I used to laugh about those commercials that connected smoking pot to supporting terrorism but in this case if you buy goods made in China you really are aiding and abetting the enemy.

Between China's annexation of Tibet and their military and economic actions towards the US - t is becoming clear that we must not feed the dragon. Boycott China.

With Christmas coming - hurt the Chinese where they will feel it. Boycott Chinese goods.

CC Sabathia Wins Cy Young Award

CC Sabathia won the Cy Young Award and I for one have no argument with it. He had 19 wins, a better ERA than Josh Beckett and he led the majors in innings pitched. He deserves it.

However, what I don't get is how 2 voters could completely leave Josh Beckett off the ballot. How could one voter leave CC Sabathia off his ballot? If the Angels beat writer gave his first place vote to John Lackey - then he needs to be outed for being a homer. The writers need to have their ballot's be public. It's ridiculous.

Tiki Barber

Has anyone seen Tiki Barber? I thought he was going to be the next big thing. He was going to do sports, morning shows, commercials, everything. I can't recall the last time I saw him on TV. Not that I think that's a bad thing. I always thought he was just way too smarmy.

I don't think the Giants are missing him either. Last year after 9 games they were 6-3 just like this year. However, this year the Giants are actually scoring more without Tiki than they did with him. This year the Giants are averaging 24.4 points per game while last year after 9 games they were averaging 23.7 points per game.

Regulated Internet Poker

I think you know where I stand regarding Internet poker.

Poker is one of the most American things there is. It is a shame that people in Australia can walk into any pub and start up a game or go on line in the privacy of their own homes and play but to do so in the US would be to break the law.

Dwight Eisenhower called poker his favorite indoor sport. It is a shame on the national character that poker is becoming an outlaw sport.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Jorge Posada has signed a 4-year $52.4 million contract to stay with the Yankees. Three thoughts on this signing. First - Jorge got that extra $100,000 per year because it now makes his contract the richest in history for a catcher (Mike Piazza had a $13 million per year contract). Second - does anyone think that Jorge will be worth the money in that last year? As a 40-year old catcher or as a DH? He may not be worth the money in the 3rd year. Finally - Jorge had a career year (in hits and batting average) at age 36 - would anyone be shocked if he's named in the Mitchell Report? As a Red Sox fan - I love this signing.... The Tigers re-signed Todd Jones to a 1-year $7 million deal. It's strange that Jones gets all that money mainly due to a guy making the minimum (Joel Zumaya) getting hurt. Seriously - Jones should send $1 million over Zumaya's way as a thank you for having such great stuff but being such a clumsy bastard... I think if the Yankees didn't give Posada the 4th year then the Mets would have. I don't think the Red Sox would operate that way. I think they put a dollar number and a number of years down next to a player and very rarely will they go over those numbers. Varitek being the exception that proves the rule... I think its a sign of how much the stock in Dontrelle Willis has fallen that even in a year with no real free agent pitchers worth the money there is almost no buzz about any team acquiring Willis and he's on the market! Willis has always pitched better on the road than at home (3.85 career ERA at home vs 3.71 career road ERA) and I think that maybe the South Beach nightlife may have sucked out his mojo last season. Just saying that I'm surprised his name doesn't come up more often... Having said that the Red Sox normally don't go over what they feel a player's true worth is - it will be interesting to see if the Red Sox offer Mike Lowell a 4th year. Lowell is a great clubhouse guy and the Red Sox really don't have anyone in the minors ready to play in the bigs. Lowell just may be another exception to the rule. If not I'd look for the Red Sox to sign Brad Wilkerson to play 1st and move Kevin Youkilis to 3rd... Congrats to Dustin Pedroia for winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. He deserved it. Let's hope Josh Beckett wins the Cy Young today.

What I want for Christmas

This would be pretty cool to own. Maybe if you guys would pool your money for me - then we could outbid Groanin' Jock.

I'm bringing this up very early so that you guys have a chance to get your money together. If you can't afford this - then a flying car or a restored Stutz Bearcat will do.

Curt Schilling Wins 2008 Cy Young Award

Nick Carfardo has the break-down on Curt Schilling's contract. It's an $8 million base plus a lot of incentives. One of the incentives is very interesting. Schilling gets a cool $1 million if he receives just a single 1st, 2nd or 3rd place vote for the 2008 AL Cy Young Award.

Think about that for a minute.

You know that if Curt has an even half-decent year that some sportswriter will think to himself, "Sure I'll vote for Schilling. Why not? It's not my money - the Red Sox are rich anyway. Maybe I can get a story out of this? Maybe Curt will use that money to buy himself a new car and hey if he wants to give me his old car - hey who does that hurt?"

You KNOW that there are sportswriters thinking along those very lines. They would never voice those views though because in their eyes they are the bastions of truth, justice and the journalistic way. But we all know the thought will cross their mind and lodge there like half a ham sandwich in Michael Moore's colon.

Now think of this - what if a bunch of writers all had the same thought? They all think to themselves, "I'll give Curt my 3rd place vote and I'll call him to let him know. When he gets his money I'm sure he'll remember who made it possible." What if the race for AL Cy Young is very close like its expected to be this year or like the 1998 NL Cy Young race? A guy like Schilling could come out of nowhere to win the award. Seriously - if there are a bunch of good candidates (like this year with Beckett, Sabathia, Carmona and Lackey and reliever JJ Putz) then a wildcard gathering lots of 3rd place votes could realistically take home the award.

You may think, "Oh the baseball writers would never do something like that. They hold their votes as almost sacred." Just remember - these are the same guys who two years ago gave 2 Hall of fame votes to Greg freakin' Jefferies, 5 votes to Ozzie Guillen and another 5 votes to Hal "76 career HR" Morris. What were you thinking about their votes being sacred to them?

Then you factor in that the baseball writers' ballots are not public. Still think that they won't sink to the levels described?

All I know is that the next time I go to Las Vegas - I'm going to scour the sports books to find a joint that is taking action of the 2008 AL Cy Young Award and I'll bet the maximum on Curt Schilling to show.

NFL Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NFL thoughts and observations.

Are you in a fantasy football league? Was Peyton Manning one of the top 3 picks in your league? Is the person who drafted Manning now trying to trade him? If he wasn't yesterday - after last night's 6 interception performance I bet he's thinking about it today. In a season where Manning has been without Marvin Harrison - it's amazing how pedestrian his numbers have become. It should also be noted that Manning set the Colts record for interceptions in a game last night. Not even Jeff George managed to throw six picks in a game for the Colts... If you combined the totals from for the QB's in the Atlanta / Carolina game, the Minnesota / Green Bay game, and the Denver / Chiefs game - then you would get the exact same number of total interceptions as Peyton Manning threw all by himself.... Is it me or is Gunther Cunningham's defense in Kansas City masking just how bad a coaching job Herm Edwards is doing for the Chiefs? The Chiefs would be wise to ditch Edwards at the end of the season and bring back Marty Shottenheimer... The record for the remaining opponents for the Bills is 35-28 (but if you took out Miami it becomes 35-19). I've said it before - if Dick Jauron manages to lead the Buffalo Bills to an 8-8 record this season then he should be unanimous coach of the year... I wonder if the Dolphins have Sunday December 2nd circled on their calendars? They play the Jets at home that day and its got to be their best chance to win a game this year... The Cleveland Browns are one game back for a Wild Card playoff spot and right now I'd say they are the team you would not want to play in the first round of the playoffs.... Craphonso Thorpe? That's your real first name? I'd go with Fonzie if I were you but then again with the number of dropped passes you had last night maybe the other nickname is appropriate... Just saying but Stephen Gostkowski is 11-12 (92%) on field goals this year. Adam Vinatieri meanwhile is 16-20 (80%)...

Brad Lidge's Mechanics

A very interesting look at Brad Lidge's pitching mechanics. Very interesting.

I'd also like to note that you don't get things like this from legacy media outlets.

Excellent work by Jeff Albert.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The legend of Dustin Pedroia continues to grow. Now it comes out that he played the last 2 months of the season with a broken hamate bone. What's not to like about this guy? He plays hurt and never says a word? Pedroia could be to the Red Sox what Jeter was to the Yankees. A rookie mid-fielder who wins a World Series in his first year and becomes a symbol of team success... I've seen Mike Lowell's free agent situation compared to that of Jason Varitek a few years ago. There is one major difference that most people don't note. When Varitek was a free agent he was far and away the best catcher on the market and the rest of the alternatives would have been a clear step down from what Jason was to offer the Red Sox. This year Lowell isn't even the best free agent on the market and the Red Sox have a guy playing 1st who could take his place (the Sox would then have to get a 1st baseman). Apples and oranges. Again - for the record I want Lowell back but I will understand if the Red Sox think his price gets too out of whack... Interesting - the top 40 pitchers of the 20th century. I think the fact that Sandy Koufax is not in the top 40 points out that this is a compilation based largely on longevity and not a true rendering of "the best". In fact not having Koufax in the top 40 should have been a tip off to the authors that their methodology was not ready for prime time. I also have a big problem listing Roger Clemens over Warren Spahn...

Interesting Mario Puzo Essay

Yesterday morning while looking to see if anyone else had connected Mario Puzo to Norman Mailer - I came across this old book review done by Marion Puzo where Puzo discusses not just Buckley but also Norman Mailer.

Puzo was reviewing William F. Buckley's book The Jeweler's Eye - here are the key paragraphs:

Buckley is condescending even to Norman Mailer, a far more dangerous diversion. He loves Mailer as an artist, he says, because Mailer makes the most beautiful metaphors in the business, "as many as a dozen on a single page worth analyzing." Well, that's pretty good metaphorizing. But Mailer's reaction to that kind of praise will be like that of the chorus girl who received as a birthday present from her millionaire lover a signed photograph of himself.

Readable as it is, "The Jeweler's Eye" could have used some of the Buckley-Mailer debates and TV confrontations. Like a perfectly cast wrestling match, they were a delightful pair. (Buckley, the "English Milord," urbane to the point of snottiness, was the natural villain who drew the jeers of the lumpen-crowd by slyly fouling his opponent behind the referee's back. Mailer, the "Candy Store Kid," was the bulling, honest strongboy who earned the crowd's cheers by fouling his opponent in front of the referee.) Buckley's wit is sneaky, ambiguous, the kind of put-on wit presently labeled as "cool" but which may be chicken (to avoid getting punched in the nose). Mailer is crudely direct, mistakes abuse for wit, and openly invites a punch in the nose. It is, perhaps, no accident that Mailer takes boxing lessons and Buckley rides a motor bike. But that's another medium; perhaps the debates didn't work well in print and so were not used here.

It should be noted that the review was written well before Puzo made a name for himself as the author of The Godfather.

Notre Dame



The truth is - they stink!

I thought the Irish would come out in the second half and grind up Air Force but it was Notre Dame that was grist for the mill. They stink! They stink! They stink!

Norman Mailer Dies and I Make a Confession

Literary icon Norman Mailer has died. I'm not sure what to say. I didn't like Norman Mailer.

OK - I know that's a terrible thing to say on the day a person's death is announced but the normal niceties are different for public figures (especially for ones who tried so hard to be public). It's also probably not a wise thing for me to admit given that I consider myself a pretty well read person and yet I've never read any of Mailer's books.

I have read some of Mailer's magazine articles and interviews. They didn't leave me very sympathetic to Mr. Mailer. Oh I'm sure I'll have people who tell me that I must read The Executioner's Song or The Naked and the Dead to truly understand his genius. I'm sorry but the "glory" of those books are lost to me for I doubt I could shake reading them in any but the voice of an egomaniac bully.

Probably a good part of my bias against Mailer comes from Mario Puzo. The character Osano in the book Fools Die is a thinly veiled sketch of Mailer. And from my vantage point it was not a flattering characterization.

Today I flipped open my copy of Fools Die and I came across this paragraph that seemed completely to the point. The narrator talks about an artist working toward "truth":

The truth was that you [the writer / artist] were like a safecracker fiddling with the dial and listening for the tumblers click into place. And after a couple of years the door might swing open and you could start typing. And the hell of it was that what was in the safe was most times all that valuable.

My prejudiced against Mailer probably stems from the fact that his ego never allowed him to see that his safe was sometimes empty. The mental image I have of Mailer is as a Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone's vault to see nothing inside but instead of admitting the vault was empty Mailer would go on about the metaphor of the vault as the emptiness of modern life and the coldness of a woman's bosom.

Jeff Passan on the Red Sox

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports looks at the possible offseason moves by the Red Sox.

Passan thinks the Red Sox will be able to re-sign Mike Lowell to a 3-year deal (I hope that's true). It should be noted that if the Red Sox can't re-sign Lowell - then they would have about $25 million coming off the books (Lowell's $9 million plus Matt Clement's $9 million and a bunch of filler). That gives them the flexibility to sign a player like A-Rod but they will not sign a player to a 10-year contract. That just ain't going to happen.

One move I hope the Red Sox make is to sign Jonathan Papelbon to a long term deal (I know I just got done explaining how the Red Sox loathe long-term contracts but I think a deal with Papelbon that would take him past his first free agent year would be fiscally prudent).

After 3rd base - the big questions for the Red Sox will be:

1. Do they trade Coco Crisp and if so for who?
2. What do they do about a back-up catcher? I don't think the Red Sox want to carry Doug Mirabelli and his useless bat.

Happy 232nd Marines

Today is the 232nd birthday for the United States Marine Corps.

In honor of the Marines - here's my favorite Ronald Reagan quote:

Some people live their entire lifetime and wonder if they ever made a difference to the world. Marines don't have that problem. -- January 1995

Notre Dame

It has come to this - Notre Dame is playing a service academy at home and yet they find themselves 3.5 point underdogs.

Air Force is a fine team at 7-3 for the year but I think the betting line may have more to do with people wanting to see Notre Dame fail than reality. Yes - Notre Dame is having the worst season in memory but they should have beat Navy and Navy unmanned Air Force 31-20 with Air Force playing on the road.

Air Force is a running team and the Irish will probably have the biggest defensive front 7 the Falcons will face all year. The Irish are susceptible more to passing teams.

Its been 11 years since Air Force was able to defeat Notre Dame. In 1996 the Falcons beat the Irish 20-17 in overtime in South Bend. If the Irish were getting 3.5 points they would have covered.

I see the Irish winning outright today. It has come to this - a victory over Air Force is something to crow about in South Bend.

Pump Up the Crowd Noise

Somethings been bothering me and its this statement from Colts GM Bill Polian:

Q: Can you comment on the allegations that the Colts artificially piped-in crowd noise at the RCA Dome Sunday?

A: I’m not sure that (Patriots Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick had any comments about crowd noise. There were a number of comments made on what I would call disreputable websites (Monday) morning. We reacted to it because we felt like it was an affront to our fans and to the integrity of our organization. I will read you a statement we issued earlier Monday. It says the following: ‘In reference to questions regarding the audio transmission of yesterday’s game, please refer to the following statement from the NFL: CBS has informed us that the unusual audio moment heard by fans during the Patriots-Colts game was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast. It was in no way related to any sound within the stadium and could not be heard in the stadium. We close with the following sentence: We trust this will put an end to the ridiculous and unfounded accusations that the Colts artificially enhanced crowd noise at the RCA Dome in any way.

These's an old joke that goes, "How do you say Fuck You in Hollywood?" "Trust me." If you notice - Polian never comes out and says "We do not pump in crowd noise." What he says is that CBS has taken the blame for the "audio moment" and that he "trusts" this will put an end to the accusations. Polian was very, very careful with his wording. Its a non-denial denial if I ever heard one.

The answer seems easy to me. For the next 3 big games at the RCA Dome - have NFL technicians monitor the noise coming out of the speakers. The NFL could then compare the audio levels from those three monitored games against similar previous games. They could use the video from NFL films to do this. My guess is that when the monitored games will have noticably lower audio levels.

Officials from first the Steelers and now the Patriots have brought up the pumped up crowd noise and we get non-denial denials from the Colts. I think where there's smoke - there's fire.

Heh Heh

Dr. Tits

OK - so I'm as mature as a 10-year old sometimes.

HT College Humor

Astros Trade Lidge to Phillies

Yes it was a 5-player trade but really this trade was all about Brad Lidge. The Phillies are the big winner in this trade. The Astros fans are the losers.

The Phillies get a closer with great stuff who can sometimes be a bit wild but they don't give up any of their top prospects. Almost more importantly they get to move Brett "they just don't F'n listen" Myers back to the rotation. This year a decent 3rd or 4th starter will cost at least $6 million per year in a multi-year deal. Lidge will probably only cost the Phillies $6 million for 1-year. Then he's likely to leave as a free agents and the Phillies will probably get 2 high draft picks when he walks out the door. Those draft picks will basically cancel out the prospects the Phillies sent to Houston. A patient man could argue that the Phillies are basically getting Lidge for free.

For the Astros - this is a salary dump as much as anything. Sure they get to say they are getting a speedy centerfielder in Michael Bourn but really what they are doing is a pure salary dump. They just saved $6 million from their bottom line. Michael Bourn.

Watch as the Astros talk about pursuing this free agent or that free agent. Don't bet on them signing any big names though. The Astros are cutting salary this year - not adding it.

Heh Heh - Grumpy Old Shula

This is hilarious.

I can just picture Don Shula saying all that stuff. Now I have the image stuck in my head of Don Shula doing an add for "the clapper". (Shula is sitting in a Lazy-Boy watching a TV with rabbit ears while the Patriots score a TD on screen. Angry Shula vigorously claps his hands and the TV clicks off. A chorus sings "Clap on - clap off - the Clapper." In the distance a dog barks.)

Six Man Rotation for Red Sox

Will the Red Sox go to a 6-man rotation next year? According to this very well written article - it is a very real possibility.

One of the keys to the Red Sox victory in the postseason this year was the fact that their starters were fresh. The Cleveland Indians dynamic duo of CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona seemed worn down and were not effective versus the potent Red Sox lineup. I personally think you can trace that back to Sabathia leading all of baseball in innings pitched and Carmona being asked to throw 141 more innings this year than he did the year before.

Read the link - the 6-man rotation seems to have the Curt Schilling stamp of approval.

Yankees Offer A-Rod Arbitration

Oh my goodness gracious. Of all the dramatic things I've seen in my life - Alex Rodriguez is in the owners box getting the Yankees a sandwich (pick).

This is a no-brainer move by Brian Cashman. The Yankees will get a 1st round pick plus a sandwich pick from the team that signs A-Rod (making A-Rod even less attractive to teams that value draft picks like the Red Sox). Now Cashman just has to offer Andy Pettitte arbitration just to insure he doesn't have a Roger Clemens recurrence (where the player says he's going to retire - then poof - signs with another team).

No draft is as much of a crap shoot as the baseball draft but it should be remembered that the draft is the way to get young players into the system. It should also be noted that the Red Sox used the sandwich pick they received for Pedro Martinez signing with the Mets to draft Clay Buchholz. If the Yankees had offered Roger Clemens arbitration they could have had two shots to draft an impact pitcher. Can you imagine what the Yankees could have done this year with the equivalent of another Phillip Hughes or a Clay Buchholz?

HT Baseball Musings

Heh Heh

(Not really in the mood to post anything - so I'm recycling some old jokes.)

These two old ladies, Myrtle and Mildred, are at the beach, when Myrtle notices that Mildred's pack of cigarettes have a condom stretched over it.

"Why on earth did you do that, Mildred?"

"It's the best way I've ever found to keep the sand out of my cigarettes while at the beach!"

So the next day, Myrtle goes to the drug store, and tells the pharmacist that she'd like a pack of condoms. The pharmacist is surprised, and says, "Well, Ok, but they come in different styles and sizes. Do you know what you what?"

Myrtle responds, "I really don't care as long as they work on a pack of Camels."

Heh Heh

Pinocchio was receiving complaints from his girlfriend about consummating their passions. "Every time we make love," she said, "I get splinters!" So he went back to his maker, Gipetto, the carpenter, to ask for advice. "Sandpaper my boy, that's what you need," was the carpenter's response. A couple of weeks later the carpenter saw Pinocchio again, "How are you getting on with the girls now?" "Who needs girls?" replied Pinocchio.

Hot Stove Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Washington Nationals forgotten man has to be 1st baseman Nick Johnson who missed all of last season with complications that arose from a broken leg. Johnson is known as a player with a sweet swing and even better plate discipline but who just can't stay healthy. The Nationals signed Dmitri Young to an extension so Nick Johnson's $5.5 million contract may very well be in play. Who needs a 1st baseman or a DH?... Speaking of the Nationals - they seem intent on making a splash signing a centerfielder (Torii Hunter is the hot rumor). I wonder where that leaves Ryan Church? Maybe - just maybe - if the Red Sox fail to sign Mike Lowell at 3rd and the Nationals cannot land the "name" free agent CF - then the Red Sox and Nationals could do a Coco Crisp for Nick Johnson and Ryan Church deal. The Red Sox could then move Kevin Youkilis to 3rd, hope for the best health-wise with Johnson at 1st and have a solid 4th outfielder in Church. Of course this won't happen because the Red Sox will re-sign Mike Lowell (to a reasonable 3-year $40 million contract)... Who has had the harder time over the years? The Twins trying to fill 3rd base or the Phillies trying to fill the closer role?.... Will anyone be surprised if the St. Louis Cardinals completely implode next season? Not me... If I were a team that needed a 3rd baseman - I would approach the Pirates about what they would want for Freddy Sanchez... Finally let me say this about the Red Sox re-signing Curt Schilling - GOOD! This was such a no-brainer from the Red Sox point of view. Schilling was the top available free agent pitcher on the market and he just wanted one year. Good for Schilling for choosing the lifestyle and family considerations over the take the money and run approach. The Red Sox are in a great position right now. Their big need is to sign their 3rd baseman (who also wants to stay put) and find a back-up catcher. The Red Sox also have the prospects available to make a deal for a Johan Santana or Miguel Cabrera. Good time to be a Red Sox fan...

F-15's Grounded

The entire fleet of F-15 fighter jets has been grounded as a precautionary measure.

If you read the article it states that the F-15 is scheduled to be replaced by the F-22 but that's incorrect. Most of the current F-15's will be replaced by the more cost effective F-35 (is it too much to ask for the LA Times to get that detail right?).

The state of our Air Force really is almost at crisis stages. The F-15's (which make up the bulk of our fighters) are on average about 24-years old per plane. The tankers which are used to refuel the planes in flight are almost literally relics from the Eisenhower administration. The helicopters used to find and rescue downed pilots are also about ready for mandatory retirement. This is an end to end crisis that puts the very security of the nation in peril.

I offer two analogies that I think fit the current situation.

First our current Air Force capability is like a big city police force that has a limited elite SWAT team made up of the best professionals that training and money can provide but every other policeman on the force is a months from retirement beat cop who probably would have a heart attack if forced to run down a criminal in a foot race. Sure the SWAT team is great to have (and necessary) but they are really only good after the fact and in limited deployment. Just like the Air Force and the stealth fighters and bombers.

Second analogy. Most people with an older family vehicle get to a point where the expense of repairing and maintaining a car make the purchase of a new car not just feasible but the fiscally responsible thing to do. Imagine that you reached that point but were told that you had to instead keep paying for new transmissions and power trains instead of just buying that new car. Imagine that the reason you had to keep the older car was because someone somewhere decided you had to keep the local mechanic in business. That's the situation the Air Force finds themselves in today.

It should be an outrage.

I can't help but think that besides deaths by roadside IED's - whenever I read about a number of military personnel dying it is usually in an air crash during a training exercise. You almost never read about the age or vintage of the craft they were flying in but that piece of information should be mandatory in every report. There needs to be outrage to get Congress to do the right thing. That's the sad state of affairs things have sunk to.

Schilling and Pettitte

Some news on the status of two veteran pitchers that reflects the status of the two franchises as well as the status of the pitchers themselves.

First, Rob Bradford - a very reliable source - reports that a one year deal to bring Curt Schilling back to the Sox is in the process of getting done. Schilling had been asking for a 1-year $13 million deal. It seems that he's going to have to accept something less than that if Schilling wants to stay.

Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte has declined his option with the Yankees. Supposedly Pettitte is still trying to decide if he wants to play next year or retire. I may be cynical but I'm guessing whether or not the Yankees are able to re-sign Jorge Posada to catch his games and Mariano Rivera to close his games will have a big impact on whether Pettitte wants to come back to the Bronx for another year.

I just find the juxtaposition of the two situations amusing. Schilling is practically begging to come back to the World Champion Red Sox and is willing to take a a below market contract to do so while Pettitte wants to watch the turmoil in the Bronx unfold a bit more before deciding what to do. It's amusing to see how Boston has become the stable franchise where players want to play in order to have the best chance to win a ring while the Yankees are quickly becoming the Baltimore Orioles.

It should also be noted that Pettitte has said he either will play in pinstripes next year or retire but has still filed his free agency papers. It would be a huge mistake for the Yankees not to offer Pettitte arbitration. Remember a couple of years ago when Clemens said he was retiring (the first time) and then turned around and signed with Houston? Because the Yankees took Roger at his word and did not offer him arbitration - they cost themselves two top draft picks.

Baseball GM Meetings Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous hot stove baseball thoughts and observations.

The Texas Rangers need a centerfielder. The Red Sox have two. If the Rangers lose out on the top centerfield free agents then a Coco Crisp for Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade could be good for both teams (good for the Red Sox at least). The Red Sox big needs are a corner infielder (if Mike Lowell is not re-signed) and a back-up catcher. Saltalamacchia could fill both those needs. Note - I wouldn't be against keeping Coco as a 4th outfielder or as insurance that Jacoby Ellsbury doesn't have a sophomore slump but I think Salty is going to be the real deal... Greg Maddux has reportedly re-signed with the Padres for a 1-year deal worth $10 million. Maddux is a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Last season he managed 34 starts and almost 200 IP. I REALLY hope that Roger Clemens doesn't come back next season and that Maddux wins at least 8 games to pass Clemens and take over 8th place on the all-time wins list. Maddux would need 14 wins to tie Kid Nichols in 7th place. I think the low key way Maddux went about re-signing with the Padres compared to the mercenary "look at me" way Clemens operates speaks volumes about the two pitchers as people... With the Yankees picking up the option on Bobby Abreu - it seems to me they have a logjam in the outfield. Melky Cabrera should be the starting CF and now with Abreu back in RF - that leaves Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui to fight it out for LF at bats and time at DH. Do they trade Damon (as has been rumored to the White Sox) or do they try to trade Jason Giambi? It seems to me that something has to give... Keep in mind that the Blue Jays collect their revenue in Canadian dollars but pay the players in US dollars. That means that the Canadian dollar going above a 1 for 1 exchange rate creates a windfall for the Blue Jays. Will they use this extra fiscal muscle to sign a big name player this offseason? I wouldn't recommend it but it should be noted that short is their big need and they have the money to take on a Miguel Tejada contract. I know Tejada is diminishing skills incarnate but he's also a big name and the Blue Jays could actually use a gate attraction...

NFL Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NFL thoughts and observations.

The Buffalo Bills are a tough team when they play at home. So far this season they are 3-2 at home with both losses coming by a single point in each game. Who could have guessed that half way through the season the Bills would have as many wins as the Chargers and more wins than the Bears or Eagles? Dick Jauron has to get serious consideration for coach of the year if he can somehow manage to get this Bills team to finish at .500 for the season... Every prediction you saw for the Patriots / Colts game had the game being a high scoring shootout. Everybody loved the over in the game. I thought the Colts would try a ball control running attack and with everybody going one way on the over / under I normally go the other. Yet I did not take the under in yesterday's game and today I'm kicking myself... Detroit may just be unbeatable when they play at home. The Lions are now 4-0 at home with the shellacking of the Broncos yesterday.... The Colts may tell themselves that the results would be different if they played the Patriots again with a healthy Marvin Harrison but the truth is the Colts received some very favorable calls from the referees yesterday and were helped by playing at home. If the Colts do play the Patriots again it will be at Foxboro and I'm guessing the margin of victory for the Pats will be more than 4 points... Adrian Peterson is a horse. I think he's a taller Marshall Faulk or a stronger Eric Dickerson. Yesterday Peterson set the single game rushing record with 296 yards but I'd guess that he's going to break that record at least 2 more times in his career... Randy Moss is just incredible. He had another 100-yard receiving game getting 145 yards on 9 catches. I know he could get more money elsewhere at the end of the season but I really hope he re-signs with the Patriots. With Tom Brady reluctant to do any commercials - Randy Moss can become the face of the Patriots and make up whatever salary shortfall he has with commercial opportunities... One final note - do you realize that Tom Brady has as many TD passes (33) as Peyton Manning (14) and Tony Romo (19) combined? That's incredible... Damn! Just one more thought - yesterday the Lions had Jon Kitna play the entire game even though they were up by 37 points in the 4th quarter. The Lions then scored another TD to make it 44-0 with Kitna still in the game. My question is this - where are all the talking heads today complaining about the Lions running up the score? If this was the Patriots it would be the lead story everywhere...

Pool Hustlers

A couple of things to mention today regarding pool hustlers. First is this very interesting look at modern pool hustlers at the Derby City Classic from SI. The article is basically an except of the book Running the Table by L. Jon Wertheim.

Today also happens to be the anniversary of the death of Arnold Rothstein who died from being shot in the gut (many speculate that he was shot because he welshed on a large poker debt). Rothstein is mainly remembered as a gangster and as the man who may have been behind the 1919 World Series fix. It should also be remembered that Rothstein got his start as a pool hustler and is the centerpiece of one of the most memorable matches in history.

The group brought Jack Conway, a Philadelphia sportsman and accomplished jockey, who happened to be an expert pool player, to town. One night at Jack’s, a popular Manhattan hangout, Rothstein walked in and was invited to sit down with the group as they discussed baseball and prizefights. During this talk it came out that Conway was “probably” the best amateur pool player in the country. Rothstein, unaware of Conway’s background or that he was being set up, sensed a challenge and jumped at it.

The two men agreed to play to 100 points for $500 at John McGraw’s Billiard Parlor. The game began on a Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. By the time it ended, at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning, some 36 hours later, Rothstein was rumored to have won over $10,000. The match received so much publicity that it was reported on in two of the New York City newspapers. In one account Rothstein was referred to as “a well-known sportsman.”

The above is from the Crime Library's mini biography of Arnold Rothstein. Well worth the read if you are interested in that sort of thing. Below I've put a link to perhaps the best biography of Rothstein if you want to read more.

Boston College Loses to Florida State

Last night the Boston College Eagles came up short in their bid for an undefeated season by losing to Florida State 27-17. It was 20-17 with a little over a minute to go and everyone watching expected to see Matt Ryan lead the Eagles to a victory. Instead Ryan threw an interception which was returned for the final TD of the game.

Now that Matt Ryan and BC have been knocked off their pedestals - the doubters will be free to kick them when BC is down. Here's the mistake - BC isn't down. They are 8-1 (4-1 in the ACC) and are still in line to get a major bowl birth and in great shape to win the ACC.

The weather in Chestnut Hills last night was bad. The weather was so bad that many of my friends raced to place bets on the game going under the total of 38.5 points with the thinking that nobody would be able to score in those conditions. I bring this up to to emphasize how bad the weather was and to point out that I hang out with some degenerate gamblers. I'm sure Matt Ryan and BC would never use the weather as an excuse as to why they lost and I make no excuses for my friends.

I will admit to having a 180 degree change in my thinking about BC deserving their high ranking and now my thinking is damn right they deserve their high ranking. Last night they lost to a good Florida State team (though a team I grant is prone to Jeckle and Hyde performances). This is the same Florida State team that beat the Alabama team who almost beat LSU last night. Sure BC lost last night and had to pull out the Virginia Tech game in the last 2 minutes but the LSU team everyone want to jump over BC in the rankings is always playing from behind it seems.

The past 4 games for LSU have been Pepto-Bismal affairs. Easily LSU could have lost any of the 4 games (similar to the stumbles the pundit favorite Florida Gators have taken). I ask the simple question - on a neutral field who would win versus the Florida State Seminoles and the Kentucky Wildcats? I think that would be a pretty even game and yet just watch as the "experts" use BC's loss as proof they they don't belong with the big boys while at the same time dismissing LSU's loss to Kentucky as an aberration.

Let me also ask who would win on a neutral field between the 6-3 Florida State and the 6-3 California Golden Bears. Cal was the one team to beat Oregon - another team the "experts" will leap frog over BC in the polls. Really wouldn't a Florida State / Cal game be about even? Why then is the Oregon loss looked at as an aberration while BC's loss will be proof that they are over their head?

Just remember that these are the same "experts" who had the preseason polls so utterly wrong. Also remember not to count out BC and Matt Ryan. Look for BC to take Maryland to the woodshed next week and look for Ryan to have another 400-yard passing night to boot.

Ask ESPN.com's Page 2

Have a problem you just can't find a solution to? We've all been there, but why worry about it when all you need do to solve all your problems is Ask ESPN.com's Page 2?

Take a read as the sage wisdom flows from the collective wit and wisdom of the guys ESPN.com hired but really don't want people reading:

Dear Page 2:

When Page 2 first started it was great. You had Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Simmons and David Halberstam. Now its Bill Simmons and a bunch of guys who I've never heard of and who have never been in my kitchen. I guess my question is how did you guys manage to go from so good to so bad in such a short time period?
-- You Guys Really Suck

You Guys Really Suck

We have to disagree with your premise. Page 2 has simply evolved over the years. Sure we used to have big names in the past and lots of daily traffic but now its not uncommon for some of our stuff to have no byline. A collective effort if you will. We think that the quantity of writers on Page 2 more than makes up for the quality.
-- Page 2


Dear Page 2:

Talentless hacks with no sense of humor say what?
-- Flaming Page of Poo

Flaming Page of Poo

What?
-- Page 2
Dear Page 2;

I absolutely love your ongoing faux tribute to the great Andy Kaufman with your Jim Caple stunt. Andy used to go on stage and do really strange stuff that made no sense. He did it as his own private joke. At first I thought Jim Caple's writing was incredibly bad and that his humor was non-existent. Then I realized that he had to be doing this on purpose. I mean nobody could be that tone deaf to humor. Now you've staged Caple's disappearance (just like people think Andy staged his own death). Kudos for the "inside" joke.
-- Singing the Mighty Mouse Theme in Athens

Singing the Mighty Mouse Theme in Athens

We don't know what you are talking about. Jim Caple is a fine writer and he continues to write for us. In fact we consider his type of sense of humor the measuring stick for which all new hires are measured.
-- Page 2

Dear Page 2;

Why don't you guys keep Bill Simmons, fire everyone else and then use the money you save to buy Deadspin? I mean at least then you'll be relevant again.
-- Page 2 is So Unfunny

Page 2;

We really would prefer not to think about that idea.
-- Page 2

(The idea for this post came from this no by-line piece of crap I read this morning. Every time I read something from page 2 I get upset with myself for wasting that time which I'll never get back.)

College Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous college football thoughts and observations.

Dominic Randolph of Holy Cross goes into Saturday as the leader in 1-AA in passing yards with 2,607 and I've been told that even though he's not one of the players pictured at the Payton Award Watch list that he is on the list. Randolph has a slim lead (one single yard) over Elon's Scott Riddle. It should be noted that even though both Randolph and Riddle have 23 passing TD's - Randolph has only thrown 5 interceptions compared to Riddle's 8 picks. I did not realize till this morning though that Scott Riddle is just a freshman... BTW - Elon is in North Carolina. I did not know that... Expert trash picker? It seems like a good description for a defensive back but kinda gross when it is meant literally...

Now I Just Need the Excercise Part

This is good news. Beer after working out is good for you.

Does that mean that beer without working out is just as good?

Fredo Corleone for President?


I saw this bumpersticker and I did a double take. My brain first thought "Fredo 8?" And wondered what the heck that means. Then it registered - oh Fred Thompson for President in 08. Now I get it.

Not sure if the Fred Thompson people thought that one all the way through because any comparisons to the weakest of the Corleone brothers can't be good. On the other hand - Fredo 8 would be a good name for a band.

Patriots Running Up the Score

The topic of the Patriots supposedly running up the score continues to be a sports talk staple. A couple of things occurred to me while listening to the blather.

First, when speaking of highly paid athletes - many people pull out the justification that pro athletes are entertainers and when compared to TV and movie stars and that the athletes are actually underpaid. (As an aside I also remember many of the very same people who are now complaining about Tom Brady and the rest of the starters playing in the 4th quarter are the very same people who were complaining that in pre-season games that Brady and the starters did not play enough - that the consumer wasn't getting their monies worth.)

Second, often pro football players are compared to gladiators in the ring.

My mind has coupled these two thoughts and now I cannot help but seeing Maximus from the movie Gladiator when I see Patriots coach Bill Belichick. My hope is that the Patriots crush the Colts on Sunday and at the end of the game Belichick throws his headset into the crowd yelling:

"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

Hot Stove Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous offseason baseball thoughts and observations.

Less than a week removed from the Red Sox winning the World Series and the sentimentality is starting to drop by the wayside. Monday if you asked me - I would have said that the Red Sox need to do whatever it takes to sign Mike Lowell. Today I'm not so sure. Yes I think it would be worth it to sign Lowell to something like a 3-year $40 million deal but anything over that in time or in money may not be worth it. Don't get me wrong - I want Lowell back and I think even though he's 34-years old I don't see a great drop off for Lowell either offensively or defensively, however, I do see him being dead money in 2011 if a 4th year is added to the contract... I would bring back Curt Schilling for the one-year deal he's looking for. The Red Sox have Josh Beckett, Dice-K, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholtz in the rotation for next year but Tim Wakefield is a question mark. Having Schilling back as the number 3 starter (he did have a 3.34 ERA post All-Star game this year) would take the pressure off the younger pitchers and would be insurance against injury. There is no pitcher available for free agency that could give the Red Sox such a known quantity at just a one-year deal. If all six starters remain healthy that also gives the Red Sox the flexibility to rest the starters more often which paid big dividends during the playoffs this year. Even though you are over-paying Schilling at $13 million its just for one year and that allows them to wait for the free agent class after next season to add a big arm... If I were Joe Girardi - I would be lighting prayer candles around the clock hoping that Andy Pettitte returned to pitch for the team in 2008. Pettitte is the rock of the Yankees pitching staff. All the other starters have question marks - Wang is so-so away from home, Mussina may be cooked, Hughes is young and has injury issues and Chamberlain may be better suited to the bullpen. The Yankees need Pettitte if they are to contend next year... I'm sure the Red Sox will offer Eric Gagne arbitration. It will be interesting to see down the line what becomes of the draft picks the Red Sox will get when Gagne signs elsewhere... I wasn't aware that Tom Werner was such a disliked person in San Diego. Just knowing that he had anything to do with Rosanne signing that national anthem that time makes my respect for Werner drop several notches...

This is a Story Worth Keeping an Eye On

Hillary Clinton is being held accountable by a couple of bloggers who have filed an FEC complaint about her shady fund raising.

Follow the money used to a mantra of Woodward and Bernstein wannabes. It will be interesting to see what play this story gets in the MSM. On one hand many outlets don't want to get on the wrong side of the Clinton's but on the other they cannot risk lagging behind a story that could turn out to be really big.

My guess is that the blogosphere will do all the heavy lifting and not just the right. There are many blogs on the left who don't like Hillary and they will be just as active.

People want a chief executive to be trustworthy with financial matters whether that person is CEO, governor or President. It will be "the economy stupid" in 2008 election and Hillary's fund raising scandals along with Bill's ties to the Chinese coupled with coddling illegal immigrants will be the three strikes which, in my opinion, will ultimately cost Hillary the White House.

Belichick Derangement Syndrome

Lyford has an excellent post on the Patriots and the critics who have come out of the woodwork lately. I think he hits the nail on the head that Belichick and the Patriots know exactly what they are doing and which records they will be breaking and I'm all for it.

I do think he has the term wrong though. He mentions "Patriots Derangement Syndrome" but more correctly it should be "Belichick Derangement Syndrome" since almost all of the animosity is aimed at coach hoodie.

With $1.25 Beers - The Yankees would be the Toast of MLB

This was a great post.

I think almost every baseball fan would agree that they would rather have $1.25 beer than have Derek Jeter on the roster. Waive Jeter and even I will become a Yankees fan.

Running Up the Score

The Cold, Hard Football Facts looks at whether the Patriots have been running up the score and more importantly - how has been saying that they have.

I also want to point out that anyone who has ever played football knows that when you go half-speed - that's when you get hurt. I'm not saying that the Patriots aren't playing with a "screw you" attitude right now but I am asking "what else would you have them do?"

A-Rod

Two wrong thinking articles on where Alex Rodriguez will end up and what I think is a very understated slam at A-Rod.

First Rich Lederer (who I greatly respect) suggests that Boston may be in the hunt for A-Rod. That ship sailed long ago. The Boston owners are very savvy marketing wise and they know that the distaste for A-Rod among "Red Sox Nation" can only harm their brand. They've won 2 World Series without A-Rod - why would they want to take on such a potential albatross of a contract? My guess is that either they sign Mike Lowell or they move Kevin Youkilis to 3rd and have a lefty/righty platoon or someone lower cost like Brad Wilkerson at 1st. Rich Lederer is wrong in thinking Boston will be in on the bidding for A-Rod.

Next, Johan Keri (who I've never heard of) of ESPN.com's Page 2 suggests that just maybe Atlanta might be in on the bidding. Here's Keri's smoking gun logic:

Come to think of it, Renteria made $10 million in 2007. Andruw Jones, who's becoming a free agent, made $14 million. Bob Wickman won't be back, shaving another $6.5 million. The Braves would be on the hook for a chunk of Mike Hampton's $14.5 million salary in '08, then he'd be gone too. Hey, wait a minute ... (the light clicks on) ... they could make a run at A-Rod!

See - that's why I don't bother with ESPN's Page 2 anymore. The Braves need to lock up Mark Teixeira and the words "biggest contract in baseball" and "Atlanta Braves" just don't mix.

Finally, SI's Jon Heyman takes a look at possible landing spots for A-Rod and he manages to toss in this gem (emphasis added):

[San Francisco] Ownership is sick of losing, well-heeled and willing to go for the gusto, as they proved last winter when they spent $126 million for Barry Zito, a No. 2 pitcher who pitched like a No. 4. They also seem to love the idea of employing a megastar to market around and might want the chance to celebrate an all-time home-run record without any taint. The lovely city would also allow A-Rod to pursue his cultural interests.

I may be wrong but I think Heyman just took a jab at A-Rod's sexual proclivities and maybe even his sexual orientation. Heh heh - nicely done.

Democratic Debate

I watched the Democratic Presidential candidates debate from Drexel University and I haven't seen such comedy on TV in a long time. In case you missed it - let me sum it up for you.

Dennis Kucinich sees aliens and Hillary wants to give them drivers licenses.

EDIT: Damn! Kathryn Jean Lopez beat me to the punchline by 40 minutes!

Just Saying

The odds for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to win the World Series in 2008 are 100-1.

The odds for Dennis Kucinich to win the Presidency in 2008 are also 100-1.

The odds are via Bodog.

No real point in bringing this up. I just find it amusing to think of Dennis Kucinich as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Presidential candidates.

Matt Ryan

Some people continue to be blinded when it comes to Matt Ryan and his chances for the Heisman Award. I'm talking to you Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com.

Neither team would be in the championship hunt without them. Same for Ryan. But this week I can't vote him No. 1, or even No. 2 [in Heisman rankings]. It shouldn't matter, but it does. Thursday is going to stick with me as a Heisman voter. Ryan could end up being the ACC Player of the Year, even an All-American. But I'll remember those first 56 minutes more than the final four.

Dennis - I posit that if you knew what you were talking about that those final 4 minutes would count way more than the first 56. The only person I've seen or heard make this point is Sean McDonough during Friday's Boise State telecast. McDonough correctly noted that Ryan calls his own plays when the team goes into the 2-minute offense which they did during the final 4-minutes of the Virginia Tech game. Ryan was not only making the big plays - he was calling them as well.

Hot Stove Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous hot stove baseball thoughts and observations.

The biggest item on the Red Sox offseason "to-do" list is to sign Mike Lowell. I think in spring training they could have gotten a 2-year $20 million deal done but now it will probably be at least 3-years and $40 million. Here's what I wrote about signing Lowell back in April:

One final note - if the Red Sox let Mike Lowell's contract lapse into free agency then they run the risk of being used as a pawn by Scott Boras in his attempt to get A-Rod an even bigger payday. Signing Mike Lowell before the end of the season lets them avoid that circus.

Edgar Renteria traded to Tigers. I like this trade for both teams. The Braves acquire a couple of top prospects and the Tigers fill their top need at short. By shedding Renteria's contract the Braves now have close to $20 million (Renteria's contract and Andruw Jone's money) to sign Mark Teixeira and fill the hole in centerfield. I admit that my first thought when I saw this trade was that the Braves would bring back Marcus Giles at a reduced price and move Kelly Johnson over to short (similar to the Rangers moving Michael Young to short when A-Rod was traded) but that was silly. Giles may have been a fan favorite but his time has past. More likely the Braves will hand short to Yunel Escobar... I just don't see Joe Torre going to the Dodgers. He could easily make as much doing advertisements in New York and occasional talks to business groups as he would make as manager of the Dodgers. Why would he want the headache?

SCHIP - Care Enough to Smoke?

A-Rod Classless

Scott Miller is not happy with Alex Rodriguez and he goes all scatological on his ass:

There is no such restraint on individual players. So Sunday night, we learn this is the only way A-Rod has figured out a way to get himself into a World Series.

By squatting and dumping on it.

Now there's an image to ponder over breakfast. Miller wasn't done with the bathroom imagery:

But A-Rod urinating on the World Series, the arrogance of his bankrupt soul growing faster than the national debt?

This was a huge mistake by A-Rod and Scott Boras and I think it will cost A-Rod millions of dollars because the outcry against this blatant "look at me" attention whore timing gives the lie to Boras' attempt to market A-Rod as a guy people will want to watch.

Ronald Reagan vs. Ted Baxter

Time for another installment of the Ronald Reagan vs. Ted Baxter betting NFL football contest.

The conservative theory of NFL betting is to take a home team getting 3 or fewer points. Who is more conservative than Ronald Reagan? Note - this theory does not include games which are a "pick". The Ted Baxter theory of football betting says to take the NFL teams getting 10 or more points under the idea that both teams are professionals and how much difference could there be between two groups of professionals? Ted Baxter used this method to soundly whip Lou Grant betting football games.

Week 8 NFL Picks

Ronald Reagan - going into Sunday the Ronald Reagan theory has been 8-5 for the season. Sunday, however, was not a good day for the Ronald Reagan Theory as it went 0-3 with St. Louis getting 3 losing to the Browns, Minnesota getting 1 losing to the Eagles, and San Francisco getting 2.5 losing to New Orleans. That puts the Ronald Reagan Theory at .500 for the season at 8-8.


Ted Baxter - going into Sunday Ted's record was at 5-8-1 for the season. On Sunday Ted's theory went 1-2 with the Dolphins getting 10 covering, San Diego easily covering giving 10 and the Patriots giving 15 smoking the Redskins. That puts the Ted Theory at 6-10-1 for the season. It should be noted that if you did not include the Patriots games (I don't think even Ted Baxter would bet against the Patriots) then the Ted Baxter theory becomes 6-7 for the season.

Monday Sports Hangover



The above picture is real and the article Bush is holding up was a real article. It seems unreal - like a photoshop job but its real (though I'd bet that the photo in the article is a photoshop job). Today being a sports fan in Boston seems unreal but it too is real. Last night the Red Sox won the World Series and the New England Patriots just completely blew away the Washington Redskins.

Did I mention that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series? For the second time in 4 years. Unreal. I went out to watch the game and everyone I was with seemed to feel the same way. It just wasn't the same as in 2004. Now its kind of expected. No more people saying things like "Now I can die in peace." Now we expect the Red Sox to make the playoffs and beat the teams they are supposed to beat - like the Colorado Rockies. We have become the 1996 Yankees.

The winning of the World Series against the Rockies was so expected that most of the buzz around New England today is actually about the New England Patriots who completely dismantled the Redskins. When the Pats decided to go for it on 4th down - not once but twice - everyone in that bar I was at gave the same laugh of "Huh oh". Many have been complaining that the Patriots are running up the score but they are not taking ANY prisoners this year. They are truly a special team. I truly believe that the defense is pissed off today that they didn't get the shut out. They are so special that even the morning after the Red Sox won the World Series (for the second time in 4 years) - they are sharing billing on sports talk show radio. For a regular season victory!

Last week I mused that it would be interesting to have a prop bet between the number of runs the Red Sox scored in the World Series against the number of points the Patriots would score on Sunday. The final score of that prop bet would have been 52-29 Patriots. Unreal.

How good are the Patriots? Consider that next week they play the undefeated reigning Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis and they are favored by 4.5 points!

The Patriots are scary good. They are potentially 1986 Celtics greatest team in history good.

I feel bad for the Boston College Eagles who are also putting together a potential once in a lifetime season. BC is #2 in the country and they have a QB who is now the front runner for the Heisman Trophy. Anywhere else in the country and everyone is going crazy for the team. Except here in New England where the Red Sox just won the World Series (for the second time in 4 years) and the Patriots are putting together a once in a lifetime season.

World Series Notes

Miscellaneous World Series thoughts and observations.

The Red Sox now lead the series 3-0 and in the past when a team goes up 3-0 they win the series (22 out of 22 times)... With the series all but over in most people's minds - it is understandable that some folks like myself can't help but think of next year already. I have to say that I feel for Coco Crisp. Sure his offense was so-so this year but his defense was stellar. Every night it seemed you'd see Coco on ESPN's web gems. It is clear though that Jacoby Ellsbury is going to be the starting centerfielder from here on out. Coco has two more years on his contract (with and option for 2010) at reasonable prices - $4.75 million in 2008 and $5.75 million in 2009. Everyone will point to Atlanta, Minnesota and the Phillies as natural trading partners because those teams will likely be losing their centerfielders to free agency. The Red Sox will most likely trade Coco for prospects but why not shoot for the moon and offer Crisp, Jon Lester and a prospect to the Twins for Johan Santana?... I think Eric Gangne may even be booed during the celebration parade... I'm hoping that the Red Sox sweep and that Jon Lester gets the win. Can you imagine how inspirational that will be (not that Lester isn't already inspirational) to cancer patients all over the country (and world)? Even if you hate "Red Sox Nation" - you have to root for this guy... Its at the point now that when I see Mike Lowell on TV - I hear the Teddy KGB character from Rounders say, "Pay that man his money"... Professional sports journalists at work:

Reporter (to Francona): Since you came back from down 3 games to the Yankees, what advice... ummm... even though you don't want to help them... could you give Colorado?

Francona: I don't know how to answer this... I really don't want them to win. (laughter) I mean really, what kind of a question is that?

Everybody on the Red Sox has played so well that it will be difficult to pick an MVP. Let me just throw this out there but Jacoby Ellsbury just may be the front runner for the award right now. Of course if it gets to a game 5 and Josh Beckett shuts the Rockies down again - then there will be no question at all about who gets the award... Assuming the Red Sox re-sign Lowell and Curt Schilling ($13 million one-year) then the two biggest needs are another reliever and a back-up catcher. There is a good chance that Boston could turn to Japan to fill those two positions. Boston is getting to be very big in Japan.... Howard Bryant has a nice column up on the current state of the Red Sox.

Teddy Roosevelt



Today would have been Teddy Roosevelt's 149th birthday. Here's perhaps my favorite Roosevelt quote:

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Missouri Executive Order 44

Some things in our history are not pretty and one of the most ugly examples was the Missouri Executive Order 44 also known as the Extermination Order.

The order, passed in 1838, basically called for the expulsion or murder of all Mormons in Missouri. The order was not rescinded until 1976. The history behind the order doesn't seem as clear cut as something known as the "extermination order" would seem to indicate though.

This seems to me to be an excellent subject for a book or for a Deadwood type HBO series.

Ohio State at Penn State

Just thought I'd note that Moses was 80 years old when he went up Mount Sinai to get the 10 Commandments. Joe Paterno is also 80 years old. Can Penn State climb the mountain today against the number 1 team in the country?

Ohio State under Jim Tressel has had problems playing at Happy Valley. I can see the Buckeyes winning a squeaker and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win exactly by 4 which also happens to be the Vegas line on the game. By the same token - I also wouldn't be shocked to see the Nittany Lions win by a hair.

If Paterno is Moses - who is Jim Tressel's Old Testament counterpart? One of the Pharaoh's of Egypt maybe? This is just a personal observation but when I think of Jim Tressel perfectly coiffed and in his sweater vest I think of the word "pride". And who is most associated with pride in the Old Testament? I'd argue that Lucifer is most connected to pride (cast from Heaven for thinking he was equal to God). Would anyone really be surprised if archangel headcoach Tressel has a fall from grace? Maybe that fall from grace comes today in Happy Valley against the Moses of college football coaches?

Scott Boras

Very interesting essay on Scott Boras in The New Yorker. The story makes Boras out to be some sort of mad scientist.

“We’re purists about the game,” Boras told me. “We’re about commitment. We’re about making you better.” He brought up, as an example, Barry Zito, the San Francisco Giants’ lefty who is known almost as much for his surfer persona as for his sweeping curveball. “What we did with Barry Zito a year and a half ago is one of my better pieces of work,” he said. “It was really about getting him to be him. I call him Zicasso. The thing is, he wants to pitch powerfully, and I’m saying, ‘No, you’re Zicasso! You got to be the artist-poet-intellectual. That’s what you’re out there to do.’ He feeds off it. ‘You’re Zicasso. You come out and you paint!’ ” He added a wavelike flourish with his arm to punctuate each new mention of Zicasso—whose performance in the past couple of years, incidentally, has not been discernibly better than it was before.

After reading that it isn't hard to believe that Peter Gammons assertion is true that Boras and his crew screwed up Red Sox prospect Craig Hansen by changing the delivery motion that made him successful as a college player into a so-so AAA pitcher.

Dumb Rumor of the Week

Buster Olney supposedly mentioned a potential trade between the Red Sox and Braves that would send Coco Crisp to the Braves and 2nd baseman Kelly Johnson to the Sox. This is dumb on several levels - let me count the ways.

1. Does anyone think that the Red Sox aren't kinda occupied at the moment? Sure maybe Coco Crisp will be trade bait in the offseason but the Red Sox are currently busy trying to win the World Series. Would Olney have us believe that Theo Epstein is making trade offers between innings?

2. The Red Sox already have Dustin Pedroia at 2nd and Julio Lugo at short. Where would Kelly Johnson play? Does Olney suggest that Johnson be an utility infielder? Or does he suggest that he would start at short and Lugo would ride the pine at $9 million a year? If that's the case - why not just keep Coco and have him ride the pine at $4.75 million?

3. If a blogger had float this as a legitimate trade rumor they would be rightly ridiculed. I know that Olney has to fill time on his radio show but wouldn't he be better served by not floating rumors that make him look like a moron?

I have to admit that I'm biased against Olney. I think he's biased towards the Yankees (but to be fair - he likes the Yankees of old - say late 1990's - and can be a cranky pants toward the Yankees as well).

Matt Ryan for Heisman

OK - last night put me fully on the Matt Ryan for Heisman bandwagon.

The Boston College Eagles are undefeated and currently #2 in the country. They might not even be ranked if it wasn't for Matt Ryan. Right now he is more valuable to his team than any other player in the country.

I also want to point out that last year Troy Smith won the Heisman Award mostly on the strength of leading Ohio State to an undefeated regular season. Smith finished the season with 2,507 yards passing. Matt Ryan needs just 74 more yards to pass Smith's output from last year and he has 4 games to do it in. If Ryan leads BC to an undefeated then he too deserves to win the award. However, unlike Troy Smith I'd be willing to bet that Matt Ryan would get more than 35 yards passing if the Eagles get to the BCS title game.

Interesting Stat

From the Cold, Hard Football Facts:

[Peyton] Manning has beat 30 of the 31 other NFL teams – everyone but Carolina, his opponent on Sunday.

[Tom] Brady has also beat 30 of the 31 other NFL teams – everyone but Washington, his opponent on Sunday.

BC - 8-0? Are You Kidding Me?

Wow! Just wow!

BC beat Virginia Tech 14-10 last night will all of BC's scoring coming in the last 2 minutes of the game including the winning TD with 11 second left to play. BC gave complete new meaning to "the 2-minute drill." They had 2 minutes and they drilled Virginia Tech.

You know people will be saying that BC is over-rated and over-ranked but they are undefeated. LSU has a loss and easily could have had 2 more but people still want to pop them over BC in the polls.

The schedule favors BC too. Because last night was a Thursday night game - they now have an extra 2 days to prepare for Florida State. The next game is at Maryland who has already been beaten twice at home and who may be a 4-loss team by the time BC meets up with them (Maryland plays Clemson this week and North Carolina after that). Clemson will be a tough game at Death Valley. The last game comes against a Miami team that is very beatable this year.

I think there is a very good chance that BC will play Virginia Tech once again in the ACC Championship game. The Hokies won't have home field or a driving rain to help them in that rematch.

There Has to be a Morning After

Last night I missed the first 3 and a half innings of game 1 of the World Series because I'm traveling in Atlanta and I was at a business dinner. I ended up missing the last two innings because I fell asleep in my hotel room. I'm completely fine with what I saw of the game.

I missed the first 3 and a half inning because of the business dinner but I'm not complaining. The dinner was at the Atlanta Grill which is at the Ritz Carlton. The food was unbelievable. I had the duck. More importantly the dinner went very well business wise.

It was 4-1 at the Red Sox were at bat in the 4th when I got back to my hotel room. I saw the Sawx score 2 in the 4th and tack on 7 more in the 5th. It was 13-1 and I was not surprised at all that the Red Sox got to Jeff Francis the same way they got to Cleveland's CC Sabathia. However, is it the mark of a New England fan that this blowout actually made me nervous?

My thoughts drifted back to the 1985 Boston Celtics who blew out the Los Angeles Lakers 148-114 in game 1 of the World Championship but ended up losing the series 4 games to 2. I know I shouldn't be nervous and that the 2007 Red Sox are not the 1985 Celtics and certainly the 2007 Rockies are not the 1985 Lakers which was one the best NBA teams ever assembled (with a starting five of Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper). Still the thought has been planted in the back of my brain.

Today's Red Sox have Josh Beckett who has quickly become one of the best playoff pitchers in history. Last night's win improved Beckett's playoff record to 6-2 (in 9 starts) and lowered his post-season ERA to 1.73. Amazingly Beckett gives up an earned run in the playoffs as often as he walks a hitter (14 post season earned runs and 14 post season walks). A team with Josh Beckett pitching in the playoffs just seems to be invulnerable to losing. Beckett's teams are 5-0 in playoff series. Then again those 1985 Celtics had Larry Bird (sorry can't help it.)

I should make it back home in time to catch the Boston College kickoff. You know I'm looking forward to working the remote tonight. As far as the title of this post is concerned - no I am not a closet Maureen McGovern fan. The phrase just popped into my head and seemed to fit.

World Series Notes

Some thoughts on the upcoming World Series.

- Many people are putting the Rockies hopes on team ace Jeff Francis who had 5 scoreless innings in the Rockies trip to Fenway during Interleague play. It has to be noted that historically left-handed pitchers don't do well at Fenway and this is especially true during the playoffs (let's call this strike one). Francis will be matched up against perhaps the biggest playoff money pitcher in modern history in Josh Beckett (strike two). Do people have such short memories that they forget that the same hopes that are being put on Francis are exactly the same as the hopes Cleveland fans put on CC Sabathia who also had a sparkling regular season outing at Fenway to his credit (strike three). I just don't see the hopes of Francis as the horse to ride to victory being justified by reality.

- SI's John Donovan compares the two teams, position by position and decides that the Red Sox will win in 5 games.

- If I ran a casino - I would have a prop bet that allowed you to either take the number of runs the Red Sox will score in the World Series or the number of points the Patriots will score against the Redskins on Sunday. I think the two numbers will be fairly close.

- Part of me wonders what baseball would be doing if the Padres beat the Rockies and they went on the run to the World Series instead of Colorado. Would the World Series be put off for a week because of the wildfires in California?

- I also have to say that I think the Rockies decision to pitch Josh Fogg in game 3 in Colorado instead of game 2 in Boston is a mistake. Fogg grew up in Lynn, MA and has pitched in Fenway before. Fogg also does much better on the road than at home (4.15 road ERA vs a 5.97 home ERA this season). Ubaldo Jimenez has never pitched at Fenway and will be asked to face players he probably grew up idolizing like fellow Dominicans Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. I think this is a mistake.

Is Harry Reid the Worst Democratic Majority Leader in History?

I started thinking about this tonight. We've been hearing a lot about Harry Reid and its usually not good whether its months ago saying we've already lost in Iraq or today blaming the fires in California on global warming. The more I thought about it the more I wondered if Harry Reid is the worst Senate Majority Leader in History.

In the interest in time - I decided to just look at the Democratic Party. Maybe in the future I'll look to see who was the worst on the other side of the aisle. The information is via Wikipedia.

- Joseph Taylor (1933-37) - the first Democratic Senate Majority Leader - one of only 4 people to have their face on a US coin while still alive. Better than Harry Reid.
- Alben Barkley (1937-47) - was effective enough to be named Vice President under Harry Truman when Truman took over for FDR. Made the news for marrying a widow half his age. Better than Harry Reid.
- Scott Lucas - (1948-50) - WW1 veteran who ended up losing his Senate seat in large part due to an active smear campaign by Joseph McCarthy. Better than Harry Reid.
- Ernest McFarland (1951-53) - known as the Father of the GI Bill and who left the Senate to become Governor of Arizona and then Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Better than Harry Reid.
- Lyndon Johnson (1954-60) - was legendary in his control of the Senate. He was sought by JFK as his VP in the 1960 Presidential election because of his popularity. I doubt Harry Reid will be sought by any of the Democratic candidates as a running mate. Better than Harry Reid.
- Mike Mansfield (1961-77) - the longest serving Senate Majority Leader in history. Not enough time to go into all of Mansfield's accomplishments. I will note that he served in both the Navy and Marine Corps. Better than Harry Reid.
- Robert Byrd (1977-81 and 1987-89) - if Reid is to get competition as the worst Democratic Majority Leader in history the challenge will come from former member of the KKK Robert Byrd. Even though Byrd will be remembered for his racism and for being the "King of Pork" it has to be noted that he was very skilled at using parliamentary tactics and the fact that he held the position twice puts him above Harry Reid (who I doubt would be asked back). Better than Harry Reid.
- George Mitchell (1989-95) - still held in high regard on both sides of the aisle. Trusted as an honest broker for things like the Belfast Peace Agreements and the baseball steroids investigation. I doubt any would use Harry Reid as an "honest broker". Better than Harry Reid.
- Tom Daschle (2001-03) - say what you want about Daschle but his history is not riddled with personal financial scandals. Better than Harry Reid.

Well that's all of them and all of them were better at the job of Senate Majority Leader that Harry Reid. That makes Harry Reid the worst Democratic Senate Majority Leader in history. I think its telling that Harry Reid was the only person I looked at who needed special sections on their Wiki page - one for "Controversy" and another for "Criticism".