Brad Penny

The only pitchers in baseball who have started 4 games for their teams but yet have a worse ERA than Brad Penny and his 8.66 are the Mets' Oliver Perez (9.31) and the Indians' Carl Pavano (9.50).

The optimist in me says "At least the Red Sox don't have Oliver Perez and his 3-year $36 million contract." The pessimist in me says, "For Penny's production the Sox would have been better off with Pavano's $1.5 million contract." The realist in me says, "All three of these guys suck."

As an aside - Pavano's contract has $5.3 million in incentive bonuses. That's funny.

Very Cool



I never saw a person rock with a ukulele before but this was so awesome that I half expected him to smash his ukulele at the end.

HT NRO

Eric Gagne

Is it time to revisit the trade that send Eric Gagne from the Rangers to the Red Sox? Within Red Sox Nation the deal is viewed as perhaps the worst evah made by Theo Epstein. Gagne was a warm barrel of suck during his time in Boston but it has to be said - the Red Sox may have actually gotten the better end of the deal. Here's the deal according to Eric Gagne's Baseball-reference.com page:

July 31, 2007: Traded by the Texas Rangers with cash to the Boston Red Sox for Engel Beltre (minors), Kason Gabbard and David Murphy.

Kason Gabbard has been reacquired by the Red Sox for cash considerations. David Murphy has been absolutely awful - hitting just .097 in 31 AB this season (that .097 is not a typo). Engel Beltre has a .307 OBP for Single A Clinton. Meh! Meanwhile the Red Sox used the compensation pick for Gagne signing with the Brewers to select Bryan Price - a 6'4" righthander who can throw 95 mph.

The Sox may have actually won this trade.

Brad Penny

Is it unseemly to complain about a loss after your team had just won 11 straight? I don't care - it should have been 12 in a row. Two players cost the Red Sox the win. Brad Penny has an ERA of 8.66, couldn't get out of the third inning last night without giving up 7 runs and really shouldn't be starting any more games once Dice-K comes off the disabled list. Justin Masterson should take Penny's rotation spot but that won't happen. They will stick with Penny and he'll continue to stink the joint up.

Does it seem strange to anyone that Penny was able to get a $5 million contract but Pedro Martinez was not? The other player who cost the Red Sox last night was Javy Lopez - the lefty relief guy who lefties are hitting an even .400 against. The Red Sox should jettison Lopez ASAP. He's a waste of a roster spot.

Losers

The New Orleans Hornets lost by 58 points last night to the Denver Nuggets playing perhaps the worst game in NBA playoff history. In my mind though - it still pales to the complete crapping the bed performance of the San Jose Sharks in the NHL playoffs. The Sharks had the best regular season record in all of the NHL but now they are out of the playoffs after suffering a first round defeat at the hands of the 8th ranked Mighty Ducks. Maybe I was wrong about Joe Thorton? Is he the A-Rod of the NHL?

Johnny Damon

After this season the Yankees will have some decisions to make about their outfield. Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are both free agents. The top outfielder free agents will be Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Knowing that the Yankees will have a hole to fill and the fact that Bay has fit in so well in Boston probably means the Red Sox get Bay wrapped up (they CANNOT let Bay go to the Yankees). That leaves Holliday as the top free agent but the problem there is the fact that maybe Holliday is not as good as his Coors Field inflated numbers would indicate. He has yet to hit a home run this season and I predicted that he'd be exposed this year.

Today the Yankees have Damon, Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher as the starting outfield with Brett Gardner poised as the CF of the future and Xavier Nady as the corner insurance plan. Hideki Matsui is basically just a DH at this point and I don't see them re-signing Godzilla.

I guess the Yankees could live with an outfield of Cabrera, Gardner and Swisher but I think the Yankees will start to realize that Johnny Damon is more important to their plans than most people realize. My prediction is that Damon eventually gets a two-year extension from the Yankees and finishes his career having played more games in pinstripes than in any other uniform.

Manny Who?

During the Red Sox current 9-game winning streak they have a team OPS of 1.025. That's the same OPS Manny Ramirez has for the season.

Going into today's action - Manny was 19th in the major leagues in OPS. Jason Bay - Manny's hopefully long term replacement - is 5th in all of baseball with a 1.135 OPS. Kevin Youkilis leads everyone with a mark of 1.345.

Pick of the Day

Today's pick of the day is the Tigers (-$150) with Armando Galarraga taking the hill against Kansas City who will be starting Sidney Ponson. I like this pick as much for Galarraga as I do Ponson. Galarraga has been generally tough to hit while Ponson has basically been a pinata.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Back from Vegas and the damage to the wallet wasn't as bad as it could have been. I did spend a night gambling in old Vegas - downtown - and I'm a convert. Just a huge difference in the vibe between the strip and downtown. So many people just stick with the strip and I think that's a huge mistake.... Best beer man ever. I had to watch it three times to get the full effect... I stayed at the Paris for my time in Vegas and I must say the gambling there is awful. First off they got rid of their poker room about 7 months ago. The poker room used to be my main reason for going to the Paris. Their sports book also leaves a lot to be desired. I won't bother going back to the Paris... Separated at birth - Matt Garza and Mentok the Mindtaker... Hearing the late Harry Kalas' voice on the Coors Light commercials with the various football coaches creeps me out... Pick of the day - Derek Lowe and the Braves (-$122) over the Cincinnati Reds...

Las Vegas



Off to Las Vegas for the rest of the week - so blogging will probably be light.

Yesterday I had a great day going into Boston to watch the Red Sox beat up on the Orioles in the Patriot's Day matinee. Patriot's Day is a Massachusetts holiday celebrating the battle of Lexington and Concord and "the shot heard round the world." These days its pretty much known as Marathon Monday.

Heh Heh

A very classy lady walked into a Lexus dealership to browse, and spotted the most beautiful, perfectly loaded Lexus she ever seen. She walked over to inspect it closer. As she bent forward to feel the fine leather upholstery, an unexpected little burst of flatulence escaped her. Very embarrassed, she anxiously looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Sure enough, there standing right behind her was a salesman. With a pleasant smile he greeted her, "Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?" Trying to maintain an air of sophistication and acting as though nothing had happened, she smiled back and asked, "Sir, what is the price of this lovely vehicle?" Still smiling pleasantly, he replied,

"Madam , I'm very sorry to say... if you farted by just touching it, you are gonna shit when you hear the price."

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Carl Pavano comes back to pitch against the Yankees today in the new Yankee Stadium the day after the Indians pounded they Yankees 22-4. Often a pitcher pitches very well against former team the first time out but just as often a top team who gets shelled the day before comes back the next day to do the shelling. It should be interesting to watch... File this under once a thought gets in your head - its tough to get that thought out. Nelson Figueroa pitches today for the Mets. In my mind I always confuse the 6'1" Figueroa with the 2'4" Nelson de la Rosa. I know this is completely unfair to the only major league player to ever play at Waltham Mass's Brandeis University but at this point I can't help it... Early season craziness. The Florida Marlins have the best record in baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates have the best team ERA. Who knew?... Going into today's action - there are 20 major league players who have more home runs by themselves than the A's have as a team (3)... Just to simplify things - I think if Chipper Jones plays for the Braves today then the Braves win. If not - the Braves get swept by the Pirates... No team's offense has been better at not giving up free outs by striking out than the Phillies. As a team they have struck out just 50 times so far this season. The reason they don't have a winning record is because no team's pitching staff has been as generous at giving up home runs in baseball than the Phillies. Brad Lidge gave up the team's 25th dinger last night... Today is Rick Miller's 61st birthday. That makes me feel old. I remember a tale told about Miller of how he ended up getting a nice contract as a free agent in 1977 because Angels owner Gene Autrey told his GM to get that outfielder from the Red Sox and that Autrey liked that player. The GM signed Miller only to learn that Autrey was referring to Dwight Evans. Rick Miller is tied to Butch Hobson in his personal history. In 1980 - Miller with Mark Clear and Carney Lansford were traded to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Burleson and Butch Hobson then two years ago Miller replaced Hobson as coach of the CanAm league Nashua (NH) Pride...

Gary Sheffield's 500th HR

There has been lots of gushing over Gary Sheffield's 500th HR with nobody willing to come out and say that despite the 500 HR - Sheffield ain't no Hall of Famer. Well I'll say it.

Gary Sheffield quit on the Brewers, used steroids with Barry Bonds and if the Yankees had signed Vlade Guerrero instead of Sheffield in 2003 - the Yankees in my opinion would have at least 2 more World Series victories to their credit. These are just some of the reasons Sheffield won't get elected to the Hall of Fame.

Hitting 500 HR is supposed to be a ticket to Cooperstown but consider that both Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire have 500 HR and little consideration from voters. Why would Sheffield be any different?

It took Sheffield 22 seasons to get to 500 HR. It took Fred McGriff 19 seasons to get to 493. Sheffield is supposed to be a slugger but yet never led his league in HR. McGriff led the league twice. Teams traded for McGriff to help them win. Teams traded Sheffield because he was a pain in the ass. I think McGriff has a much better case for the Hall of Fame.

I wish someone would tell the talking heads on Baseball Tonight that. Gary Sheffield is not a Hall of Fame player.

The Joe Kerrigan Effect

As of this morning the Pittsburgh Pirates and their impressive 2.90 have the lowest team ERA in all of baseball. Just by purely looking at the stats - you have to assume that Joe Kerrigan is doing a heck of a job as pitching coach for the Pirates.

Pat Maholm has emerged as a legitimate Ace - going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA in three starts so far. Zach Duke is back to his 2005 form - the form that allowed him to go 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA as a rookie, Duke is 2-0 with a minuscule 0.59 ERA. Maybe most impressive is the fact that the enigma that is Craig Hansen has yet to give up a run in five innings of relief work this season (though with just 4 K's to 3 BB - Hansen probably isn't out of the woods).

The Pirates were dead last in the NL last year in team ERA. Who could have guessed that the Pirates pitching staff would be one of the more interesting stories of the young season?

Red Sox - Orioles Flotsam and Jetsam

Sci-Fi Connection: Pretty amazing game tonight. Brad Penny gives up 7 runs in the 2nd only to see the Red Sox came back to eventually take a 10-8 victory. The start by Penny made me wonder if the Red Sox front office is employing the Harkonnen Strategy. In the book Dune - the Baron Harkonnen first sends his ruthless nephew Glossu Rabban to rule Arrakis with the idea that he'd be so bad that the people would automatically welcome and love the Baron's nephew and heir Feyd Rautha. In this scenario - Brad Penny is playing the role of the grossly overweight Rabban and John Smoltz is being poised to look like a savior. Brad Penny's season ERA now stands at an even 11.00.

Playing the Role of Andruw Jones in 2009?: In the 7th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd with none out - I swear the Orioles pitched around Dustin Pedroia (4 straight balls) to get to David Ortiz. How the mighty have fallen. Ortiz then quickly struck out. The Orioles then got out of the jam by getting Kevin Youkilis to ground into a double play. I know its early but Ortiz is eerily reminding me of Jack Clark in his final year in Boston.

Because John Wasdin is not on the roster: Javy Lopez is really my least favorite player on the Red Sox roster right now. I get ill every time he comes in to pitch. Mike Timlin might be a better use of a roster spot - at least Timlin could get the bullpen guys doing that stomp-type music.

Prediction watch: I predicted that Coco Crisp would have as good or better numbers than Jacoby Ellsbury. Right now Crisp is hitting .235 but has 2 HR while Ellsbury is hitting .220 with no HR. Still a good trade for both teams - the Royals got a Gold Glove centerfielder and the Red Sox got Ramone Martinez who has been great in the bullpen for Boston.

My wallet thanks you: Just as impressive was the San Diego Padres come back from a 5-0 deficit after the 1st inning on the road to beat the Phillies 8-7 in Philadelphia. The Padres were part of a improbable 4-team parlay with the Red Sox (coming back from 7 runs down), the Marlins (coming back to win in 10 innings) and the under in the Atlanta game. Woo-hoo! Did I mention I'm going to Vegas next week?

The Red Sox the Buy the Boston Globe?

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

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

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

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

Danny Ainge

Danny Ainge had a mild heart attack. I wish Danny all the best and especially a speedy recovery. Ainge doesn't get the credit he deserves - not even from the fans in Boston.

Ainge returned to the Celtics in 2003 when he was hired as the Executive Director of Basketball Operations. Not the President - that title Ainge made sure was returned to Red Auerbach who had been stripped of the title during the reign of ego maniac Rick Pitino. Only after the death of Red did Ainge become President of Basketball Operations. That was the classy thing to do and Ainge did it with little or no fanfare.

Not all of his moves have been perfect but he brought Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to town and with them the Celtics were able to win the championship last year. When the Celtics won the championship - Ainge pretty much stayed in the shadows to allow Doc Rivers and the players the spotlight. Again - a classy thing to do that brought little fanfare.

It his his skill at judging talent that especially goes under-appreciated. Ainge traded for the rights to draft Rajon Rondo; he drafted high schooler Kendrick Perkins because he saw in him a future NBA starter at center; Leon Powe; Big Baby Davis, the number of diamonds in the rough goes on and on. Do you think the Celtics are able to acquire Kevin Garnett if Aigne first didn't recognize the value of an Al Jefferson and a Ryan Gomes?

Danny Ainge may be under-appreciated in some circles but not here. I wish him all the best and most of all a speedy recovery.

More Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

All four of the Philadelphia Phillies' wins this season have been come-from-behind. The Phillies bullpen deserve a good deal of the credit as opponents are only hitting a measly .130 against them... The expected line-up for the Astros for tonight's game against Pittsburgh has hit a combined .439 against tonight's Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf. The bad news for Houston fans is that Mike Hampton is starting for the Astros... Tim Wakefield's complete game today ties him for 11th among active players. He's tied with Bartolo Colon and Jamie Moyer. As an indication of how times have changed - Wakefield's current 31 complete games doesn't even put him in the top 1,000 all-time... The only two players in major league history to have 10 seasons of 30 HR's and 30 doubles are Manny Ramirez and Carlos Delgado. That's amazing. Babe Ruth only had 5 such seasons...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy tax day. Tea Party protests are nice but those protests mean nothing if people still vote for the same people who are responsible for the out of control spending. The only way this works is if there is a "throw the bums" out sentiment at each election day going forward. Hopefully then people will get the message that tax dollars are not to be wasted on pork projects... The percentage of black players in the major leagues increased to 10.2 percent last year, the first rise since the 1995 season. I have a dream that one day players will not be judged on the color of their skin but on their OPS+ or ERA+.... Josh Barfield was once one of the top prospects in baseball. Now he can no longer be really be called a prospect since he'll be 27 at the end of the year. Now Indians fans probably think of him as a flop. The only good news for Indians fans I guess is that Kevin Kouzmanoff hasn't really be setting the world on fire for the Padres...

Morning Links

Some interesting stuff to peruse over your morning coffee.

- The story of Under Armour. I love stories like this. From the grandmother's house to $700 million in sales. Incredible.

- What's that "V" on Tiger's hat? I was wondering about that.

- Phrase of the day - sang froid. You never hear that phrase anymore. Angel Cabrera exhibited sang froid in yesterday's playoff. Kenny Perry? Not so much.

- I agree with Lyford 100% on this.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I've never understood the appeal of Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson. He's the highest paid player on the Pirates and yet his career OPS+ is just 79 (an average player would be at 100). Pirates management even saw fit to give a player who has a career batting average of just .270 a limited no-trade contract. Maybe this, in a nutshell, explains why the Pirates suck... At one point Edwin Jackson was the highest regarded pitching prospect in baseball. The Dodgers wouldn't trade him for anyone. Then Jackson's decline came. Last year I pretty much took the over in any game Jackson started for Tampa Bay and I must say that was a nice little run for me. This season Jackson started out with a 7 1/3, one run no-decision for the Tigers and you have to wonder if he's finally put it together. Today's start against Kevin Millwood and Texas should go a long way in answering that question... The Cleveland Indians sport a league-worst 9.86 ERA and their pitching staff has allowed opponents to hit .357. That's beyond putrid... I've said it before but I expect Matt Holliday to be a bust in the American League. I wish there was some place that would take a prop bet that at least one Rockies outfielder will have as many or more HR than Holliday this season. I'd guess that two Rockies outfielders will out-homer Holliday... 17 years ago today Boston's Matt Young pitched eight no-hit innings at Cleveland but lost 2-1 in the opener of a doubleheader. Young was not officially credited with a no-hitter because he did not pitch a full 9 innings... Pick of the day - Atlanta (-$200 - meaning you would have to risk $200 to win $100) with Jair Jurrjens starting over the Nationals (and yes I know the odds are steep but they are steep for a reason)...

Baseball and Divorce

Interesting tidbit from Nick Carfardo's Baseball Notes column today:

Dr. Howard Markman, University of Denver. He did a study on divorce rates in cities after they acquired baseball franchises. In 1990, Denver's divorce rate stood at 6 per 1,000. Seven years after the Rockies played their first game, the divorce rate had declined 20 percent to 4.2 per 1,000. The overall US divorce rate dropped only 15 percent. Markman found a 30 percent decline in divorces in Phoenix, a 30 percent drop in Miami, and a 17 percent drop in Tampa Bay after teams in those cities were born.

I have to watch baseball honey. It's for the marriage!

Happy Easter

Heh Heh

I can't look at this photo without laughing my ass off. It is funny on so many different levels.

HT Deadspin

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Yankees open the season with a 9 game road trip. That's the longest season-opening road trip in franchise history. I wonder if this was done on purpose by the scheduling folks just in case there was a couple of things about the new Yankee Stadium that needed time to fix before the first regular season game.... Today's Mariners game will not be broadcast on TV up in Seattle. It's one of three games this season that won't be on TV. This boggles this Red Sox fan's mind. If a Red Sox game was not broadcast there would be a complete uproar. People would be complaining that their civil rights were being violated... I'll be curious to watch how the Pirate's pitching staff does this season. Joe Kerrigan has joined the team as the pitching coach. I have loads of respect for Kerrigan as a pitching coach and the Pirates have some talented young starters who seem to be all over the map in terms of performance... Jamie Moyer is already in the top 50 all-time in strikeouts and wins. With another 50 innings pitched - he'll be in the top 50 all-time in that category too. Among non-active players - only Jack Morris, Jim Kaat and Tommy John are in the top 50 in all three categories and NOT in the Hall of Fame. Just tossing that out there... I'd like to sponsor the David Wells page on Baseball-reference.com and just have the words (in bold) "GET IN MY BELLY!"... The Yankees are the only team in baseball yet to make an error. Derek Jeter will fix that... Happy 37th birthday to Jason Varitek.

Master's Saturday

Today is Master's Saturday and also Opening Day for the local Little Leagues. In my neck of the woods it is a gray, rainy day. So rainy in fact that the Opening Day Little League Parades have already been canceled and rescheduled. It won't be overcast in my soul though as the magic that is Augusta will surely brighten the day.

I have Angel Cabrera in one pool and my friend Steve has Angel Cabrera in another - so I guess you know who we'll be pulling for (though since mine was a $20 pool and Steve's was a $50 pool - he'll probably be pulling for Angel twice as hard). When I was first told that I had Angel my original thought was, "I got a baseball player? Well that's $20 down the tubes." Shame on me for being such a pessimist.

So enjoy your Saturday and be sure to pull for Angel Cabrera. The power of Vince compels you!

Who Pays Our Taxes?

It is important to remember (or be reminded) who actually shoulders the lions share of the tax burden in this country. This editorial does a nice job:

In 2006, the top 20 percent of earners paid 70 percent of all federal taxes. On average, they paid 26 percent of their income to the government. The very richest -- the top 1 percent of taxpayers, with household incomes of over $332,000 -- paid 28 percent of all taxes, with an effective tax rate of 31 percent. The middle three quintiles paid rates of 10, 14 and 18 percent. The lowest 20 percent of households paid only 0.8 percent of all federal taxes -- and the bottom 90 percent of households paid only 45 percent.

Emphasis added. You have 10% of the country shouldering 55% of the tax burden. The "tax the rich" mantra is already stretched too thin.

Baseball Salaries

Interesting information on baseball salaries. This seems to be the most quoted item from the article:

While there is a decline in overall spending, the average salary is $3,240,206, up 2.7 percent from last year. This is due to less players being on the DL going into the season, where replacement players are often paid the league minimum. According to Ronald Blum of The AP, just 69 players started the season on disabled lists, down from 106 last year.

So average player salaries are actually up over last year? Interesting. The tidbit that really caught my eye was this:

Here is the average player salary, by League:

* American League: $3,371,417
* National League: $3,121,812

The general impression is that the American League is superior to the National League. I guess here's some proof that on average the American League players are at least $250,000 better than their National League counterparts.

HT Baseball Musings

Morning Links

Some interesting stuff tyo read with your morning coffee.

Touching post saying goodbye to Nick Adenhart

Steve Wilson is definitely a guy I'm rooting for at the Masters. Though today is probably the last day I'll get to root for him since he finished the first day 7 over and basically next to last in the standings.

Honestly - I thought Amarillo Slim was dead. After reading this interview with him I'm not sure what to think.

I had meant to link to this post earlier. Sorry. Lyford takes the Boston Globe to task for obsessing over race. Amen brother.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

On Tuesday for the Red Sox Opening Day - the music for Ted Kennedy's intro was first the theme music from A Band of Brothers and then Tessie by the Drop Kick Murphy's. Not sure if Band of Brothers was really appropriate for Kennedy who used his dad's political connections to insure he never saw any combat in his undistinguished tour in the Army. The Irish drinking-like Tessie on the other hand seemed more like Teddy's style... Your really don't hear the phrase "shiver me timbers" anymore - not even on Talk Like a Pirate day. The phrase probably gained its original popularity via the character Long John Silver in Treasure Island. I don't know why I thought about this in the first place but if there's a place for random thoughts this is it. I understand the phrase "well blow me down" is still popular in certain circles - not that there's anything wrong with that... You may have heard the trick question "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" The answer of course is President Grant. However, the trick answer to "What was Ulysses S Grant's first name?" is actually Hiram.

More Opening Day Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings won the first ever professional baseball game on May 4, 1869. They then went on to win their next 129 games until their winning streak was broken by the Brooklyn Atlantics. That seems to be some cosmic bad news for the Reds who today play the Mets (the spiritual heirs to the Brooklyn Dodgers who I guess would have been heirs to the Atlantics)... Ted Kennedy is scheduled to throw out the first pitch today at Fenway Park if he is healthy enough. No disrespect to Kennedy but this is an insult to Jim Rice who is newly elected to the Hall of Fame. Can you imagine another franchise who would have a player elected to the HoF but not have him throw out the first pitch while instead having a politician do the honor?... Time flies. The last time the Indians opened against the Rangers in Texas- Manny Ramirez was still on the team and Cleveland was so loaded offensively that ManRam batted 7th... Nick Johnson is the only remaining player on the Nationals roster who was with the Expos when the team moved to Washington... The Tampa Bay Rays had 16 sellouts last season but 8 of those sellouts were playoff games. The Red Sox always have full capacity at Fenway...

Opening Day Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Braves were 4-14 last season against Philadelphia but the strange thing is that they were 0-9 at home at Turner Field and 4-5 up at Citizens Bank Park... Jermaine Dye needs just 2 HR for 300 career and just 9 RBI for 1000 career. I forget that Dye started his career with the Braves. Cliff Claven would say the answer is six guys who have never been in my kitchen but the thing these six players have in common - Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker, Neifi Perez, Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnacion and Jose Ortiz - is that they were all traded for Dye in three separate trades... Tim Wakefield and Pedro Martinez both have exactly 400 career starts... I read an interesting point over at Baseball Musings over whether the Mets signing of Gary Sheffield might cause a rift “between Wright and those players who might be replaced by Sheffield or sent down to the minors to make way for him.” Fernando Tatis is up there in age (34) and is just making $1.7 million this year. Sheffield could take at bats and by extension money off his family's table. Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy are both lefties. It is Tatis who is the right handed bat Sheffield will be replacing for the most part. The devil in me hopes that Tatis cold-clocks Sheffield in a locker room brawl ... I'm glad Kris Benson made the Rangers. I've sorta missed seeing pictures of Anna Benson every once and a while...

African Americans in Baseball

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NCAA Championship Game

The Michigan State Spartans have attained the NCAA Championship Game.

Whither Tom Jackson?

The Jay Cutler saga and subsequent trade to the Chicago Bears has been almost non-stop news on ESPN. You've had former Bronco Mark Schlereth giving his opinion on the subject on almost every ESPN show since the story broke but one former Bronco seems to be conspicuous by his absence. Whither Tom Jackson?

The guy is the most senior football analyst at the network and he's in the Bronco Ring of Fame but yet I haven't heard a peep from him. You would think the network would want at least a sound-bite from the guy who said Jay Cutler was a better passer than Tom Brady. But no. Nothing. Not a peep. Not even a phone-in.

Maybe ESPN has figured out that subjecting the audience to 21 years of the Joe Morgan of football analysts was enough?

We can only hope.

The Boston Globe

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

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

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

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

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

Just Sayin'

God may be your co-pilot.

But Dustin Pedroia is my bartender.

Less than 3 days till opening day.

Austrian Rules Football

Very amusing and interesting read about "American" football.

I had a friend who did this too and although he enjoyed the experience - he was glad to be back in the States.

Hypocrisy - Thy Name is NCAA

NCAA president Myles Brand is a piece of work:

In a separate news conference at Ford Field, NCAA president Myles Brand said the organization only prohibits gambling on college and professional sports But Brand said he would prefer athletes don't gamble at the casinos.

"Well, I warn against that slippery slope. It's a fair question," said Brand, who was not asked specifically about Lawson. "What a student does, play bingo in his church for example, while we discourage that, we prefer not to try and regulate that particular kind of activity. But it's highly discouraged."

Did any reporter have the brains or balls to follow up by asking Brand about all the gambling associated with March Madness brackets? Does Brand try to discourage broadcast partner CBS from offering brackets and bracket contests (for amusement only wink wink) for instance?

Jay Cutler

Just a thought but how funny would it be if Jay Cutler flunked his physical and the trade with the Bears had to be rescinded. That would be too funny.

Can you imagine how awkward it would be then in Denver?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Item - Spring Training home runs are a good indicator of a how a player will do in the season - see Ryan Howard leading all players in Spring Training HR with 10... The Bears gave up way too much for Jay Cutler who will go down with the moniker of strong armed, whiny baby Jay Cutler... Item - Spring Training home runs mean exactly nothing - see Michael Wilson who was second in Spring Training HR with 8 but still wasn't able to crack the pretty weak Mariners lineup. Wilson was actually released by the team a little while ago to make room for Ken Griffey Jr. and was not picked up by another team before re-signing with the M's. Teams may have missed out on Wilson. It will be interesting to see if he gets a call-up this season. If I ran a casino - I'd have a prop bet that Wilson will average more HR/AB than Griffey this season (as long as both get a minimum of 50 AB)... Kyle Orton gets traded to the Broncos and you can bet that not only will he not have a problem of communicating with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen they will even be able to exchange secret handshakes. Both Orton and Bowlen were members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity...

Penn Jillette Calls Bullsh!t on Obama

The Emperor has No Clothes moment from Penn Jillette?

Obama tells us that we can spend our way out of debt. He tells us that even though the government had control over the banks and did nothing to stop the bad that's going on, if we give them more control over more other bank-like things, then they can make sure bad stuff doesn't happen ever again. He says we can get out of all those big wars President Bush caused by sending more troops into Afghanistan. And I don't know. I really don't know.

Penn Jillette isn't exactly a hard core Democrat but he is the sort of voice from the Left that will start questions being asked.

Dreams

I had a dream this morning shortly before getting up for the day.

In the dream I had decided to take a class on wine appreciation at a local community college. My friend told me that I couldn't take that class because it interfered with me being on the college basketball team. I thought for a second and then told my friend, "No, I'm taking the wine class."

They symbolism of the dream is painfully clear.

I'm guessing that I couldn't play for the basketball team because I had already given up my amateur status and was playing in the NBA at the time. That's the only possible explanation. Right?

Jay Cutler

The Broncos have come out and publicly said that they have had enough of Jay Cutler and will be trading him.

If I'm the Broncos I would have called Cutler's bluff in a different way.

I would have calmly told him that - hey you want to be traded and you think you are better and worth more than Matt Cassel? Fine! Here's the deal - you and your agent get us a deal where we get a first round pick in exchange for your overrated, whiny ass and we'll sign off on the trade. If you learn that you are overrating your self-worth and cannot make such a deal by draft day - then you come back and apologize to everyone in the Broncos organization and you fire your bad advice giving agent. That's the deal and it's that simple.

Gary Sheffield

So Gary Sheffield was released by the Tigers. I've seen a number of people both speculate where he may end up (the Phillies seem to be the rumor leader) and I've also seen a number of people talk about Sheffield being a Hall of Fame player.

Let me state what seems to be obvious to me but somehow seems to elude many of the talking head experts; Gary Sheffield is cooked, nobody is going to pick him up and he is not going to get close to the votes to get elected to the Hall of Fame.

Nobody is going to pick up Sheffield for three reasons:

1. There are better options available just as cheap. Wily Mo Pena is available and so is Frank Thomas. Yes Pena is wildly erratic and Thomas is just as cooked as Sheffield but they are both still better options in my book.

2. Sheffield isn't a calming veteran presence like a Cliff Floyd - Sheffield is a time bomb.

3. Nobody is going to pick up Sheffield just so that he can be in uniform for his 500th HR. People are psyched for the early season games anyway so they don't need his circus act.

Sheffield won't make it into the Hall of Fame because he's a steroids tainted, quitting on his team, jerkface. Sheffield's no Fred McGriff and there will be a backlash against him from writers who loathe anyone even remotely associated with steroids. If McGriff doesn't get into the HoF then that backlash will be directed right at Sheffield and maybe Jeff Bagwell (based upon speculation).

OK - I Have to Say It

This is part of the reason my friend calls soccer players "grass fairies". NTTAWWT

I apologize!

Pick of the Day

The pick today is Oklahoma getting 7 points against North Carolina. I think this line is too big. Sure the Tar Heels probably end up winning but by more than 7 points? Would it surprise anyone if Oklahoma won the game straight up? This is the same North Carolina team that lost to Boston College.

Villanova won yesterday to move the POTD mark to 8-4 (the B pick of the Bruins game going over also came in).

Wily Mo and Jeff Bailey

Wily Mo Pena was waived by the Nationals. Meanwhile, Chris Carter - the guy the Nationals trade to the Red Sox - is in a battle for the final roster position with the Red Sox. Chances are the final roster position goes to Jeff Bailey who can leave the Red Sox (I believe) if he isn't on the roster by a certain date.

If I were the Mariners - I would pick up Wily Mo and give him a shot at being the DH. It's cheap money on his contract and he could prove to be a 25+ HR guy. A better move would to be arrange a trade for the 30-year old Bailey and make him the DH. Bailey was the International League MVP last year but is at the stage of his career when he can't wait any longer to get into the big leagues. He would do very well for the Mariners or any other team in need of a 1st baseman / DH.

In Boston, Bailey is blocked by Kevin Youkilis being in front of him and stud prospect Lars Anderson being behind him.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 45th birthday to immortal hottie Elle McPherson...What? Peter Gammons had this puzzling statement in his last column: "Crisp was frightened by the death valley that is center and right-center field in Fenway Park." What? Crisp played Gold Glove defense at Fenway. Was I missing something? I'd look for Crisp to be among the favorites for a Gold Glove this year too... I've long wanted to read Shelby Foote's epic The Civil War: A Narrative (3 Vol. Set) and finally I've got the first volume in my hands. I've read about the first 200 pages and I must say this this may just be the best book of history I've ever laid eyes on... Speaking of Coco Crisp - Jacoby Ellsbury should go fairly high among outfielders in many fantasy baseball drafts. Think of Coco Crisp as a later round equivalent to Ellsbury. I'd look for Crisp and Ellsbury to put up similar numbers this season. Same is true of Joba Chamberlain and Seattle's Brandon Morrow. Both pitchers have about equal stuff but Joba probably goes a few rounds ahead of Morrow... Cy Young was born on this day in 1867. Young's record of 511 wins is often cited as one of the records that cannot be broken. To me, though, the real unbreakable record of Young's is his 749 complete games. Pud Galvin is in second place with 646 and Tim Keefe is third with 554. That's a difference of about 200 complete games between 1st and 3rd place. You won't find an entire pitching staff in baseball these days with a combined 200 complete games.

Pick of the Day

Today I like Villanova +2 over Pittsburgh. Villanova may be the hottest team in the tourney right now and they already have a regular season win over Pitt. The over (6 goals) in the Bruins playing on the road at Toronto was my plan B. The Bruins haven't played in 5 days and they are on the road. They should beat the Maple Leafs but I think it'll be at least a 4-3 type of game.

I didn't have time or wasn't motivated enough to post yesterday's pick of the day - which was Cleveland who won and covered by the way. Since I didn't post it I won't be counting it against my running tally which now stands at 7-4 (or 8-4 if you want to give me the Cleveland win).

Top 5 - Things About ShamWow Guy's Arrest

In case you haven't heard - Vince Shlomi, aka ShamWow! guy, was arrested for beating a hooker in Miami. Supposedly he met the hooker in a nightclub and was supposed to pay her $1,000 for sex. Instead, allegedly, she bit down on his tongue when he tried to kiss her and he had to beat her to make her stop biting. Here's 5 thoughts that popped to mind when reading about it.

1. Ha Ha - he paid $1,000 for sex and all he got was arrested and taken to the hospital

2. He's lucky she didn't bite down and not let go on another piece of his anatomy.

3. See kids - this is what you get when you try to kiss a hooker.

4. His mug shot makes ShamWow guy look like McNulty's drug addled brother (if McNulty had a brother on The Wire).

5. Hah Hah - my favorite part of the Smoking Gun story:

Police records list Shlomi's occupation as "Marketing," but make no mention of his affiliation with the ShamWow or the Slap Chop, both of which sell for $19.95 (plus shipping and handling).

Now if only the same thing would happen to the Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guy

Pick(s) of the Day

Torn between taking Pitt (-6.5) over Xavier or Villanova (+2.5) over Duke. What the heck - I'll take 'em both.

Last night the Celtics (+2.5) covered against Orlando. The difference was the bench. Who knew Brian Scalabrine would be missed so much? The cover by the Celtics brings the POTD to 6-3 overall.

Yikes!

Alfonso Soriano does have a Big Ass Car Stereo!

I couldn't help but think when looking at the tricked out Hummer that Soriano probably spent more on that truck than what the Red Sox will pay for Brad Wilkerson this season.

HT Baseball Musings

Godless Journalists

Heh heh - I got a good chuckle from this piece on last night's Notre Dame / Kentucky game;

Asked about how he feels about all the judgment he’s facing after posing a 40-27 record in two seasons at Kentucky, [Billy] Gillispie said: “There’s only one judgment I’ll ever be concerned about, and I hope I pass that judgment. That’s the only one I’ll ever be concerned about, and I’m really proud that that’s the only judgment that will ever have a real affect on me, and I hope I pass that one with flying colors.”

Gillispie declined to answer when asked whose judgment he was referring to, saying it was obvious.

To be fair to the AP writer - there is a slight chance that Gillispie was referring to either his wife or Tim Tebow.

Top 5 - Moments from A Band of Brothers

The guys over at Cold, Hard Football Facts had an interesting post recently on the best scenes from A Band of Brothers. I had some disagreement with their selections - so I'm posting my own (but instead of a top 10 - I'm just selecting my top 5).

1. Spiers takes command of Easy - the scene of Spiers jumping through the smoke to assume command from Lt. Dike gives me chills every time.

2. Liebgott translates the defeated German General's speech to his men. A poignant speech which showed the German soldiers as similar to the men of Easy Company. The humor of Captain Sobel having to salute Major Winters was the cherry on top.

3. Easy Co takes the Eagles Nest. It was nice to see the guys enjoy some well earned R & R (and spoils of war - including a nice cache of booze for Captain Nixon).

4. Easy takes out the German 105s at Brecourt Manor - I've written before that Dick Winters should have been awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

5. Easy retakes their foxhole positions outside of Bastogne. This past winter an ice storm hit Central Massachusetts that was so severe that some folks lost power for more than a week and tree tops in entire forests are missing as if they were blown apart by German tree burst shells like the ones Easy had to endure. I can't drive anywhere in Central Mass without seeing damaged trees (which in turn makes me think of the scenes from A Band of Brothers).

I disagree especially with the choice of top scene from Band of Brothers by the folks at CHFF mainly because of the inclusion of Jimmy Fallon as the jeep driver who supplies Easy with ammunition. Seeing Fallon always ruins it for me.

Pick of the Day

Tonight I like the Celtics plus 3.5 against Orlando. I'm not just picking the Celtics because I'm a Boston fan - they match up really well against Orlando.

Too busy to do a pick of the day yesterday but the overall mark stands at 5-3. It bothers me to think that just an extra bucket by Louisville and the Celtics could have made the mark 6-1-1.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I would love to play Steve Phillips in Fantasy Baseball. I would be willing to bet $1,000 that I would beat him. Against Jim Bowden I'd bet $10,000. I'm amazed that those two were able to land jobs as big league GM's. And while I'm talking about Steve Phillips - he doesn't think that Curt Schilling is a Hall of Fame player because Phillips doesn't give the same weight to Schilling's post-season heroics that others do. Let me ask the obvious - what the hell does Steve Phillips know about the post season?... Interesting read on possible recruiting violations by UConn's men's basketball team. My guess is that we're only seeing one side of the story here and that UConn won't face any serious punishment for any potential violations in this case. Nate Miles, who is at the center of the story, is described as talented but troubled. At some point in your life you start bringing much of the trouble upon yourself. I hope Nate Miles learns that lesson... Gordon Edes makes an excellent point - Curt Schilling now has a better chance of making the Hall of Fame than Roger Clemens. Who could have guessed that three years ago?... Happy 43rd birthday to Tom Glavine...

Pick of the Day

Not a whole lot to choose from today so I'm going to go with the Celtics (-15 points) at home against the Clippers.

Yesterday the Bruins game went under to run the POTD mark to 5-2.

Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling has made his retirement official. The question now is whether Curt will be elected to the Hall of Fame. I won't deal with that question just yet but I did want to make the following comparison.

Player A - Season 1 - 22-9 / 2.40 ERA / 156 ERA+ / 158 SO
Player B - Season 1 - 22-6 / 2.98 ERA / 157 ERA+ / 293 SO

Player A - Season 2 - 23-11 / 2.09 ERA / 169 ERA+ / 193 SO
Player B - Season 2 - 23-7 / 3.23 ERA / 142 ERA + / 316 SO

Player A - Season 3 - 22-13 / 2.51 ERA / 130 ERA+ / 159 SO
Player B - Season 3 - 21-6 / 3.26 ERA / 150 ERA+ / 203 SO

Player A is Jim Palmer and the seasons are the three seasons he won the AL Cy Young Award in a four year stretch. Player B is Curt Schilling and the seasons are the years he came in second in Cy Young voting three years out of four from 2001 to 2004. It can be argued that Schilling's seasons were every bit as impressive as the seasons in which Palmer won his Cy Young Awards. It was Schilling's bad luck to have to compete with first Randy Johnson and then Johan Santana. Just one Cy Young from one of those years probably would have cinched the vote for Schilling for the Hall of Fame.

Pick of the Day

Today I like the under (5.5 goals) in the Bruins / Devils game. However, if Tim Thomas is not in net for Boston then the bet is off.

Yesterday, Villanova rolled to raise the POTD mark to 4-2.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

According to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo - Oil Can Boyd will most likely play for Ottawa in the Can-Am League. That means there's a good chance I'll get to see him if he pitches against the Tornadoes in Worcester... In 1933, on this day, FDR signed a law which once again legalized the selling of beer and wine. I think I'll go out today and celebrate that fact... With Aaron Boone's heart ailment - does that open the door for a trade between Houston and the A's for Bobby Crosby?... Twenty years ago to the very day - Clint Malarchuck almost bled to death on the ice after having his throat slit by a skate while playing goalie for the Sabers. This was second only to Daryl Stingley being paralyzed as far as scary things to happen during a game in my opinion... My understanding is that the Red Sox released catcher Josh Bard both to give him a chance to catch on with another team and because George Kottaras is out of options and the Red Sox would either have to keep Kottaras on the big league roster or risk losing him through waivers...

Pick of the Day

Today I like Villanova -3 in what equates to a home game against UCLA.

Last night Louisville needed just one more hoop to cover but it didn't happen - so my POTD record gets lowered to 3-2.

The Divide

Before the Civil War it was the the issue of slavery that caused a war to be fought where two sides (Union and Confederate) were clearly divided. After the Civil War it was another dichotomy - that of Republican vs Democrat that evolved to become the norm. Today the sands are shifting again. A divide is growing between people who support big government with tax and spend (or just spend and spend) policies and those who are sick of government waste and special interests getting special treatment from elected officials.

An analogy can be draw between the pre-civil war abolitionist movements and the Tea Party protesting that is happening today. In no way do I attempt to parallel the moral equivalence of the pure evil of slavery and the mismanagement of tax dollars. However, the size and widespread aspects of the two movements are similar.

Is a new Civil War brewing? A war based on the proper role of government and the proper use of tax-payer dollars? Is big government waste the new peculiar institution of the 21st century?

Pick of the Day

Today I like Louisville -21 to beat Morehead State.The Louisville second team is better than the Morehead State Eagles starting team. I'm hoping that the Louisville second team pours it on.

Last night the Dukies won by just enough to push the POTD to 3-1.

Pick of the Day

Today's pick is Duke -22 points. The Dukies like to beat up on weaker opponents (it's the people who can stand up to them that they have problems with).

The Hurricanes came through last night to raise the record of the POTD to 2-1.

Flotsam and Jetsam - St. Louis Edition

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I have not filled out any brackets. As far as I'm concerned that activity has completely jumped the shark. I am in a couple of pools but no brackets for me and in my opinion - I'm a better person for it... Speaking with someone here in St Louis I was told that Budweiser is getting rid of their "Born on Dating" mainly because they had been getting rid of too much perfectly good beer just because the freshness date had passed. I haven't been able to find anything about this on the web but I'll keep looking (and looking at the labels of my Mich Ultras)... Today isn't just a big day for college basketball - it is also a big day for NCAA Wrestling as the NCAA Division 1 championships start today in St. Louis...

Separated at Birth




I've been struck how much Tyler Hansborough looks like Frodo Baggins in the post game press conferences. Sad eyes and all. Frodo Hansborough?

Pick of the Day

Today I like Carolina (-$125) against the Devils. This is the second game in two nights for the Devils while Carolina is well rested and playing at home. My guess is that the Devils may have celebrated a bit after Martin Brodeur became the winningest goalie in NHL history last night. I'd also be surprised to see Brodeur in net tonight.

Record 1-1 on picks of the day.

Flotsam and Jetsam - St. Louis Edition

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from St. Louis.

Happy day after Saint Patrick' Day!!... I had two flights on Southwest yesterday which was nice because Southwest was offering complementary beer in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I appreciated the free beer but if you stop and think about it - it's a pretty negative stereotype. What can you do to honor the Irish on their day of celebration? Give away booze of course because everyone thinks of booze when they think of the Irish... I was surprised to learn that the St. Louis Blues have never won the Stanley Cup. I just assumed that they had. I'm guessing they are not fans of this famous photo... I bought a bottled water at the airport and got a chuckle when I noticed that the bottle proclaimed that it was "Sodium Free". Sodium of course is just another way of saying salt. So basically the label was saying that I was not buying saltwater. I was amused by that... I didn't have time to post my pick of the day yesterday but I had the Devils (-$160) to beat the Blackhawks. The Devils won to give Martin Brodeur his 552nd win. That makes me 1-1 on my picks of the day so far. I'm going to try and make that a regular feature here.... Speaking of the Stanley Cup - on this day back in 1893 Lord Stanley pledged a sliver cup to be given to the hockey champion of Canada. Interestingly enough - Lord Stanley never saw a Stanley Cup hockey game played. It was his son's idea... Part of I-70 in St. Louis is designated as the Mark McGwire Highway. Not sure how I feel about that... Today is Brad Dourif's 59th birthday. I loved Brad Dourif as Doc Cochran on Deadwood but not till today did I realize that he also played Grima Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...

Today's Pick

Tonight I like San Antonio giving 5 to Oklahoma City. The Thunder average a 5.5 point differential for the season and while they are playing at home they really haven't much to play for. The Spurs meanwhile are trying to hold on to 2nd place in the West. I am slightly worried about a possible let-down by the Spurs after their big win over Houston on Saturday but San Antonio is a veteran team and I'm betting they take care of business.

Today's pick - San Antonio Spurs -5

The Things You Learn

In Arthurian Legend Sir Bors (aka Bohort), Sir Galahad, and Percival go on to achieve the Holy Grail and accompany it to a mystical island in the Middle East called Sarras. Both Galahad and Percival die on the island while Bors is the only one to return. Thus Sir Bors is the lone survivor of the Grail Quest.

In the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Sir Bors is played by Terry Gilliam and is the first knight to fall victim to the killer rabbit.

Jay Cutler is No Bernie Kosar - Or Maybe He Is?

"Josh [McDaniels] has never said anything negative to me about my play or anything else, for that matter." - Jay Cutler

If that's the case then what's the problem? I'll tell you what the problem is - Jay Cutler is a whiny bitch.

Last season the Broncos were 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Their losses included whoppers against Kansas City and Oakland (two of the worst teams in the NFL). The Broncos were correct in re-evaluating everything including the head coach and the QB. Yet the QB must feel that he was blameless in the less than stellar results. The QB is deluded.

The situation brings to mind another quote:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

The Jay Cutler defenders will point out his gaudy passing numbers and pass the blame for the teams poor performance on the team's porous defense. Yes the team's defense was awful last year but haven't these people noticed the wholesale changes the new Bronco management has made to the defense in efforts to improve? And not to beat the Jeff George comparison to death but it is worthwhile to mention that George posted some pretty gaudy numbers too. While we're at it - let me tell you about two other QB's with gaudy numbers - Bernie Kosar and Drew Bledsoe.

Bernie Kosar was much more heralded coming out of college that Cutler and yet when Bill Belichick took over in Cleveland - Kosar was pushed to the side because Vinny Testaverde gave the team a better chance to win. Drew Bledsoe was the number one pick in the entire draft but he was pushed aside because Tom Brady gave the Patriots a better chance to win. Both the Browns and the Patriots did better after the QB changes. Do you think those lessons are lost on Josh McDaniels? Do you think the lesson of how even a properly prepared back-up like Matt Cassell can become a Pro-Bowler is lost on McDaniels? How do you become properly prepared when you skip offseason team meeting in a snit to make a point?

I feel bad comparing Cutler to Kosar and Bledsoe. Both Kosar and Bledsoe had much more class than Cutler.

I can't help but notice that all the press leaks on this story seem to be coming from the Jay Cutler camp. I also can't help but notice that in no place do the quotes from the Cutler camp concern themselves with winning. Maybe that's because Jay Cutler doesn't care about winning. He just seems to care about himself.

The Denver Broncos would be better off moving on. Does Jay Cutler think that Jeff Garcia or another replacement QB couldn't also "lead" the Broncos to a 8-8 record? Jay Cutler is deluded and needs to immediately grow up or be traded.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

How many people do you think watched Syracuse play for the first time this year and said to themselves, "Jonny Flynn is black?".... It has to be said for emphasis - the Yankees offense will not be close to what it was last year. Of course you have the loss of Alex Rodriguez but you also have the switch from Bobby Abreu (20 HR and 100 RBI) to either Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher in right field plus the loss of Jason Giambi who had 32 HR and 96 RBI last season. Even before A-Rod went down the Yankees weren't going to equal the combined 52 HR and 196 RBI they got last season from RF and 1st base even with the addition of Mark Teixeira... I've got to agree with Mike Mayock. I saw Georgia play a number of games the past two years and not once did I think I was watching a QB who was the best in the land. Matt Stafford I think will be a Joey Harrington type disappointment... I think if the WBC games really counted for anything - then Puerto Rico's 11-1 thrashing of team USA would disqualify Puerto Rico from statehood for all time. As it stands nobody really cares. As a sad aside - I bet at least 50% of high school students today wouldn't be able to find Puerto Rico on a map... Jay Cutler is giving off Jeff George type vibes to me. If winning was important to Cutler - explain to me why he chose to go to Vanderbilt University (no knock on Vandy). Ego is more important than winning it seems to me in the case of Cutler... Happy 30th birthday to Kevin Youkilis....

Saturday Links

Some links to peruse at your leisure.

- The greatest art heist in history is still unsolved after 19 years. "The statute of limitations on prosecuting the thieves for the robbery has expired, but those who transport or hide the art could face charges."

- Interesting take on the economic climate.

- Heh Heh: Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC: Wolverine and Watchmen (Dr. Manhattan)

- Interesting chat with Dr. Brad Humphrey on sports and economics.

East Boston Bound and Down

The recent Chris Jones profile of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has generated a lot of buzz due mainly to Papelbon's labeling of ex-teammate Manny Ramirez as a "cancer". When it's all said and done though - I hope someone explains to Papelbon that the real joke was on him.

Lost in all the hoopla of the cancer quote is the underlying inferences from the article that Jonathan Papelbon is just not a very bright person. Chris Jones was just one "You are fucking out!" quote away from not so subtly painting Papelbon as a real life Kenny Powers.

Just look at some of the words and phrases that Jones used to describe Papelbon; "trademark histrionics...the character in a comic book...a few days left to summon the rage." Jones writes about Paelbon's wife Ashley needing to "be safely removed" to another car while the couple drives to Spring Training - a drive that has Papelbon cranking his stereo to 11 and screaming out the window. Again - all Jones had to add was that Papelbon was screaming "You are fucking out!" and it would have been a spot-on profile of the fictional Kenny Powers.

Jones tosses out Curt Schilling's assessment that Papelbon was "not exactly a charter member of Mensa" only to refute that Palebon isn't stupid (wink, wink) - he just "says all the dumb things most of us probably think but keep back." How Kenny Poweresque of him.

In the infamous Manny Ramirez section Jones goes out of the way to note that the quotes are UNEDITED as if to say - can you believe what the yokel is actually saying?

"The beautiful thing about our team is, we don’t let anybody get above the team. He wasn’t on the same train as the rest of us." And here Papelbon starts banging his kitchen table for emphasis, the punctuation marks in his sentences changing: "He was on a different train! And you saw what happened with that. We got rid of him, and we moved on without him. That comes from the manager, and it comes from guys like Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz. Nobody is ever going to be allowed to do that. Even a guy like me, just heading into my fourth year in the big leagues — if David Ortiz gets a little, you know — I’ll tell him what’s up! I’m not afraid to do that. I’m not afraid to put him in his place, because I think everybody needs that. And if somebody does it to me, I understand that. I most certainly understand that. Varitek tells me all the time, 'Just shut up. Do what you’re supposed to do.'"

Not on the same train? What sort of metaphor is that? I'm guessing Papelbon in the past probably heard the phrase "operating on a different plane" and misunderstood what was said or meant. And why is the Captain of the team always telling you to just shut up? Is it because of moronic utterances that makes one cry "enough!"?

The not so subtle digs are everywhere. Papelbon's handwriting is a "frantic scrawl", he has multiple garages and loads of hunting gear. Papelbon may read the profile and think it was complementary but others will look at it as him being painted as the stereotypical dumb redneck. As one astute observer noted, Papelbon was just one well placed question away from maybe being the next John Rocker. I prefer to look at it as being just one "You are fucking out!" quote away from being the real life Kenny Powers.

Heh Heh



Be sure to watch till the end.

HT Little Green Footballs

Messing With Joe Biden

"Central Arkansas Campaign for Liberty has one of these [Tea Party] protests scheduled for Saturday, March 14, at 5 p.m. at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock to coincide with Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s big money fundraiser with Vice President Joe Biden."

Wait protesters plan to demonstrate outside an event that has Vice President Joe Biden as the main attraction? Don't they know that nobody messes with Joe?

Maybe Joe Biden is there to talk to Lincoln about the $651 million in earmarks she has been part of requesting last year alone? Yeah right.

HT Instapundit

Netherlands Stuns Dominican Republic

The Dutch beat the mighty Dominicans in the WBC. People have been harping on the significance of this upset all morning. In the US, however, this is not the equivalent of Buster Douglas or the 1980 Olympic hockey team. In my opinion this is more akin to Boston College beating the Red Sox in a spring training exhibition game.

Sure the victory meant a lot to the Dutch players but don't you think Boston College players would be similarly pumped if they beat the Red Sox in an exhibition? If you don't think this was an exhibition then explain to me why the Dominican Republic did not have Vlad Guerrero, Francisco Liriano, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano not to mention Alex Rodriguez on the roster. Sure A-Rod started off on the roster but took himself off to have surgery on his hip. If this was truly the championship of the world and not a glorified exhibition - don't you think A-Rod could have put surgery off for a week or two?

The two real lessons to take away from the Dutch victory is confirmation of the cliche that there is no such thing as a sure thing and secondly - never, ever bet on exhibition baseball no matter how much it gussies itself up as legitimate competition.

2009 MLB Predictions

Here are some predictions for the 2009 baseball season.

1. 2009 will be the year a pitcher from the Mets finally pitches a no-hitter

2. Matt Wieters will get injured in AAA when the Orioles attempt to stash him early in the season in an effort to delay his arbitration eligible years. Wieters won't be available for the Orioles until after the All-Star break because of the injury.

3. The Orioles finish last in the AL East (see above)

4. Jason Giambi finishs the season with more HR than Mark Teixeira

5. The Yankees finish the season with a worse record than last year, give Joe Girardi a multi-year extension and then fire him

Spring Training Home Runs

Going into Saturday's action three players lead MLB in home runs this spring with 3 apiece.

Chris Shelton has 3 HR for the Mariners but is a long shot to make the Opening Day roster. Shelton was signed to a minor league deal and if he makes the roster it will probably be at the expense of Worcester's Bryan LaHair - so I'm rooting for Shelton to catch on elsewhere. Someone should take a shot with Shelton - he could be this year's Carlos Pena. Maybe a more apt comparison would be Brian Daubach.

Also with 3 HR is Jason Lane of Toronto who was also signed to a minor league deal in the off-season. Like Shelton - Lane is a long shot to make the opening day roster.

The third player with 3 HR is Mitch Jones of the Dodgers. Jones is a career minor-leaguer who at 31-years old is probably experiencing the apex of his baseball career this spring. MLB.com doesn't even have a page for Mitch Jones).

I guess the overall point is that spring training home runs really don't mean squat.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

You know - I would never even think about parking in a handicapped parking space. I would rather walk a mile in the parking lot instead. But I don't think twice about using a handicapped bathroom stall. That just occurred to me as strange today... You have a story about Canadian baseball and the nickname stubby - so I thought for sure that the story would be about Matt Stairs. I was wrong... Pedro Martinez as a closer? I know it worked for Eckersley and Smoltz but Pedro as closer at this point in his career just doesn't fell right... Albert "Face-stomper" Haynesworth was involved in a car accident that left a man who was minding his own business disabled. Haynesworth apparently was weaving in and out of traffic in his 2008 black Ferrari when he clipped the car being driven by another driver. Reading the thread made me angry towards Haynesworth but slowly a feeling that Haynesworth will end up broke, broken, alone and disgraced overcame me. I get the feeling that Haynesworth's whole life will eventually be a car-wreck. And we won't be able to turn away...

Watchmen

I saw Watchmen today and I thought I would share a few thoughts on the movie.

The movie is very long (almost 3 hours) but very true to the book until the end. Of course there was no way to fit everything into 3 hours so don't be upset if you don't get the backstory to Hooded Justice (or anything about Hooded Justice at all).

Jackie Earle Haley was excellent as Rorschach. Spot on in my opinion.

This movie is rated R for a reason. Don't take young kids to the movie thinking you are going to see Spiderman. Think more like the Sopranos as superheros - Bada Bing scenes and all.

Dr. Manhattan's penis is a scene stealer. It's like a X-rated "Where's Waldo?" Billy Crudup shows up on screen and your mind goes - "there it is again!" I image the most common interview question Billy Crudup will have to answer will be "was that really your penis?"

Both the book and the movie get two thumbs up.

Bad Paintings of Barack Obama



These are pretty funny. Keep refreshing the page to get a new picture.

HT Good Morning Silicon Valley

Heh Heh

Fart jokes are always funny.

HT The Big Lead

A-Rod's Hip Boo Boo

So Alex Rodriguez needs surgery on his hip and could be out 10 weeks? Ha ha!

Timing is everything - how perfect a replacement for A-Rod would Nomar Garciaparra have been? Too bad Nomar signed with the A's just last week. Having Nomar and Jeter on the left side of the same infield would have also guaranteed the Yankees plenty of good press for once.

Do the Yankees go internal for A-Rod's replacement? Angel Berroa, Cody Ransom or Justin Leone? None of those names float the proverbial boat. Do they rush Bradley Suttle? That's not a good idea.

Bill Hall of the Brewers has been mentioned as a possible replacement but I'm guessing the asking price would be too high. Another name to consider is the A's Bobby Crosby. The 2004 Rookie of the Year really hasn't lived up to expectations and with Orlando Cabrerra being brought in - Crosby is destined to be a super sub for the A's this season. The A's would love to shed his $5.25 million contract for 2009 so I doubt if the Yankees would have to part with much in the terms of prospects.

In one regard it's too bad this happened now. I was looking forward to seeing how the steroid revelations impacted his overall fantasy baseball draft value.

One last thing - how ironic would it be if A-Rod is prescribed steroids as part of the normal course of rehab for his hip?

Jalen Rose

My most recent gripe with ESPN is Jalen Rose. He is the most monotone announcer in the history of TV. He sounds like a high school student reading a bad paper in English class.

My theory is that some suit at ESPN foisted Jalen Rose on the viewing public as sort of a take that to all those people who were complaining about Screaming Stephen A Smith. The monotone Rose is the anti-screaming A.Someone should explain to that executive that two wrongs do not make a right.

Just awful. Here's an example and he's not even that awful in this clip.

Bad MLB Contracts

Interesting list of the worst 45 contracts in baseball.

I have to agree with some of the comments - I think all things considered Alex Rodriguez's contract needs to be on the list.

HT The Big Lead

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations

The trade of Matt Cassell and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City was a good trade for the Chiefs and a necessary trade for the Patriots. It should be remembered that not only will the Pats be getting the Chiefs 2nd round pick (34th overall) but New England also gets the cap room back. Cap room which can be used to add another impact player. It really was a two player for two player trade... Tom Jones is playing at the House of Blues in Boston. I saw the ad and couldn't help but laugh. To me it seems that Tom Jones has gone from the "I f*cked your girlfriend" vibe to the "I f*cked your mom" vibe... Cubs broadcasting legend Harry Caray would have been 95 today. Here's how I like to remember him. And yes - I would eat the moon if it was made of ribs...

Jim Bowden

Jim Bowden is supposedly "resigning" today as GM of the Washington Nationals. This brings immediately to mind a question; with Jim Bowden gone - who is now the worst GM in baseball?

Good Links

- Three River Sports - great blog on the Pittsburgh sports scene

- Good rankings for 2009 fantasy baseball by position

- Poker Road - Two Jacks in the Hole - interesting and funny podcasts

- Dilbert's Unified Theory of Everything Financial - great advice in these financial times (or any times for that matter)

- Biblical origin of the toast - Here's mud in your eye!

- Drunken Wisdom - is there any other kind?

- 101.9 - The New York Rock Experience - good tunes

Red Sox Payroll

It should be noted that the Boston Red Sox payroll for 2009 should be about $5 million less than 2008. According to Cott's Baseball Contracts 2008 payroll was $133,390,035 while this year it looks like the payroll will wind up about $128 million.

Some of the money that came off the books:

- Manny Ramirez $20 million
- Curt Schilling $8 million
- Coco Crisp $5 million
- Jason Varitek $5 million (2009 contract half of last year's $10 mil)
- Mike Timlin $3 million
- Alex Cora $2 million
- Sean Casey $800,000

Money that was added to payroll:

- Jason Bay $7.5 million
- Jonathan Papelbon $5.5 mil increase via arbitration
- John Smoltz $5.5 million
- Brad Penny $5 million
- Kevin Youkilis $3 million increase via new deal
- Takashi Saito $2.5 million
- Josh Bard $1.6 million
- Dustin Pedroia $1 mil increase over 2008 (big money comes in later years)
- Rocco Baldelli $500,000

The Red Sox have increased the depth of the starter position, put together one of the best bullpens in baseball and made the team younger overall than the 2008 edition - all while shedding some payroll. It is easy to point to the loss of Manny and Schilling as the reason the team is saving but instead of just pocketing that money the Red Sox used it wisely.

Nobody Messes with the Joe Biden

He was Vice President of the United States but he faked his own death so that he could re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist. He's silky, smooth and harder than trigonometry!

Coming in 2009 - Nobody Messes with the Joe Biden!

I Needed a Reason to Buy a ShamWow

And now I have one.

Vince Offer - the you'll love my nuts guy - is supposedly currently using all of the proceeds from his many ventures to fund his own personal war against Scientology.

Take that Xenu!

HT Sports Frog

World Baseball Classic

Here's a list of players by team who will be participating in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Just a couple of thoughts:

Many people who follow baseball think that Omar Minaya has a "thing" for players from the Dominican Republic but of the 15 players from the Mets who are participating - only Jose Reyes is playing for the Dominican Republic. I found that interesting.

These teams are either isolationists or their organizations have slim picking to choose from. The Nationals, White Sox and A's have just two player apiece participating in the games. Tampa Bay, Texas and the Giants are just sending three players apiece.

The Mets are sending 15 players to 8 teams while the Red Sox are sending 14 players to 11 teams.