Hardball Heaven

Another Big Spawts Night in Bawstin

2009-05-12T21:14:00.006-04:00

ESPN Breaking News flash
Stu Scott: We are live on site at a Texaco station in Murfreesboro, Mississippi. As we understand it, from multiple sources there at the scene, Brett Favre is currently in the mens' room talking on his cell phone to somebody in the state of Minnesota...

Let's go to Michelle Candaya for a live report. Michelle, thank you girl for staying on the scent of the great Brett Favre. From the vibe you're getting there, anything you may have seen or heard, do you think Brett is seriously contemplating coming back to play again in 2009?

Michelle: Stu, I think he's doing exactly what he did last year... talking it over with people... assessing his opportunities, trying to make a smart decision... he's also got his shoulder to think about and whether he can withstand the rigors of an NFL season. If the warrior can't be a warrior, you know, it's not going to work.

Stu: Mish, thank you for withstanding the rigors of staking out a mens' room in Murfreesboro, Mississippi. We're all hoping that Brett comes back and continues to prove his doubters wrong.

*****

Okay, got that off my chest. It's truly sad what ESPN has become with its constant, fawning coverage of Favre, who last I checked still pretty much sucked.

It's another huge sporting night here in the Hub, with the Celtics and Bruins both playing in - say it together - pivotal playoff games; and the Red Sox playing the Angels later out on the West Coast.

As of this very moment, there's a little more than 2 minutes left in the B's game and they've got a 4-2 lead over Carolina. The 'Canes just emptied their net and added another skater. Strap yourself in...

Chara just took a huge slapshot in the ankle and looks like he's wounded, but he's staying on.... over a minute... Canes can't get it going... one minute...

Recchi picks it off... kills time. 45 seconds. A little bit of pressure but B's clear it. 14 seconds... and the Bruins force a Game 7 after being down 3-1.

Now over to the Celtics-Magic, Game 5 at the Garden. It's 55-46 Magic in the third, and the C's look pretty lethargic. Rondo just picked up his fourth foul on a charge, and Stephon Marbury (gulp) is manning the point. He's already launched and missed two straight shots. (Big Baby's mohawk is killing me. For me, he's been the most fun part of these playoffs, the way he's become such a valuable player almost overnight. His last-second, game-winning shot in Game 4 - and his reaction - will be remembered for a long time).

Ray Allen just made a beautiful behind-the-back dribble and drive for a lay-up, the Celtics can't seem to stop Rashard Lewis. Celts are down 62-54 now with a minute left in the third quarter. (There just doesn't seem to be a buzz in the arena tonight). Celts can't seem to get closer than 5 points... last possession of the quarter... and they can't score. They're down by 8 heading into the fourth...I must say, I don't feel good about this one. More later after the Sox get going in Annyheim.

Manny the Mental Midget

2009-05-07T21:23:00.002-04:00

It was uncanny regarding Manny. When I heard the news today that Manny Ramirez had been suspended for 50 games for violating MLB's steroid policy, I was stunned and I thought about how the guys they usually catch are the ones with the least gray matter up there. Clemens, for instance. Then I'm driving home, and my old college roommate calls me up and says in a phone message, "It's always the mental midgets... I'm telling you... track, baseball, football... just look for the stupidest guys who love looking at themselves in the mirror."

Yes, it's true, and the ramifications for us as Boston Red Sox fans could be troubling, but believe me, we're nowhere near "there" yet. Supposedly, he took some type of fertility drug that steroid users often take. Manny's written statement said that he was prescribed a medication by his doctor and he had no idea it was a banned substance. As Bob Ryan points out, if anyone is capable of such a goofy oversight, it's this clown. I also wanted to see what the Manny-loving LA Times' take was, and to my surprise, they had a story with a great quote from convicted 'roid dealer Victor Conte:

HCG is one of dozens of substances prohibited under baseball's drug policy. Players can call a hotline to check on the legality of any substances, and they can obtain a therapeutic use exemption for any legitimate medical use of a banned substance.

"This is failing more than a drug test," Conte said. "This is failing an IQ test. He can call an 800 number to ask about any product that he's taking. To think that a player who's making $45 million didn't do that, or have any agent or any of his numerous advisors check out what he said was a prescribed medication defies belief."

Manny has a way of defying belief, doesn't he? We'll see what happens from here on out, but if it's proven that Manny was juicing during 2004 and 2007, we're now officially dragged into this mess. And that won't be fun.

House of Blues

2009-04-28T21:45:00.004-04:00

So I'm sure you've heard by now that the Yankees are having trouble filling some of the pricier premium seats in their new, taxpayer-funded mausoleum. Boo hoo. The blue backs of the empty seats actually go well with the whole new decor, Hank. You have to feel a little bit bad - a teensy weensy bit - for the true Yankee fans. Not only does their team stink, but check out the prices they're being asked to pay in the new, taxpayer-funded mausoleum.

Quick update: Celtics and Bulls are engaged in yet another instant classic. First overtime, Celts up by 3 with 2:30 to go. Rondo again magnificent, and Perkins has been a beast. I'm starting to dislike Brad Miller's antics. The late, great Johnny Most would have a field day with this guy. In Cleveland, the Sox blew a 7-3 lead and were tied at 7 with the Indians at last check. Brad Penny is not getting it done.

We're Streaking, Honey... Everyone's Doing It

2009-04-27T23:46:00.003-04:00

Actually, not everyone has won 11 games in a row. That would be the unique domain of the Boston Red Sox, who since starting out the season with only 2 wins in their first 8 games, have rattled off 11 straight victories since, with the wins coming in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. In a span of just four days, Jason Bay has taken two of the game's elite closers - Rivera of the Yanks and last night Kerry Wood of the Indians - deep late in ballgames to either tie or put his team ahead. During the streak, the one thing that has stood out to me is the amazing depth on this team. Dice-K has been on the DL for a few weeks, our top two shortstops have both been hurt, and our best power hitter - David Ortiz - doesn't have a dinger yet. No worries, though. We've got Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden down on the farm - and oh, yeah, Clay Buchholz too. Nick Green is a more than adequate fill-in at short. And the way Youk and Bay have been hitting, Papi can take his time finding that groove (but he better find it!). The Sox effectively stuck their tongues out at the Yankees Sunday night when they closed out the game with two Pawtucket call-ups, Bowden and Hunter Jones. After doing his job in the heat of the game's best rivalry, Bowden made the drive down 95 South again to Rhode Island to rejoin his minor league mates. The Yanks' brass, meanwhile, had to be wondering why they can't get guys like that.

Sox go for an even dozen tonight in Cleveland. Weather has been iffy, but Boston.com is saying they'll have a window of time to get it in. Pitching thumbnails: Brad Penny (2-0, 7.80 ERA) vs. Anthony Reyes (1-0, 4.76).

PS: Go Celts!

The Season is Officially Underway

2009-04-25T09:14:00.004-04:00

Does it get any better? Eighty degrees, a Friday night, Fenway buzzing, the Yankees in town, and a rousing comeback off one of the greatest closers the game has ever seen. Nice way to start this three-game series. Jason Bay tied it at 4 in the ninth with a blast to dead-center off Mariano Rivera, and two innings later Kevin Youkilis sent everyone home happy with a homer to left that surely bounced off a few cars on the Landsdowne Street parking garage roof. Sox win 5-4 to draw first blood. Today's game is at 4:15 and should be another good one. Old Marlin pals Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett will go at each other.

Lucky Seven

2009-04-23T09:45:00.004-04:00

Your Boston Red Sox are officially on a roll. Yesterday's two-game sweep over Minnesota makes it seven in a row. Day off today, and then it's time to rev up the engines for the first Yankees series, which starts Friday night. Some enticing pitching matchups:

Friday: Joba Chamberlain vs. Jon Lester; Saturday: Josh Beckett vs. A.J. Burnett; Sunday: Justin Masterson vs. Andy Pettitte

Big Papi's already circulating word that if young Joba decides once again that Kevin Youkilis' head is part of the strike zone, he will be sorry. With warm temps expected here for the weekend, this series could be very, very interesting. Buckle up.

Also, congrats to the Bruins for their first playoff series win in a decade. They certainly did it in style, overwhelming the Canadiens in a four-game whitewashing. Now it's the Celts' turn tonight.

Good times here in the Hub right now. Good times.

I'd Like to Buy a Vowel

2009-04-22T14:51:00.008-04:00

You know, it really all comes down to time. Work-wise, I had a first quarter from hell. Early mornings, late nights, weekends, and it still wasn't enough. I could have worked 24 hours a day for three months straight and there'd still be more to do. Now don't get me wrong - I've got a good work ethic, and I understand extra hours come with the territory when you're pulling down seven figures like I am. But when you start to dream about work every night, that's when you really need a vacation.

So I took one. And a really long one at that. Between the quick post about Jim Rice finally getting his due and the short 2009 opening day recap, 85 days went by. Now I'm back from a real family vacation, and I'm raring to post away. I hope I haven't lost any of my three readers during the hiatus. Just know that it was part of an overall mind cleansing effort.

So what to cover? Obviously lots going on in Boston pro sports right now. The Bruins are steamrolling their hated nemesis in round 1 of the playoffs, the injury-riddled Celtics are in a battle for their playoff lives with the upstart Bulls, the NFL draft is this weekend, and the Red Sox have shaken off their early-season doldrums and are starting to hit the ball around the yard. They dispatched with the Orioles pretty easily during a four-game sweep, and at this very moment, mere blocks from where my ample arse sits, they're holding a 10-1 lead in the seventh inning over the Twins. The game is in a rain delay, which is weird because it's not raining in the Back Bay. But I digress... the big problem early on was that the 1-2-3 hitters in the order - Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Big Papi - weren't doing much. That's changed a little over the past few days and now the wins are starting to pile up.

The Sox are actually playing two games today to make up last night's rainout. Tim Wakefield has pitched another gem so far today (best thing about Wake - he can sit in the clubhouse for a two-hour rain delay and come right back in and throw that devilish knuckler). Tonight's game at Fenway has Francisco Liriano going against Brad Penny.

Some of the more interesting early-season story lines around MLB:

Homer-happy
The new Yankee Stadium got a lot of ink over the past week or so because of the number of home runs that were hit to right field during the first series at the park against the Indians. A whopping 20 homers were hit in four games, and 14 of them went to right. All sorts of theories are flying around, and the only reason the Yanks are concerned is because more of those homers came off Indians' bats than their own. I was initially worried that the signings of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira had shifted the balance of power in the AL East, and they still might - but so far, they've played pretty uninspiring ball. And consider this - even when A-Fraud comes back, their starting outfield is still Johnny "Pop-Gun Arm" Damon, Brett Gardner, and Nick Swisher. Not exactly Lynn, Rice and Evans.

Enjoy it while it lasts
Some of the best early-season records belong to some surprise teams for sure. The Marlins, Blue Jays, Mariners and Padres are a combined 39-19 as I write this, while several of last year's playoff teams - including the Rays, Angels, champion Phillies, Mets and Brewers are a collective 26-39. Something's gotta give eventually.

How bad are the Nationals?
So bad that they actually wore uniforms in one game this year that had their team name misspelled as "Natinals", as displayed by slugger Adam Dunn above. That's bad. Really bad.

Check out Joe Torre's book
If you want to pick up a good read, I highly recommend the Joe Torre/Tom Verducci book. Some good revelations in there, even if it is written out of spite. For Red Sox fans, there's also some good color on the epic 2004 ALCS comeback, and additional details on the Aaron Bleeping Boone game the year before. Yes, even after five-plus years and two world championships, my blood still boils at the mere mention of Grady Little's name. Doofus.

Fantasy island
My best fantasy baseball performers so far this year: Youk, Orlando Hudson (sell high!), Bobby Abreu, Carlos Quentin, Joe Saunders and Andy Pettitte. Biggest disappointments: Brendan Webb, Lance Berkman, Chris Iannetta, Troy Tulowitzki, Jason Motte. What about yours?

Back in Business

2009-04-08T08:51:00.004-04:00

What? You thought we'd never be back? Oh ye of little faith. We were just waiting for Opening Day, and after one rain-soaked attempt, the Red Sox and Rays finally kick-started the 2009 season yesterday at Fenway.

The top story lines - Beckett dominant, offense clicking, Pedroia picks up where he left off, Beckett dominant, bullpen good except for Okajima, Papi looks skinny, Lowell looks pretty good, Beckett dominant.

Our angry ace from Texas was at his surliest best yesterday, going seven full innings and whiffing 10 Rays in his debut. The Sox jumped out to the early lead on Pedroia's first-inning homer, and then held on late to win it 5-3.

Combine the Sox' good start with the Yankees' horrific start - both CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira threw up on themselves in their opener - and things are feeling pretty good here in the hub.

Tonight's Game 2 features two of the best young lefties in the game, with Jon Lester going against Scott Kazmir.

The Hall Calls (Finally) for Jim Ed

2009-01-12T15:58:00.005-05:00

Congrats to one of the most feared sluggers who ever played. Jim Rice was the classic borderline case for enshrinement, but his ridiculous dominance in the late 1970s and early 1980s punched his pass to Cooperstown. From 1975 to 1986, he drove in 1,276 runs, the most in baseball during that time. The theory is that he was held back from the Hall in prior years because he was a complete jerk with the media, which unfortunately comprise the voters for said enshrinement. Time heals all wounds, evidently. That, and the fact that Rice accomplished what he did sans the juice.

It's Been Such a Long Time...

2009-01-11T11:46:00.004-05:00

It's been so long since my last post that the guy pictured on the right in the photo below is no longer coaching the Jets and is now coaching the Browns. What kind of dirt does Eric Mangini have on Browns owner Randy Lerner?

Lots to catch up on, obviously, but let's hit the high notes.

It sucks that the Patriots aren't playing a playoff game today, and maybe getting a chance to exact some revenge on the Steelers, who whupped us good in Week 13. The path to the Super Bowl this year is wide open - two of the best teams all year, the Titans and Panthers, lost yesterday - and it's a shittin' shame that we don't get a chance to see if Cassel and Welker could have kept it rolling. So far, we know that the Ravens and Cardinals are heading to the final four. Today, we've got Eagles-Giants in the early game, and Steelers-Chargers in the night game. I'm thinking the home favorites roll, but then again...

Baseball. Our reason for living. Man, where do we start? Yes, the Yankees got supremely better by signing the best hitter and the best pitcher on the market. Yes, the Rays are better with Pat Burrell in their lineup and more David Price (remember that beast?). Are the Sox - as currently consituted - a 3rd place team? Maybe, but if we've learned anything over the years, it's that we truly know nothing. The Yanks' ridiculous spending spree, as it so often has done in the past, could backfire on them. Think about the pressure that team is under right now to win it all. Pressure, New York, the Steinbrenner boys, an underwhelming manager, and the possibility that maybe this little economic problem we're having could come back to haunt their free-spending ways. It's got all the ingredients for lots and lots of fun. The Rays will be better, which is a scary thought, but we also need to remember that since we took them to a Game 7 in last year's ALCS, we've gotten better too. The bullpen, in particular, will be much improved with Ramon Ramirez and Takashi Saito added to the mix. Frees up Masterson to be a full-time starter, which I think he should be. Theo also took fliers on Brad Penny and John Smoltz, both of whom may pan out to be great deals if they can stay relatively healthy. Obviously a very large 'if.' The other notable addition was Rocco Baldelli as a fourth outfielder. (Busy offseason, too, for the Sox medical staff, which no doubt spent a lot of time looking over records for Penny, Smoltz, and Rocco, who suffers from sort of fatigue syndrome.)

Of course, the thing that worries you the most when you look at the current Sox' roster is this: Catchers: Josh Bard, Dusty Brown, George Kottaras, Mark Wagner. It's been quiet on the Jason Varitek front, but while there's still a chance he comes back here I think the Sox may be eyeing a move for a talented young catcher who can step in and start. Maybe they'll use their new bullpen depth to move someone like Manny Delcarmen for a young catcher.

On the surface, the Yanks went shopping in the high-end district, and we went to the local flea market. Yes, we were in on Teixeira, and we know the Sox made an inquiry about Hanley Ramirez (be still my heart). But I kind of like how Theo and his guys adjusted after being strung along by Boras. They went the low-risk, high reward route, and that may turn out to be a blessing in disguise some the July trading deadline.

Here's the Deal

2008-12-22T21:15:00.005-05:00

No, not the Teixeira deal. The whole world remains in suspense over what uniform this guy will decide to wear in 2009. In fact, it's looking more and more like he's going to be a Red Sox and that it's just going to take a little bit of time. I say they need him, I'm happy if they get him, but don't bid against yourselves and dole out even more money to Boras. I think John Henry - a man who knows all about financial risk - gets it this time around. If they can't get Tex signed at $175-180 million over eight years, move on. That's an outrageous contract in these times. (See, I just go on and on about baseball... back to my original intent...)

No, the deal we're talking about here is the first question I asked my buddy Bobby yesterday after the Patriots had eviscerated a gutless Arizona Cardinals team in the snow at Gillette, to the nice little tune of 47-7. "Are the Jets incented to beat the Dolphins next week? I need to know that a win matters to them." See, the Pats and Dolphins both won their games yesterday, making them each 10-5. The Jets, predictably, lost in Seattle, making them 9-6 and on the far outer edges of the playoffs. The Jets' loss gives the Pats two possible pathways in: if the Ravens lose and the Pats win, we're a wild card team. And if the Pats win and the J-E-T-S win next Sunday, we're AFC East division champs again and we're hosting a home playoff game. Just like that. So I needed to know that Ratboy Mangini and his overpaid team of choke artists would at least show up. I even wanted to know what time the two games were scheduled for, taking the conspiracy theory a level deeper that one team could see that the other lost or won, and simply not care anymore.

But not to worry, I feel better that the Jets will play to win, even if I have to peg my playoff hopes to Brett Favre. (Imagine saying that five years ago?) The NFL got smart and moved both the Jets-Dolphins and Ravens-Jaguars games to 4:00 starts, while keeping Pats-Bills at 1:00. Why is this smart? Because if the Ravens lose and the Jets win, the Jets are in. And you have to think Ratboy is kinda coaching for his livelihood here too, the way they've played down the stretch. So that satisfies me in the incentive department.

It would be a shame if the Pats didn't get a shot in the postseason this year, a statement that was unthinkable just a few minutes into Game 1 this year, when someone named Bernard Pollard seemingly ruined our season before it even began. But the Pats very well could become the first 11-5 team in NFL history to not make the playoffs, all while having to stomach watching the likes of the Cardinals and Broncos make it in.

I hate to say it, but here we go J-E-T-S! We love ya Brett. You too (holding my nose, crossing my fingers) Ratboy. Coach 'em up! And remember who made you what you are today, you ungrateful little piece of ... like I said, coach 'em up.

Not So Fast

2008-12-20T08:19:00.002-05:00

Less than an hour after the post below, I heard the news that Sox owner John Henry had e-mailed the media late Thursday night, saying that the Sox were bowing out of the Teixeira talks because of "other offers" that the team couldn't compete with. It was a stunning turn of events, but we should all know better how these things with Boras tend to work. They take time. There's maneuvering on both sides. Most baseball people think that Henry's message was a negotiating ploy, and that the Red Sox are still Teixeira's top suitors.

Not much new news yesterday, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Sox Getting Close on Teixeira?

2008-12-18T20:45:00.003-05:00

Please let this happen. Various reports are saying that Sox reps are in Texas tonight talking with Scott Boras about a mega-deal for Mark Teixeira. Something in the neighborhood of 8 years and $184 million. Very nice neighborhood. And then after this happens, please God, please, let the Hankees sign Manny for big bucks. That'll make for a very nice Christmas, indeed.

Spending Spree

2008-12-13T09:27:00.005-05:00

So, do you think the Yankees were pleased about missing the playoffs last year for the first time in forever? Their master plan to build a scouting and player development machine has fallen by the wayside and the Steinbrenner wallet is back out. That didn't take too long, but it's certainly not surprising. They're opening up a new ballpark this year, and George is in failing health so he doesn't want to watch the likes of Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy develop.

And it certainly didn't take them long to figure out that their starting rotation absolutely sucked. In the past week, the Spanks have responded by shelling out more than $240 million to CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Similar to when the Yanks didn't go hard after Johan Santana - and later regretted it - they needed Sabathia and they got their man, signing him to a 7-year, $161 million contract with an opt-out clause after three years. Yesterday, news broke that they had also signed Burnett, a guy with immense talent whose body is unfortunately made out of papier mache, to a ridiculous 5-year, $82 million deal. That one has Carl Pavano written all over it. Or maybe Kevin Brown. Or Randy Johnson. You get the point - they suck at judging free agent pitching talent. I am hoping and praying that they go after Manny Ramirez, just for pure entertainment reasons.

As for the Sox, most everyone thinks they're in on the Mark Texeira sweepstakes along with the Angels. I think he'd be a great sign - a young player in the prime of his career who desperately wants to be on a winner. They'd have to move Youkilis to third and figure out what to do with Mike Lowell, but like the Yanks' money grab for CC, I think this is a case of the Red Sox needing Texeira. Big Papi needs someone to ride sidecar with him.

The other big story hook has been what the Sox will do about Varitek and their lack of catching depth. Despite what you hear out of Scott Bore-ass' mouth, it doesn't appear that 'Tek got any other substantial offers from other teams. I think he'll be back, maybe for 2 years at between $15 and $18 million. I know you're supposed to keep emotion out of it, but I'd have no problem giving Varitek an extra million or so for what he's done. He's earned a little bit of legacy pay, in my book.

Pedroia Wins AL MVP; Coco Traded to the Royals

2008-11-19T21:13:00.003-05:00

The Hot Stove hasn't really heated up yet, but there's plenty of news and more than a few rumors floating around.

First things first: Dustin Pedroia capped off an incredible season by winning the AL MVP this week. All he's done in his first two years is win the Rookie of the Year award, a World Series title, a Gold Glove, and now the MVP. The naysayers - and he's had them all his life - will say that nobody stuck out in the MVP race, and there is a kernel of truth in that. But as somebody who watches entirely too much baseball, take it from me: this kid is as deserving as anybody. Consider the numbers, courtesy of WEEI's Rob Bradford:

Games: 157.

Runs: 118 (1st).

Hits: 213 (Tied for 1st).

Doubles: 54 (1st).

Batting average: .326 (2nd)

Stolen base percentage: 20 steals, one caught stealing (1st)

Total bases: 322 (4th)

Percentage of swings and misses on pitches faced: 8.1 (1st)

Multi-hit games: 61 (1st)

Games with 3 or more hits: 23 (1st)

Games with 4 or more hits: 7 (1st)

Pedroia beat out Twins 1B Justin Morneau and his own teammate, Kevin Youkilis, for the award.

Believe it or not, this numbskull (there's always one, isn't there? Remember the Pedro fiasco after his sick 1999 season?) inexplicably left Pedroia off his ballot completely. Hard to figure what he was thinking, but at least he admitted he screwed up.

Anyway, congrats to Pedey.

As far as the Hot Stove, we got a little kindling wood on the fire today as the Sox traded Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals for Ramon Ramirez, a pretty solid 8th inning set-up man type. Incredibly, the Sox actually unloaded payroll on the Royals, who were desperate for speed. Coco's Boston career got off to a rough start when he broke his finger sliding into a base early in the 2006 season, but I will always remember the amazing catches (none better than the theft he pulled on the Mets' David Wright (above) in 2007) he made throughout his time here. He also kept his mouth shut down the stretch, not whining about playing time, and in the end I think he's happy that he'll be playing every day. Hey Manny, that's how you work your way out of town. As for the Ramirez that we got, he had a 2.50 ERA in 70-plus innings last year and only gave up two home runs. Some are speculating that his arrival could mean the team is thinking about putting Justin Masterson back into the starting rotation (yes, please).

Other odds and ends: Lots of respected writers are saying the Sox will make a huge offer to try to get Mark Teixeira, and news broke today on most of the major sites that they have engaged in talks with free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, who John Henry loves from his days running the Florida Marlins. Strap on your seat belts, boys and girls. We're going for a ride over the next couple of months.

Going Shopping

2008-11-16T08:44:00.004-05:00

Ask and ye shall receive. A little Hot Stove baseball talk for your Sunday morning. First, I read a rumor this morning that the Tigers may deal either Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis to the Sox for Julio Lugo, a deal in which Boston would undoubtedly have to eat a lot of cash. Anything to get Julio out of town, but that also says that Theo is content to go with Jed Lowrie as his everyday shortstop. I'm not sold on Lowrie yet, but I'd be okay with that - he needs to cut down on the whiffs. The Sox are also rumored to be talking with Scott Bore-Ass about stud 1B Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe. Personally, I think Texeira should be their No. 1 priority. Move Youk to third, trade Mike Lowell, and you've got a 30-homer, Gold Glove first baseman to plug into that lineup. Then sign Varitek for reasonable money, get a decent bullpen arm or two and that's all they need to do.

Here's a look at the some of the better-known names available by position, with guys I think the Sox should pursue in bold:

C: Brad Ausmus, Rod Barajas, Michael Barrett, Johnny Estrada, Jason Kendall, Paul LoDuca, Pudge Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Greg Zaun

1B: Carlos Delgado, Jason Giambi, Kevin Millar, Mark Teixeira

2B: Orlando Hudson

SS: Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal, Edgar Renteria, Omar Vizquel

3B: Troy Glaus, Chipper Jones

OF: Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson, Casey Blake, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Mike Cameron, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey, Jr., Vladimir Guerrero, Raul Ibanez, Jacque Jones, Mark Kotsay, Manny Ramirez

DH: Frank Thomas, Jim Thome

SP: A.J. Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Randy Johnson, John Lackey, Kyle Lohse, Derek Lowe, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Matt Morris, Jamie Moyer, Mike Mussina, Brad Penny, Oliver Perez, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf

RP: Brian Fuentes, Todd Jones, Jorge Julio, Brad Lidge, Mariano Rivera, Francisco Rodriguez, Dan Wheeler, Kerry Wood

Here's the full list, with agents, service time, ages, etc.

Some very big names available, and of course, leave it to the Yankees to turn their noses at the biggest economic meltdown we've seen in our lifetimes. Reports say they've made a huge offer to Sabathia, and are also pursuing both Burnett and Lowe. Think they want to improve their pitching?

Throw in your thoughts...

Hello Again, Hello...

2008-11-12T16:20:00.002-05:00

22 days, now that's a hiatus. Not much has happened since we last spoke. The Philadelphia Phillies won a World Series that will always be remembered for a suspended game - a clincher, no less - that took several days to complete. The World Champion Boston Celtics (f-you Gregg Pop-a-zit)opened up their quest for back-to-back banners. The Bruins - Boston, not UCLA - are off to a great start. And the NFL season is entering week 10, and would you believe that the Tom Brady-less Patriots are tied for first entering tomorrow night's big tilt against the hated Jets in Foxborough. Oh yeah, we Americans also got together last Tuesday to say in unision: "Hey, George, you're fired!!" Barack Obama will be the 44th president of these United States, and let's hope they're a little more united when he's through.

But enough about politics - what do you want to talk about? How about the amazing fact that I'm eager to watch both the Celtics (vs. the Hawks) and the Bruins (against Chicago) tonight? I honestly can't remember the last time I looked forward to watching both of our winter sports teams play. They're both off to good starts, and it will be intriguing to watch them the rest of the year. But we're in the midst of Patriots season, so let's dissect and analyze what the Pats have been able to do through nine games.

We know the franchise QB went down in the first week, but what we didn't know was that this team would rise to the occasion, and bond together to show the world that they're about much more than one superstar. If I added this in for good measure - that the Pats along the way would also lose their top three running backs, their veteran safety, a couple of offensive linemen, and one of their best linebackers - you'd surely have written off 2008 and started looking ahead to 2009.

But a funny thing has happened. All those media wiseguys who were wondering if Bill Belichick would be exposed without his binky at QB have been awfully quiet the last few weeks as the Pats have simply changed their formula for winning. Kind of like a golfer who can win with a 350-yard drive or an accurate short game, the Pats have found a way to get it done differently than last year. They're not demolishing teams by halftime. Instead, they're winning close games on the D-line, on the O-line, with good special teams, with everyone seemingly making a key contribution here or there. Backup QB Matt Cassel, all but left for dead after the pre-season, has grown steadily each week and has won some fans. And you know what? After getting past our morbid depression about Tom Brady, all of this has been pretty damn entertaining.

And now we have another chapter in the blood rivalry between the Pats and the Jets, as the two teams get ready to face each other tomorrow night in Foxborough. They're both 6-3 and in first place in the AFC East, and they're both playing good football right now. It should be a hell of a game - on a Thursday night no less - but I'll take Bill over Brett and Napoleon Mangini anytime.

Writing is Therapeutic, Writing is Therapeutic...

2008-10-21T21:45:00.007-04:00

So many thoughts, so many directions I could go... first, I guess I'm slowly coming to grips with the fact that we're not going to have any more meaningful baseball games to watch. The Patriots being on Monday Night Football last night sort of took the mind away from the Sox for awhile, but it certainly doesn't take long to come back does it? That's the affliction we all have. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, the 2004 and 2007 teams accomplished more, but I think I'm always going to remember the 2008 team. How can you not be proud of what these guys just did? I've said it a million times before, but name me a team that's been through the type of adversity this team had to go through this year, beginning with the ridiculous early travel schedule. I'll list 'em again. Schilling out for the year. Lugo (thankfully) out. Big Papi's wrist. Mike Lowell's hip. J.D. Drew's everything. A less-than-100% Josh Beckett at the most critical time of the year. The Manny debacle of course. When the season ended in Sunday night's Game 7 loss to the Rays, we had our regular first baseman playing third, a kid who began the year in Triple-A Pawtucket playing short, a veteran outfielder playing first, a backup who wanted to be traded playing center, a former Pittsburgh Pirate playing left and a tall, rangy kid who was in Single-A ball as recently as last year playing a pivotal role in the bullpen. Think about it. It's ludicrous. And yet this team battled back and at least made the Rays work for it. It didn't end with the result we wanted, but these guys did us proud. Youk and Pedroia should be voted co-MVP's for what they did this year.

As the players scatter, there are already decisions hanging in the air. What happens with Jason Varitek, who's been the heart and soul of this team since Dan Duquette pilfered him from the Mariners (with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb!)? He was atrocious at the plate, but I say we try to keep him and give Kevin Cash some more playing time. I like the way that kid throws out baserunners. Mike Timlin is most likely retiring. Tim Wakefield was quoted today saying he definitely wants to come back, which he should. Just don't let him near the mound when the leaves turn. Mark Kotsay is probably going elsewhere to trade in his first baseman's mitt and be an everyday center fielder. There will be changes, as there always are.

And before we know it, Hot Stove will soon heat up and we'll be talking about rumors involving Mark Teixeira, Jake Peavy, CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe (why not?), and more. We'll eventually start thinking about next year, but not quite yet.

Some random thoughts:

- I'm having the hardest time deciding which team to root for in the World Series. I feel like the yahoo Rays' fans - it's not all, but a huge chunk - don't deserve it. I went down to St. Pete last April and went to a game, and the morons were out in full force. One guy kept running back and forth in front of our section every half-inning, verbally abusing Sox fans old and young. Another "fan" - filled to the gills before the game even started - bumped into my 65-year old father-in-law in a beer line and challenged him to a fight. Their stadium is an abomination and I hate Jonny Gomes. There are so many reasons to go Phillies.

But then I think about Philly fans. Think about the most idiotic Red Sox fan you've ever seen and multiply by 10. Famously douchey. Booed Santa Claus. Arlen Specter is probably one. Just flat out miserable all the time. The Eagles were sore losers to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Phillies starter Brett Myers was arrested for beating his wife on a Boston street corner during a Phillies-Sox series in 2006. so Philly's no prize either. And just what the hell is a Phillie anyway?

In the end, and I apologize profusely to my Tampa-Sarasota friends, I have to pull for the Phillies. I know it's petty, but I just can't stomach the thought of Rays' fans having bragging rights of any kind. That said, the logical baseball fan in me says they're gonna win. They play in a tougher, better league, and I think they have better all-around talent.

- Several reports have said the Sox will make an aggressive push for Teixeira. A key factor obviously will be the health of Mike Lowell, who reports said had 'very successful' hip surgery on Monday. I'd still rather see Youk at first.

- Two young lefty studs open up the Series tomorrow night, with Scott Kazmir going against Cole Hamels.

- How impressive was Spittin' Matt Garza on Sunday night? After he gave up the first inning bomb to Pedroia, his stuff was sick. A knee-buckling curveball wrapped around a 94-mph heater that he was painting.

- Fox may not like the ratings, but this actually has the potential to be a very good series. Two good, young teams. I'm looking forward to watching the vaunted Phillie bullpen. The last time I saw Brad Lidge in October, he was getting whiplash from watching Albert Pujols take him deeeep.

- In the no shit Sherlock department, Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee made the brilliant observation today that the Red Sox lost because their pitchers made mistakes. That right there is some astute analysis. Thanks, Rich.

- And finally, a salute to Rodney Harrison, who injured his leg in last night's game against the Broncos and is gone for the year. His career, in fact, may be over. It's that one little word - 'may' - that makes you realize how much of a warrior this guy is. He's had to rehab his way back to football after two tough knee surgeries already. Now he's got a shredded quadriceps, and even though a normal man would limp away, you just know in the back of your mind that there's a chance we'll see him again. Either way, the man deserves our utmost respect. He came in with a reputation and he's done nothing but lead and be a mentor on this team.

Varitek - Yes, Varitek - Comes Up Big for Sox

2008-10-19T16:06:00.006-04:00

The Red Sox continued their comeback against the shell-shocked Rays last night in Tampa, taking Game 6 by a score of 4-2, and forcing a winner-take-all seventh game tonight at the Trop. Man, this has been one hell of a ride. Everything from late-game heroics to long home runs to TV power outages (we'll get to this atrocity in a moment).

Most of the questions heading into Game 6 revolved around the health of Josh Beckett. A strained oblique has resulted in decreased velocity, and while he clearly wasn't himself last night, he willed himself through five innings, allowing only two runs - both of which came on home runs (one by the red-hot B.J. Upton and one by Jason Bartlett). Of course, we didn't get to see the Upton home run in the first inning, which in some ways is fine by me.

TBS - which is broadcasting the AL playoff games this year - suffered some sort of power outage just before gametime, and there was no live feed of the game when it started. People were apoplectic. Instead of the start of a much-anticipated Game 6 at 8:07 p.m. last night, we got something called the Steve Harvey Show. Not a good time to be a bartender in a sports bar, or a Verizon TV service operator.

A buddy called me at 8:12 or so wondering what was up, then another friend said there was some sort of blackout in Atlanta, where TBS is based. The game had started, and there was no national broadcast. Embarrassing for TBS. Not only did someone bleep up, they also did a horrible job of letting viewers know what was going on, and when it might be resolved. I resorted to getting updates online, thinking it would be a quick fix... Coco Crisp got on with a bunt single in the top of the first, then got picked off... Upton hit another friggin' home run off Beckett... after a few more interminable, frustrating minutes with no picture or sound, I got up and put the radio broadcast on. A few minutes later, the game was finally on TBS.

So that's how we started. A few hours later, the Red Sox had forced Game 7 thanks to a gutsy performance from Beckett, an improbable, tie-breaking home run from Jason Varitek (who was 0-for-15 or something) in the 6th inning, and some good relief work by Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon.

The Rays are reeling, and the Sox have them right where they want them. Boston is 9-0 in elimination games since the Aaron Boone gut-punch in 2003. 9 and stinking 0. How's that for clutch? And now we have another seventh game to look forward to. They're all memorable, good and bad I s'pose. Joe Morgan's bloop single off Jim Burton in the 1975 World Series. Bruce Hurst and a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning in 1986. The aforementioned Boone game in 2003. Johnny Damon's curse-breaking grand slam in Yankee Stadium in the 2004 ALCS. And I have to admit, last year's Game 7 against the Indians in the ALCS is overshadowed in my mind by J.D. Drew's huge Game 6 grand slam. But a quick look at baseball-reference.com shows that it was the Youkilis/Pedroia show, as both combined to go 6 for 10 with 2 homers, 5 runs, and 7 RBI's. Some things never change.

Tonight, a chance for more history. Who will the heroes be? Can the taxed bullpen give us a little bit more? Will the Sox get to Matt Garza for more than one run, which was all they could muster off him in Game 3? Will Lester find his groove? Who will hit the big home run? The way this series has gone, I'm thinking a Sean Casey walkoff inside-the-parker.

Lots of questions, lots of anticipation. Let's just hope and pray TBS has its you know what together for first pitch.

(Boston Globe photo)

Another One for the Scrapbook

2008-10-18T09:53:00.008-04:00

Some 35 hours later, people are still buzzing in Boston about the newest chapter in Red Sox postseason lore. (Who would have thunk four years ago that we've already have 'Red Sox postseason lore?)

You know the story. Sevens were wild. Seven runs down, seventh inning, one of the best bullpens in the game called upon to get seven outs and send the Rays - an improbable story unto themselves - into the World Series.

But just as the TBS announcers were analyzing Rays-Phillies matchups, it all began to beautifully unravel. Jed Lowrie spanked what looked like a harmless double to get on in the seventh, and then both Jason Varitek and Mark Kotsay flied out. With 2 outs, Coco Crisp - one of the big heroes in this one - singled, moving Lowrie to third. Pedroia then singled to right, scoring Lowrie and at least avoiding the insult of being shut out at home in an elimination game. And then Big Papi, our human mood ring, got everyone in the place jumping with a three-run moon shot off Grant Balfour, who inexplicably gave the slumping Ortiz a cookie right in his wheelhouse. The big man took his sweet time rounding the bases - kind of reminded me of Manny trying to break up a double play - as the volume at Fenway multiplied by several decibels. Watching at home, this was when I knew something good was happening. Momentum. A buddy texted me from Fenway saying that the crowd felt like it did back during those '04 games against the Yankees. A good sign.

When your hitters get you going, you need your pitchers to shut the opposition down and that's exactly what Jonathan Papelbon did in the eighth. Three up, three down for the Rays and the Sox were quickly back up, this time facing Dan Wheeler. Wheeler, who's been shaky lately, proceeded to give Joe Maddon agita by walking leadoff man Jason Bay on four straight pitches. If you thought Fenway was deafening, it went to a whole new level after J.D. Drew - heretofore known as Mr. June and Mr. October - launched a two-run homer to right to make it 7-6. Wheeler then got two quick outs, Lowrie on a flyball and pinch-hitter Sean Casey on strikes. And again, two-out magic. Kotsay doubled over centerfielder B.J. Upton's head - he should have had it - which brought Crisp up to the plate. Coco fought off pitch after pitch and then singled to right, driving in Kotsay with the tying run. Coco got thrown out trying to stretch it into a double, but the run scored before the tag. Best at-bat by far of Coco's Red Sox career.

For the top of the 9th, Terry Francona summoned his new, 6'6" binky Justin Masterson. The Rays got two men on, and then Masterson did what he does best - he got Rays' slugger Carlos Pena to hit into an inning-ending double play. The kid's got a Derek Lowe-like sinker.

Then came the bottom of the ninth and, you guessed it, the Rays and reliever J.P. Howell got two quick outs as Pedroia grounded out and Papi K'd. Fortunately, we had the Greek God of Walks up next, and you just knew Kevin Youkilis was going to make Howell work. He fouled off tough pitch after tough pitch, barely making contact on a couple, and then hit a sharp groundball to third which Evan Longoria stabbed but then threw past Pena at first. Youk on second with Bay up, and Maddon decided to intentionally walk Bay. I understand the reasoning - force out at any base. But at the time, I was thinking that the next batter, Drew, is much more of a flyball hitter. On cue, Drew slammed one to right field which sailed over Gabe Gross' head (he could have made a better play too) and Youk motored around third with the winning run.
Absolutely incredible, and it's not a stretch to lump this one in with Dave Henderson's home run in 1986 and Dave Roberts' steal in 2004 against the Yankees. In both cases, the odds were stacked heavily against the Sox. The Angels had a 3-1 lead, their best reliever on the mound, and I remember the TV cameras showing the Angels' equipment kids packing everything up. Then Hendu made history. Same with Roberts obviously. And now we've got a whole new chapter in amazing Red Sox playoff comebacks.

Of course, the key question is what does this do psychologically to the young Rays? Maddon will figure it out and have them ready, but you can't tell me it didn't do something. The million-dollar question for the Sox is which Josh Beckett will we see tonight in Game 6 at the Trop? He has to be better than he was in his last start, right? Right?

I Don't Believe What I Just Saw

2008-10-17T00:38:00.003-04:00

More tomorrow on tonight's amazing Red Sox come-from-behind victory over the Rays, but wanted to get a quick post up in the afterglow of yet another memorable baseball night.

The Sox were trailing 7-0 in the seventh inning tonight, their season all but over, when suddenly Big Papi awoke and smashed a three-run bomb to right to make it 7-4 and get the fans back in it. Then J.D. Drew came up and hit a two-run shot to right to narrow the Rays' lead to 7-6. Now, keep in mind - the crack TBS crew, particularly that loser Chip Caray - was already looking forward to a Rays-Phillies World Series, analyzing potential matchups, talking about how the Rays had champagne on ice in their locker room. The camera kept showing Jonny Gomes pumping his fist, and his teammates all smiling and laughing. And then Ortiz - this team's human mood ring - put everyone in a good mood when he finally broke through with that big smash. Coco Crisp, leading off in place of Jacoby Ellsbury, singled in the tying run in the 8th inning, and then Drew won it in the bottom of the 9th with a run-scoring double.

Absolutely unbelievable. As damaging as the Game 2 loss was to the Red Sox, this one has to hurt the Rays, who thought they had this one in the bag. More tomorrow, but the Sox live another day. Baseball at the Trop Saturday night, baby! Right now, it's scheduled to be Josh Beckett vs. James Shields. As T.O. would say, bring your popcorn.

Deja U(pton)

2008-10-16T20:19:00.003-04:00

Game 5 is underway and it's already more of the same. B.J. Upton just hit his 6th home run of the postseason and third against the Red Sox. The guy hit 9 all year in 531 at-bats. Do they stop testing after September?

Anyway, Iwamura - who must drive Dice-K batty (get it? batty. I kill me) - led off the game with a single, and then Upton hit another shot into the Monster seats, just over the yellow line. Fenway is silent once again as the Rays have staked Scott Kazmir to a two-run lead. The Sox bats really need to plate one or two soon to get the fans revved up. They've sat through too many hours of depressing baseball.

Couple of random thoughts:

Do you think TBS' Craig Sager actually lays out all his clothes on the bed before a big road trip, mapping out which ridiculous outfit he's going to wear each day? He's baseball's milder version of Don Cherry.

I don't want these guys celebrating in our ballpark tonight.

The crowd seems to be a lot more into it right now, as Dice-K is settling into one of his grooves.

Manny lost first. Na, nah, nah, nah. The greedy, lazy, contract-breaking Ramirez is now headed directly for his favorite place in the world: Free agency. Money quote, literally, in today's LA Times following last night's season-ending defeat to the Phillies:

"I just want to go home [to Florida] and spend some time with my family," Ramirez says, while adding with a grin, "I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I."

Do the Sox consider making a play for fellow free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe? That would be a hell of a rotation.

Lots of debate around here on what the Sox will do with Jason Varitek next year. Hard to see them giving 'Tek anything long-term, so this could very well be his last game ever in a Red Sox uniform if he decides to chase money and years. I'm hoping they can sign him to a one- or two-year deal and keep him around so he can help groom the next catcher. It's clear, though, that his at-bats need to be fewer.

If I'm Theo, I'm looking to get a high-upside catcher, a shortstop and a first baseman in the off-season. That's all. I think you have to be worried about Mike Lowell's hip surgery, and the jury's out on Jed Lowrie. Lowrie should be in the Alex Cora role. That, or maybe look at a third baseman so Kevin Youkilis can go back to first. The sure-handed Youk should be touching the ball on defense as much as possible. Oh, and make sure Clay Buccholz makes progress this off-season. We could use that scrawny bastard right about now.

Who'da thunk a backup outfielder would be our starting first baseman when the games counted the most? Mark Kotsay has done a pretty damn good job, and he's been one of the few guys swinging the lumber.

Breaking News: Even the Citgo Sign is Steamed with the Sox' Wretched Display

2008-10-15T14:33:00.003-04:00

An omen perhaps?

A Wake at Fenway

2008-10-15T13:34:00.007-04:00

Carnage. Noun. 1. The slaughter of a great number of people, as in battle; butchery; massacre.

I'd say that about sums it up, don'tcha think? Of course, baseball is not war and there were no dead bodies strewn across the Fenway lawn last night.

But you can equate 'great number of people' with Red Sox Nation, which this morning has to be coming around to the reality - despite the incredible comebacking ways of our Sox in recent years - that this particular team is just too wounded to carry on. In some ways, this team is like a champion thoroughbred who's still very talented but has been surpassed by other younger, feistier horses.

Make no mistake, folks: the Rays are very, very good, and they're playing great baseball when it matters the most. In addition to the artillery shells (sticking with the military theme) they've been sending into the Green Monster seats the last two nights, they've been pitching very well, playing their typical good defense, their grounders are finding their way through the infield and their pop-ups are landing. Last night, they humiliated Tim Wakefield and the Sox on national TV, bashing their way to a 13-4 win to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. A buddy and I exchanged text messages right after Wake was pulled, both wondering if we had just seen the last of him in a Sox uniform. Another topic for another day, but worth a debate.

The Rays have clearly been the superior team in every aspect of the game, but I'd like our chances a whole lot better with a healthy Mike Lowell playing third and batting fifth or sixth, and if we knew Josh Beckett and David Ortiz would be their normal selves. You can't underestimate the loss of Lowell, not only for his glove and his bat, but also for what his absence does to the lineup. It moves Youkilis to third and makes Tito have to insert Mark Kotsay at first. Kotsay has done a fine job defensively, but has been a little soft with the bat. And while they continue to deny it, both Beckett and Ortiz have to be hurting. I tip my hat to the Rays (except Jonny Gomes) - and will root for them heartily if they advance - but I still would have liked to have seen our best vs. their best.

Things are gloomy here - this feels a lot different than '04 or '07; the Rays seem destined - but nobody knows better than us that cold bats can get hot in a hurry, and hot bats can cool down. Anything can happen. For now, we lick our collective wounds as a Nation and turn our eyes to tomorrow - when the guy who gave us our best pitching performance in this series (Dice-K) can hopefully come up aces again. The Rays, interestingly, will move James Shields back and go with Scott Kazmir for Game 5, a guy we know we can handle. If we can get this one, and then if Beckett can revert to his dominant self for Game 6, and then, hey, we've got Lester going again... and... stop. Just stop. Don't do it. This is over.

Ah well. Cheer up - the Celtics start playing for real in 13 days.

Game 3 Preview: Young Guns

2008-10-13T15:47:00.006-04:00

Tonight's Game 3 starters - Jon Lester for the Sox and Matt Garza for the Rays - share more than a few things in common. They both made their major-league debuts in the summer of 2006, and they were both born on the West Coast, less than two months apart from each other - Garza in Selma, California on November 11, 1983; Lester in Tacoma, Washington on January 7, 1984.

They're alike in stature, too, both tall and lanky - and bigger than they seem on TV. If you look at career big-league numbers, though, that's where the similarities end. Lester has made 59 starts and has a 27-8 won-loss record, a 3.81 ERA, and a 262 to 140 K over walks. Lester has also been tough to homer off - giving up only an average of 10 per season.

Garza has made 54 starts, and has a career mark of 19-22 with a 4.02 ERA. His K to walk is 233 to 114. He's been stingy with homers too, giving up just a couple more than Lester.

On paper, and the way he's been going lately, Lester is clearly the favorite to pitch another great game and deliver the Sox a clutch win. But as all good Sox fans, I worry - and in this case, I'm worried about the old law of averages. Lester hasn't allowed an earned run in 14 postseason innings so far, while Garza - a better pitcher than his overall record shows - hasn't won a game since August 27. Can Lester keep it up? Will luck finally find Garza? These are the questions we need answers to.

Some quick, random thoughts:

* Everyone thinks Josh Beckett is hurt but if he is, he ain't letting on. Beckett continues to adamantly say that he's okay, that it's more of a question about rustiness and mechanics. We'll see. All I know is when he's only able to push it up to about 92, something is wrong.

* David Ortiz needs to hit. Big Papi has no hits and no RBI's in this series, and is hitting .174 in October.

* Youk continues to show why he's the American League MVP. Evan Longoria's not far behind.

* How 'bout that Jason Bay, huh? I think I heard this right, that he's got 9 two-out ribbies in the playoffs? Clutch.

* Why can't we have an outfielder that can throw? I know Perez is fast, but that play at the plate to end the game should have been much closer.

* Another stunning stat from Saturday night, courtesy of Tony Mazz - Beckett threw 93 pitches and got only 4 swings and misses. Unheard of.

* The walks are killing me. Let's add 'em up. 21 walks between the two teams in 2 games.

* Papi's not the only one that needs to come alive tonight - so does Ellsbury. I see a bunt or two in his future.

Is the Ace Whole? Rays Even Series

2008-10-12T11:14:00.004-04:00

They say you're supposed to be happy with a split on the road in the playoffs, and with Jon Lester going in Game 3 tomorrow afternoon there is reason for confidence. But when you lose Game 2 the way the Sox did last night, with their own personal Mr. October Josh Beckett struggling mightily, the happiness is tempered a bit.

The Red Sox lost to the Rays in St. Pete last night in extra innings, 9-8, evening the series at 2 as the teams head north for an afternoon matinee tomorrow. Besides the obvious concern over Beckett - and whether he's healthy - this game ranked high on the entertainment meter. Balls were flying off bats like superballs, and the teams combined to tie a playoff record with 7 home runs. It was like a heavyweight prize fight, with both teams slugging past each other every inning.

Surprisingly - or maybe not, the way both guys have been going lately - the offensive barrage came at the expense of both teams' supposed aces, Beckett and Rays' lefty Scott Kazmir. The second-guessing from this one could take up a full day, but to me the glaring issue last night was Terry Francona leaving Beckett in too long, when it was clear that his velocity was down and he was getting shelled. Beckett's final, ugly numbers: 4 1/3 innings, 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 bombs. The Rays looked like they were hitting in the Route 1 batting cages, especially Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena (combined 5 for 10, 5 runs, 1 HR, 5 RBI's). Kazmir wasn't much better, going the same 4 1/3 innings, and giving up five earned runs and three homers.

Hitting stars for the Sox were Dustin Pedroia (2 HR's), Youk (1 HR) and Jason Bay, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Kotsay each went 0 for 6. The bullpen pitched great after Beckett, except when Francona decided to bring in Mike Timlin for the 11th inning and Timlin walked the bases full before giving up the game-winning sac fly to B.J. Upton. Timlin should not be on the ALCS roster, plain and simple.

Going by the manual, yes, the Sox have to be happy with the split, particularly in a place where they've had their share of problems this year. But when you look at how the split took shape - with the guy you thought might get lit up pitching a gem, and the guy you thought would pitch well getting lit up - well let's just say there are more questions this morning than smiles.

Something tells me that those folks who are unlucky enough to be working tomorrow will be heading home a bit early. Game time is at 4:37 p.m. from Fenway, with Jon Lester going against Matt Garza. Weather forecast looks nice so shouldn't be a factor.

(Boston Globe photo)

Dice-K Dominant

2008-10-11T14:34:00.003-04:00

So that's how you silence the goddamn cowbells, and make the fools who got mohawk haircuts - fans and players alike - look downright stupid. Throw six no-hit innings, take a 2-0 lead, strike out 9 guys, and then use your bullpen exactly the way you drew it up five hours earlier. The Sox were downright giddy after winning Game 1 last night in the Catwalk Aquarium Mall, and for good reason. They won only one of nine games there this year.

Last night, though, Matsuzaka took complete control of the game after again pulling a Houdini in the first inning, when he walked the bases-loaded. Through 7-plus innings, he befuddled the Rays with his usual assortment of dips, spins, speeds, angles, and arm slots. In the end, he was a few shades better than Tampa Bay starter James Shields, who was outstanding in his own right (even if he punches like a girl) and the Sox took it 2-0.

The key hits in this one were a sac fly by Jed Lowrie and a ball off the bat of Kevin Youkilis that was boxed around by Carl Crawford, allowing Dustin Pedroia to score the second run. Dice-K, meanwhile, was in a major groove, keeping the Rays hitless until the bottom of the 7th when Crawford roped a single into right. Dice-K came out in the eighth with two men on and nobody out, and watched from the bench as Hideki Okajima and Justin Masterson (another huge double-play grounder) got out of the inning unscathed, and Jonathan Papelbon shut the door in the 9th.

A couple of quick observations:

- Obviously, all eyes tonight will be on Josh Beckett. Will he revert (at least somewhat) to the postseason form that he's known for, or will he struggle like he did his last time out in the ALDS against the Angels? I'm betting on a little bit of rest helping him, and that we'll see a better pitcher tonight. I'm seeing two or three earned runs in his future tonight.

- Beyond surefire AL ROY Evan Longoria and Haverhill, Mass.' own Carlos Pena, the Rays don't have any consistent, legitimate longball threats. With Dice-K doing his thing last night, keeping guys off-balance, you can see why a pure fastball hitter like Longoria would have some trouble, as he did last night with an 0 for 4 performance, which included 2 K's and five men left on base. I'm curious to see if Beckett follows Dice-K's lead in terms of variety and throwing any pitch anytime in the count. Or if Longoria will catch up to a heater. His matchups with Beckett tonight will be worth the price of admission.

- I like Rays' manager Joe Maddon. I didn't like him much during the bad blood games this year, when he was a little too vocal with our guys for my taste. But every time I hear the guy speak, I see more and more why his guys - especially his young guys - enjoy playing for him and respond to his overall philosophy. In some ways, he and Francona have a lot in common. Maddon's a character, no doubt, but I like his mix of pragmatism, calmness and baseball intelligence. His guys only scratched out four hits last night, and failed miserably time and time again with runners on base. It was the kind of offensive offensive game that would drive a day's worth of angry calls to WEEI. After the game, Maddon kept saying he was proud of his guys, that the other pitcher (Dice-K) was just better than our guy (Shields), and that he really liked the effort. It was surely a Pepto-Bismol night for Maddon, and he had to be disappointed about his team's ineptness at the plate - but you know what? You couldn't see one iota of that during his post-game interview, and that's because he knew the last thing he needed to do was publicly criticize his young team before a must-have Game 2. Sort of the anti-Ozzie Guillen. (Come to think of it, I believe the Red Sox had Maddon on their list of candidates when they ultimately signed Francona.)

- Hard-throwing Rays righty Grant Balfour went high, tight and very fast on J.D. Drew last night when he came inside and hit J.D. square on the shoulder. It was a little too close to the head. I don't think he was intentionally throwing at Drew, but I do think he was trying to be extra-aggressive inside, and if he hits him, oh well. If I'm a Rays batter, I'm wondering in the back of my mind if Beckett might try to, um, establish the inside of the plate.

- I still can't believe that an important baseball game is being played in the abomination that is Tropicana Field. It must be so strange going from the Trop to Fenway for the players. Completely different experiences. The only good things about the Trop - okay, three things - are the free parking, the $6 24-ounce Bud Light stands, and the girl's roller derby/keg party outside the stadium right after the game. The ballpark the Rays want to build is gorgeous, and it just may be that being in the high-profile ALCS helps their cause with the city and people down there.

- Final thought - could Beckett maybe a do a little Nuke LaLoosh, and throw the ball a little wide right - maybe so that it collides with Jonny Gomes' face?

Rays-Sox: Getting Down to Bidness

2008-10-10T10:27:00.004-04:00

No matter how you slice it, this should be one hell of a series. As Rays pitcher/puncher James Shields put it in the papers this morning, every time these two teams played each other this year it felt like a postseason game. Now that we're actually in the postseason, it should be an absolute treat.

I'm not gonna get into any technical mumbo-jumbo on the match-up. We've all seen the Rays enough this year to know that they're for real, their young arms are studs, they hit in clutch situations, and - save for maybe Evan Longoria - they're essentially superstar-less. I think what struck me the most, especially down the stretch, was their resiliency. How many times would we see the TV ticker scroll say the Rays were down three runs in the 7th, and then 20 minutes later they were up by four? It happened a lot. One thing I'm concerned about is the home-field advantage the Rays enjoy, and their incredible record in one-run games, which we're sure to see a few of.

As for the Sox, I've said it before and I'll say it again: This is far and away Terry Francona's best job as the manager of this team. Think about all the shit he's had to deal with - Schilling's injury and the ensuing medical debate, Papi's wrist, the uncertainty of Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew's injuries, and of course, the entire Manny fiasco. There were some dark days this season to be sure, but here they are again - and they may very well get into their third World Series in FIVE years. Unthinkable. If Lester keeps doing what he's doing, and Beckett and Dice-K can each improve on their ALDS performances, the keys to me will be getting Pedroia and Ortiz going again. Look for Pedroia to have a big series.

Tonight's matchup (8:37, TBS) has Dice-K going against Shields, and then tomorrow night it's Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir. When the series shift up to Fenway on Monday, it'll be Matt Garza vs. arguably the best pitcher in the game right now in Jon Lester, and then (for now) Game 4 has Andy Sonnanstine going against Tim Wakefield. Tonight would be a tremendous one for the Sox to steal, mostly because we're not sure what Beckett's going to do tomorrow night. He's looked anything but ace-like. If we can split, then we can put our faith in Lester on Monday to take a lead.

Two final observations: 1) Here's hoping the stupid catwalks at the Trop don't play a meaningful role in any of the games, and 2) Get ready for more of those Frank Caliendo commercials. I hate that these games are on TBS, mostly because the announcers (Chip Caray, Buck Martinez) stink and their high-def feed - at least compared to Fox - is terrible.

Go Sawx.

God Bless... Tim McCarver??

2008-10-09T10:38:00.004-04:00

Lo and behold... the bad hair-dyed former catcher turned TV color analyst has emerged as a Manny basher. Check out McCarver's diatribe here, where he calls Manny's actions during his last few weeks in Boston 'despicable.'

I'd say that's a good word. Manny didn't like his contractual situation so he took matters into in his own hands. He laid down on his teammates, and took a colossal dump on the owners that paid him very well and the fans who have supported him since he got here. All the other stuff - taking a pee break inside the Green Monster, high-fiving fans in left-field after making a catch, selling his grill on eBay -- all that stuff was goofy and fine. But Manny crossed the line during his final days - whether it was engineered by Scott Boras or not - and what he did deserves to be played up just as much as the hitting tear he's been on in La-La Land.

Now that the Dodgers are one of four teams left standing, expect the volume to be turned up, particularly thanks to Mr. McCarver. Yeah, he's a former Phillie, and the Phillies just happen to be playing LA, but God, the guy makes a ton of sense doesn't he?

Also, here's an article by Joel Sherman in the NY Post this week that will put a smile on your face if you're a Yankee Hater. And if you're not, leave...

John Lackey is Pissed, Man

2008-10-07T13:53:00.004-04:00

Mom always said 'never judge a book by its cover' but I've always felt that Angels pitcher John Lackey just looks like a real stupid, dense person. Hard to explain, but he's got that dumb jock, glazed expression look all the time. And evidently, he's not too into sportsmanship, either, judging by his post-game comments in the Los Angeles Times this morning. A quick sample:

"We lost to a team that's not better than us," growled pitcher John Lackey, who gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything."

Lackey - who was no doubt NOT better than Jon Lester twice in this series - goes on to give Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia crap for combining to knock in the Sox' first two runs earlier in the game. I understand his emotions are raw, and I can emphathize with the extreme disappointment he and his mates must be feeling after AGAIN getting pushed aside by the Red Sox. It has to sting, this incredible dominance the Sox have had over these clowns going all the way back to Dave Henderson, Donnie Moore and 1986.

How you say, baseball's BUFFALO BILLS?

Those Crazy, Clever, Make-Your-Tee-Times-Tomorrow Angels

2008-10-06T23:24:00.004-04:00

There they go, overthinking and getting all cutesy again. The Angels, after battling back from a 2-0 deficit and having all the momentum on their side in Game 4, just screwed up a suicide squeeze play for a huge out in the top of the 9th.

By the way, the TBS play-by-play man - I'll find out his name before I sign off - is horribly anti-Red Sox. Believe me, I'm sensitive to all the whiners who bitch and moan about certain announcers biases, but this guy is bush-league. A Sox player strikes out and he yells 'oh, take a seat...' Douche. Anyway, the best way to shut this jackass up is to win Game 4, and the Sox are currently a base-hit away from -- and I'm not making this up -- they just got a single from Jed Lowrie that scores Jason Bay with the winning run! Sox win 3-2 and just like that, they're headed to the ALCS against their new rival, the Tampa Bay Rays. Oh, and it's Chip Caray, the little voice that we won't have to (hopefully) be hearing from anymore. Bye Chip. Thanks for nothing, ass-wipe.

The Angels are known as a bunch of swashbucklers (love that word) who aren't afraid to take the extra base, hit and run, squeeze, etc. But sometimes aggression can come back to bite. Vladimir Guerrero's baserunning gaffe in Game 2 in Anaheim - when Youkilis threw him out from short right-field - is Exhibit A, and the failed squeeze play tonight is Exhibit B. Roll the dice like Mike Scioscia does, and you're bound to get burned every now and then. Unfortunately for the Angels, these miscues came at the worst possible times and the Red Sox extended their postseason mastery over them.

So now we get a nice little three-day reprieve from late-night baseball while the Red Sox and Rays get ready to resume hostilities Friday in the ALCS from (gulp) The Trop. I can't believe I actually watched a preview back in April down there. The place was swarming with Sox fans but something tells me it'll be more pro-Rays this time around. Amazingly, this is the fourth ALCS for the Red Sox since 2003.

More on the series over the next couple of days. In the meantime, get some shut eye ya hear?

Guy Heaven

2008-10-06T14:11:00.006-04:00

Just when you think you might get to bed at a reasonable hour on a school night, the Red Sox and Angels go ahead and spoil that pipe dream. The Sox ended up losing in 12 innings last night, 5-4, giving the Angels life in a game that went on and on, eventually ending just before 1 a.m.

Let me set the scene for you from yesterday. I had four buddies over the house, all geared up to watch the Pats-49ers at 4, and then the Sox-Angels for the nightcap. My pal Bopper was so fired up for the games that he actually brought his own drinking glass with his Bud Light suitcase. Just like the guy who brings his own pool stick to the bar. "We have glasses, you know," I assured him. "Yeah, but this is a special glass Kampy. I just like it - it's hard to explain. The beer goes down better." And that's the way the afternoon started.

It was ultimate guys' nirvana. The wife and kids were off visiting friends all afternoon, the beer was cold, the pizza, cheese steaks, chicken wings, and nachos were all waiting to be consumed, and the good-natured barbs were already flying. The Niners scored first, but then we got a sight for sore eyes at about the 7:30 mark of the first quarter when Randy Moss hauled in a long Matt Cassel pass for a 66-yard TD. If you didn't know better, you would have sworn the tight spiral that nestled in Moss' hands in stride was thrown by No. 12. At this point, five grown men were on their feet fist-pumping and hollering. Bopper celebrated by pouring another beer into his precious glass. By halftime of the Pats game, my kitchen started to resemble the inside of a trash can, Bobby was checking on the status of his many wagers, and guys were flipping to the White Sox-Rays game to see who was winning that one.

The Patriots came out in the second half and asserted themselves, with the running game - particularly Kevin Faulk - taking over, and kicker Stephen Gostkowski (FG's of 40 and 49 yards in the 4th quarter) making sure the Patriots weren't going to lose two in a row. Final score: Pats 30, 49ers 21, and thoughts immediately turned to the Sox-Angels game.

Meanwhile, the Rays and White Sox were still playing, and we wondered if the Red Sox game would be delayed until this one was over, or if TBS would switch the feed. Of course, when you have a media empire like Ted Turner has, all you have to do is put the game on your sister station (TNT) and let people know about it. See, this is good work by TBS - they know half of America is sitting in their living rooms surrounded by empty beer bottles. In a situation that demanded clarity and action, in that order, they came through in a big way and no doubt avoided many smashed TV screens throughout New England.

Lloydy and Toddo - two guys who rarely get out anymore - left after the Pats game so it was now just myself, Bobby and Bopper. Oh, and Bopper's glass, which by now was given its own seat to the left of the TV screen. "I think I'm on my 15th beer," Bopper said proudly, albeit slurredly (is that a word? It is now.) "Fifteen??", we all asked. "Yeah - I brought over 18 beers and there are three left, unless anyone else grabbed one." "I did have one," I said truthfully. "Okay," said Bop, "fourteen. Still pretty damn good. And I feel like I can easily operate heavy machinery right now."

The Angels get off to a quick start with a run, but then the unthinkable happens. Sox have the bases loaded with 2 outs, and Jacoby Ellsbury lifts an easy pop-up to short-center, just behind the second base bag. Torii Hunter is rushing in, and Howie Kendrick is back-pedaling, and lo and friggin' behold, the ball drops in the middle of them and all three runners score. Just like that, it's 3-1 Sox, and Mike Scioscia looks like he's just eaten some bad seafood. One of the lamest three-run singles you'll ever see.

Unfortunately, it then became the Mike Napoli show as the burly Angels catcher hit a two-run homer in the third to tie the game, and then hit another solo shot in the fifth to give the Angels a 4-3 lead. The Sox tied it in the bottom of the fifth thanks to the man I believe should be AL MVP (Kevin Youkilis), and that's the way it stood for the next, oh, seven innings.

We went to the 7th inning, then the 8th, 9th, and 10th. My kitchen counter looked like downtown Baghdad after an air raid, and Bobby and Bopper would get up intermittently and pace, then head over to the counter to see if any scraps were lying around. Bobby finally gave up on the game - no doubt depressed that Jacksonville lost to Pittsburgh, depriving him of a nice day - and left for home around the 9th or 10th inning. Me and Bopper kept our eyes open until the bitter end - me finishing my sixth or seventh cocktail and him wiping out his "17-pack." After the 11th inning, Bopper decided to head for home - operating heavy machinery flawlessy, just like he said he could - and it was just me. And of course, you know what happened in the 12th...

Because we screwed with the karma, the Angels push across the fifth run and then closed the door on the Sox.

I went to bed depressed, partly because of the loss and partly because of the cleaning up job I had ahead of me in the morning. As I shuffled off to the sack, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw that Bopper had forgotten to bring home his glass. After happily filling up it's owner's stomach with 17 fresh beers, this was the treatment it got? Just abandoned like yesterday's newspaper? And then it hit me. The glass was angry, and Bopper was driving home, blissfully unaware, no doubt banging his fists on the steering wheel when Joe Castiglione told him the Sox had lost. This, people, is messing wtih karma. And this is why the Red Sox lost. That glass deserved better.

Who Am I? Why Am I Here?

2008-10-03T08:45:00.004-04:00

Ah, the memorable words of one Admiral James Stockdale, the VP candidate on the ill-fated Ross Perot ticket back in 1992. Right up there with Lloyd Bentsen's "You're no Jack Kennedy, Senator" line to Dan Quayle in 1988. There were no memorable lines from last night's VP debate between MILF/GILF Sarah Palin and Joe Biden on a par with these, unless you count Sarah's "shout out" to her homegirls in Wasilla, Alaska, and her use of the phrases "Joe Six-Pack" and, again, "hockey moms." Even the most diehard Republicans have to be worried about their second fiddle in this election. I must admit, though, I do find her tantalizingly attractive, in a Tina Fey kind of way.

Okay, enough politics - I just wanted an opportunity to post a picture of Sarah. We've got more important stuff to tackle today than nukes, Iraq, and oil.

Of course, the big headline is Sox-Angels Game 2 tonight in Anaheim. The Sox have to be very confident going in with a one-game lead and Dice-K on the hill. The news on Josh Beckett is positive - he made it through a bullpen session nicely and is on track to start Game 3. The news on Mikey Lowell, however, isn't so good. Lowell was limping noticeably a couple of times Wednesday night, and it may be that Terry Francona gives him the night off tonight and brings him back in to face lefty Joe Saunders Sunday night at Fenway for Game 3. I hate that Lowell's not 100% for this, because he means so much - both in the field and in the batter's box.

As for the other series, it looks like the Dodgers and Phillies are heading for an NLCS clash, as both teams have jumped out to 2-zip leads on the Cubs and Brewers, respectively. It is downright depressing to watch the Cubs and their faithful cough it up after the year they had - almost reminds me of the dark days of pre-2004 when you just knew the Sox would be on the short end of big games. I can't even wrap my brain around the potential for a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series, with Derek Lowe starting game 1 and Manny Ramirez hitting third. That would be beyond surreal, and it would give us all a chance to get an answer on a question I'm curious about - what's the Fenway reaction to Manny the first time he's back in a visitors' uniform. Hard to cheer, hard to boo, in my opinion, so how about silence?

Anyway, happy Friday, enjoy the games, and let's hope Sarah remains in the public eye long after November 4th.

Ace in the Hole

2008-10-02T09:13:00.003-04:00

Jon Lester officially had his coming-out party last night. We've seen what the kid's capable of all year, but his performance in Game 1 of the ALDS against the stocked Angels was nothing short of spectacular. Lester's gem was backed by a huge 2-run homer off the bat of Everyday Jason Bay, and by some superlative play - in the field and at the plate - from Jacoby Ellsbury. Sox draw first blood with a 4-1 victory.

It was hard to keep the eyes open for this one, but if you did you were well-rewarded. Lester started off a little rough, but once he escaped a couple of jams he was in the zone, keeping the Angels hitters off balance with an assortment of curves, cutters, and fastballs. Bay, after looking bad in his first couple of at-bats, smashed a bomb off John Lackey in the top of the 6th to give the Sox a 2-1 lead, and they added two insurance runs in the top of the 9th to take some pressure off Jonathan Papelbon.

Ellsbury had three hits on the night, stole at will, and made a jaw-dropping sliding catch in center off Mark Teixeira that is destined for the year-in-review highlight reels.

On the pivotal play of the game, the Angels' well-documented aggression on the basepaths came back to bite them in the butt. With the score still 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Vladimir Guerrero got on with a single, and Torii Hunter followed that with a bloop hit over Kevin Youkilis into short right-field. Vladdy was confused on where the ball was, and hesitated before rounding second and heading to third. Youk - summoning his Derek Jeter-like intangibles - grabbed the ball quickly and threw to Mike Lowell, who applied the tag. Instead of men on first and second with one out, it was man on first with two. A huge turn of events.

So looking back at my "predictions" yesterday, maybe I was wrong on the Sox (happily) and the Cubs, who lost a heartbreaker to the Dodgers yesterday (man, is that a cursed crowd or what?) The Phillies beat the Brewers in their first game, and the Rays and White Sox get underway this afternoon.

Sox and Angels take a break today and get back at it tomorrow night, with Dice-K going against Ervin Santana. All of a sudden, things is looking up.

And Away We Go...

2008-10-01T09:53:00.004-04:00

Can you smell that? Huh? Take a deep sniff and exhale... that's right, it's October baseball and our boys are back in it.

Now that the White Sox have finally vanquished the Twins (the teams played in a do-or-die game last night, won 1-0 by John Danks and the White Sox), the matchups are officially set.

In the AL, it's the Red Sox vs. the Angels and the Rays vs. Chicago. In the NL, it's Cinderella Milwaukee going against Philly, and the Cubbies playing Manny and the Dodgers. All except the Rays-ChiSox series get underway today.

ANGELS vs. RED SOX
The Sox have owned the Angels when the leaves turn colors, but not so much during the 2008 regular season. The Angels won 8 of the 9 games the teams played, and outscored the Sox 61-33 in the process. Not pretty. We know as well as anyone that anything can happen in October, but when you factor in the injuries to Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, along with the little setback with Josh Beckett, it's cause for concern. If Lowell can play the field, you now Scioscia and his merry band of bunters will be out for blood. It goes without saying that Jon Lester needs to come up huge tonight, and if he doesn't, Dice-K needs to get the split Friday night. Seems like the Angels' year, though. (Head thinking over heart) Angels in 5.

RAYS vs. WHITE SOX
This one seems easy on the surface. The Rays have been resilient all year long, and the White Sox have been playing for their lives for the last couple weeks. The season series between the two was about as close as you can get -- 6-4 in favor of the Rays, with Tampa scoring 36 runs and Chicago 35. The White Sox were shut out twice by the Rays, once by Scott Kazmir and once by Andy Sonnanstine. In the end, I think the home-field advantage proves big for the Rays, who will take it in 4.

BREWERS vs. PHILLIES
Can CC Sabathia pitch every day? Is that medically possible? Everyone will be pulling for the upstart Brewers, and much as I'd like to pick them for an upset, I think Philly wins this one. The Brewers had to scratch and claw their way into the playoffs, and now have to start Yovani Gallardo in the first game. Ben Sheets is either iffy or out. And former Red Sox 3B coach Dale Sveum is the Brewers' manager. Sorry - too many strikes. Phillies in 4.

CUBS vs. DODGERS
Manny's on top of the world in LA, along with Nomar and Derek Lowe. It's a veritable Red Sox Ellis Island out there. The Manny drama aside, this could be the best series of the four. The Dodgers have been in a major groove fueled by Manny's potent bat, and we all know that he's quite capable of hitting good pitching, which the Cubbies certainly have with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden. While nothing ever comes easy for the Cubs (over/under on how many times we hear Bartman's name?), something tells me this year is a little different. Cubs in 4.

Awkward Man-Hug Time

2008-09-23T21:58:00.005-04:00

Dude, Papi's got designer frigging goggles on! The Red Sox hung on tonight to beat the Indians 5-4 at Fenway, and ensure themselves a spot in the postseason dance. Dustin Pedroia - far and away the team MVP in '08 - just said it best on TV. We've got a chance to defend our title.

This one most definitely was not easy. The Sox were going up against shoo-in AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, and the lead went back and forth before the Sox tied it at 4 and then took the lead for good in the fifth inning. They escaped a couple of bases-loaded jams, and then Jonathan Papelbon came in and was throwing peas to get four outs and clinch the playoff spot.

It's now the fifth time in six years that the Sox are going to the playoffs, and while there's nothing quite like your first one, this doesn't get old at all. We get to see Papelbon dancing like a freak and spraying champagne, and Papi being interviewed by NESN's ultra-hot Heidi Watney who's soaked to the bone. What's not to like?

The players are on the field right now - about 10:15 Boston time - and for some unknown reason Papelbon is pulling up all the bases and giving them to random fans. Just when you think you've seen it all - I'm fairly certain we won't see Pap sporting his headgear from last year (above).

One last thing: This is sweet because of everything this team has been through. No Curt Schilling. Big Papi's wrist injury. The whole Manny saga. Losing J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell for long periods of time. Hats off to Terry Francona and the coaching staff for keeping this machine running. October baseball, baby.

(Oh, and it just so happens that the Sox' win eliminates the Yankees from postseason play for the first time in 13 years. Double sweet.)

Brownout

2008-09-22T11:33:00.005-04:00

We begin first today by saluting one of our favorite household contraptions, ye remote control. With so much sporting activity going on yesterday - including the Sox vs. Jays, Pats vs. Dolphins, and U.S. against Europe in Ryder Cup golf - most of these gizmos got major workouts yesterday.

If we rewind the clock to just before noon on Sunday, and we looked at all three of these events and tried to assess who had the best chances for victory, a lot of New Englanders would have chosen: 1. Pats, 2. Red Sox, and 3. U.S. golfers. Well, two out of three came through, and surprisingly it was the Patriots who stumbled.

PATS vs. DOLPHINS
What an absolute horror show at Gillette Stadium yesterday, where most people turned out to see the Pats go 3-0 heading into the bye week but instead sat dumbfounded as Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown pretty much did whatever he pleased to a stunned Patriots defense. As the story has it this morning, Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano called quarterbacks coach David Lee up to the front of the plane on the team's journey home last week after getting stuffed by Arizona, and said 'let's do something completely different for New England.' Different turned out to be taking a couple of pages from the Arkansas Razorback playbook - where Lee coached last year. Essentially, Miami had Brown line up as QB on several plays, and basically let him either run the ball or pass off of direct snaps. Fool me once, okay. Fool me twice, shame on me. But fool me FIVE times?

Incredibly, Brown ran for four scores and passed for another as the Dolphins decimated the Patriots on their home-field, in front of their new Hall of Fame inductees no less - to the tune of a 38-13 shellacking. No one's quite sure why Bill Belichick and his coaches couldn't figure out a way to stop the madness, perhaps best illustrated by Richard Seymour's shocking admission after the game that the defense "was running around like chickens with our heads cut off." What we do know is that the team got blown out on both sides of the ball, and coach Bill has some serious 'splainin' to do today. We'll see how tough the WEEI Big Show guys are on him, as opposed to the tongue-bathing they give him each week.

Other aspects of the game worthy of a mention:

- Chadwick Pennington III deserves a tip of the cap today. The man is regarded as an accurate if generally averagequarterback, but he got his job done yesterday when he had to. And yeah, he was accurate alright, going 17-for-20 for 226 yards.

- So too, begrudgingly, does Dolphins LB Joey Porter. He yapped it up all week and he backed it up on the field.

- Quietly, Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski has emerged as a sure-fire thing.

- Randy Moss looked pretty disinterested all day, failing to go all-out for a couple of balls, and from some reports, hanging out on the bench all by his lonesome. I mentioned in this space when Brady went down that Moss' demeanor would be a key thing to watch. I'm not alarmed. Yet.

- Looking around the league, it seems pretty apparent that the Dallas Cowboys - barring major injuries - should be playing in Tampa next February. As to who they'll be playing, it's wide open in the AFC. Both the Pats and Colts (who lost to the Jaguars yesterday) aren't what they used to be, and the unbeatens include Tennessee, Buffalo and Denver.

SOX vs. JAYS
The Red Sox moved ever closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 3-0 rocking-chair win over the Jays in Toronto. Dice-K was magnificent in upping his record to 18-2 and Canada homeboy Jason Bay provided the offense with a homer. The AL East division is still up for grabs, with the Rays holding a 1.5 game lead over the Sox going into tonight's games. Rays are playing the pesky Orioles, while the Sox will be hosting a four-game series against Cleveland.

RYDER CUP
Is there anything better than golf in HD? Despite the perpetually crappy play of Phil Mickelson, the U.S. won the Cup for the first time since 1999, and they did it rather easily, beating the Euros 16.5 to 11.5. The Ryder Cup is like nothing else in golf because you're playing for a team, and the rooting interests are fierce. You could hear cheering when any Euro missed a key putt, which must make them crazy even though it's all in the name of fun. Speaking of fun, how about that Boo Weekley character, who was playing in his very first Cup. The clip of him doing the Happy Gilmore riding the horse thing was priceless.

"Green" House Effect

2008-09-20T10:33:00.005-04:00

As the (financial) world continues to burn, it's always nice to come back to the world of sports, aka the toy department of life. And as usual, there are no shortage of subjects to cover.

I'll start with a rite of passage for sporting champs, which is the yearly visit to the White House. The Celtics got to head to Washington yesterday for the first time since 1986, as the team met President Bush, and presented him with a team jersey (#43, of course), an autographed basketball, and, in a classy move, a $100,000 donation to Hurrican Ike victims. You could tell the team enjoyed it, and you have to think Bush enjoys this stuff as well, especially after yet another tough, tough week in his presidency. Watching some of the coverage on the local news, it was hard not to think of Red Auerbach. The team's visit also prompted this cool story from the Herald's Mark Murphy, who recounts the 1963 team's visit to the Oval Office to meet with JFK.

There's a lot going on this weekend. College and pro pigskin, pennant races all around, and the Ryder Cup - golf's biennial Super Bowl between American and European golfers. I was lucky enough to attend the 1995 matches at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, and was literally standing 10 feet from Corey Pavin when he made one of hthe most thrilling chip shots in golf history. I still have not heard a crowd roar quite like that one that day. For those of you who may scoff at this event, if you've been to one, you understand the passion that flows on both sides.

Okay, enough golf talk. The Sox won a big game in Toronto last night, with Sean Casey providing the clutch hit late. This one had you a bit worried. The Sox came in after another tough series with the Rays, and while the Jays had fireballer A.J. Burnett going, we had Paul Byrd, who I think has faced the Jays in 5 of his 7 Sox starts. Never a good thing. The Sox ended up winning 4-3, and one of the interesting nuggets in today's Globe - Byrd is always a great quote - was that on Thursday, an off-day spent in Toronto, Jason Varitek put on some gear, got Byrd from his hotel room, and walked through the main lobby to a nearby park to throw the ball around. How cool is that? Look for Dan Shaughnessy to comment soon, saying 'can you imagine this happening on Boston Common.' Yeah, you could say Dan's pretty predictable. Anyway, a very nice one-run win on the road.

Entering today's games, here's the situation: the Sox' magic number is 2, and they can clinch a playoff spot as soon as tonight with a win, a Yanks' loss and either a White Sox or Twins loss. They're currently 1.5 games behind the Rays, who continue to amaze, but I still think the division is doable and I would think that's what everyone wants. Let's get home-field advantage. Tonight's matchup is a good one, with Roy Halladay going against Jon Lester.

As for the local football team, they're going up against the inept Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Foxborough and most everyone - except Dolphins LB Joey Porter - is predicting a rather large win. Porter, God love him, opened his yap once again this week, demeaning Matt Cassel and saying 'it shouldn't be too difficult for us' without Tom Brady. You can bet everyone on the Pats' roster is aware of those comments. The big weak spot on this Miami team looks to be its secondary, which was absolutely torched last week by Kurt Warner and his Arizona Cardinals' receivers. That being said, it will be interesting to see if Josh McDaniels lets Cassel throw a little deeper, and maybe Randy Moss gets a little more involved. Final score? I'm thinking something like 27-10 or in that area. Lots of folks are saying the Pats will put up 30+, and they very well may, but the Dolphins do still have two good RB's in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, and ours - specifically LaMont Jordan and Laurence Maroney - are hurting a little bit. And Cassel is still learning. Next week's a bye week for the Pats so it would be awfully damn gratifying to go into it at 3-0. This would also be the 22nd straight regular-season victory for New England.

One last night going back to baseball. Yes, I hate them. I hate really everything about them. But you have to respect the Yankees and what they've done through the years, and as they get ready to close down Yankee Stadium, you owe it to yourself as a sports fan to read this week's Sports Illustrated cover story on the old ballpark, written masterfully by Tom Verducci. The passage about President Bush throwing the first pitch not long after the September 2001 terrorist attacks - one of my all-time goosebump memories - will get you emotional all over again. Just read it.

Border War Takes on New Look

2008-09-13T10:27:00.005-04:00

For my money, this is the best time of the year for sports fans. You've got baseball revving up for the playoffs, college football roaring out of the gates, and NFL football back on the weekly agenda. And the weather's still pretty nice to boot.

Before I get into some thoughts on the Sox and Pats, had to share this from ESPN.com. The site asks readers to list the 50 things that annoy them the most, and the featured list on the main page this morning reads like this: 1. The Red Sox, 2. Bill Belichick, 3. The USC Trojans, and 4. the BCS. The poster's handle? "YanksJetsKnicks4Life." How sweet is that? And really - can you blame them? The Yankees have been in free-fall for a month now, and are currently in fourth place in the AL East. The Knicks are a perpetual train wreck. And the Jets - coming off a crappy 4-12 season last year - made some bold moves in the offseason to try to make themselves more competitive. All of which makes me salivate at the prospect of Matt Cassel & Co. giving YanksJetsKnicks4Life and his slovenly friends the ultimate middle finger salute tomorrow.

So let's start there. Tom Brady isn't walking out of that tunnel tomorrow, and as the initial shock has subsided, I think more and more Pats fans are intrigued at what this still-talented team can do. They do have the easiest schedule in the league this year, and if you think back to 2001-02, when Jets LB Mo Lewis (little irony there, no?) permanently altered this franchise for the better, remember what we called Brady back then? A game manager. His typical line each week was maybe 15 for 20, 185 yards, no picks. Fast forward to 2008, and that's really all Matt Cassel has to do. And his team - on both sides of the ball - is more talented than it was back then. You can argue about the defense maybe, but the point remains. We don't need Cassel to be Brady-like. I say this team goes 11-5, and then all bets are off in the playoffs.

As for the game tomorrow, it's going to be an incredibly intense atmosphere. You've got the Mangini-BB angle, Spygate anniversary, Brett Favre's first game in front of the home crowd, etc. Jets fans are discounting the Pats and smelling blood, which is exactly the type of situation the Pats thrive on. Call me a homer, but I'm predicting a 24-17 victory, with a Favre interception being returned for a TD. The Pats' D-line comes up big.

Turning to the boys of summer/fall, the Sox endured a couple of tough losses at Fenway this week to the amazing Rays, and currently sit 2 games behind the division leaders. The Sox had to play through a mini-monsoon last night with the red-hot Blue Jays because they've already got a day-night twinbill scheduled for today due to an early-season rainout. It turned out to be a good thing they played last night, as Tim Wakefield turned in a great performance and we didn't have to use the bullpen. So we've got lots of fresh arms ready for today's marathon. First game is at 12:30 with A.J. Burnett going against Paul Byrd, and the second game has Bartolo Colon going against Jesse Litsch tonight at 7.

It will be interesting to see if the Sox go full-throttle to try to win the AL East, or if they'll be relatively content to take the wild-card route, where they have a commanding lead. Me personally? I don't want to have to travel out to LA to play the Angels, so let's go for it.

Enjoy the weekend.

Remember

2008-09-11T14:35:00.002-04:00

A Gloomy Monday

2008-09-08T16:31:00.004-04:00

As the free world knows by now, it's official. Tom Brady is done for 2008 and will require surgery on his left knee. We don't know any specifics about the injury yet, but speculation centers on a torn ACL and possibly even more damage. The news came a little after 3 p.m. from Foxborough, and while we had all steeled ourselves for it, it still takes the wind out of your sails.

I don't know about you, but my emotions are all over the board today. I'm sad that our season is over before it begins. I feel bad for Brady, because you know he's the hardest worker on the team, and he won't get a chance to add to his ridiculous resume and avenge that lame Super Bowl loss in February. I actually feel some sympathy for Bernard Pollard, who - right or wrong - will go down in history as one of the biggest New England villains of all time. I feel a sense of 'what if?' As in, what if Sammy Morris had finished off his block of Pollard, or what if Kevin Faulk - a superb blitz picker-upper - hadn't been suspended for the first game because he got caught with some mary jane at a L'il Wayne concert. In all likelihood, he would have been in the backfield for that play and maybe things turn out differently. I've got some anger inside - mostly because I've made the mistake today of reading some comments on the web o'sphere, many of which are cheering this latest development. And then I catch myself, realizing that I've always rooted for injuries to befall Yankees, and for scorching line drives to be hit into the good seats at Yankee Stadium. And finally, I guess the only piece of optimism I can offer - and this is assuming Brady makes a full recovery - is that maybe he'll be hungrier than ever to win more Vince Lombardi trophies and get the Pats' name back into the same breath as the great Steelers, Cowboys, and 49er teams. I guess another positive is that this happened in Game 1 and not Game 14 or in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLIII.

We've been pretty damn lucky around here, and every now and then it takes a horrible thing like this to make us realize it. Ah, the fragility of it all.

In the meantime, we throw our support around Matt Cassel and, oh yeah, the Sox.

What's the Worst Thing That Could Happen?

2008-09-07T20:17:00.007-04:00

Has an opening-season win on a gorgeous, sun-splashed day ever felt so hollow? Our sports nightmare was realized this afternoon in Foxborough, when Patriots QB Tom Brady suffered a potential season-ending knee injury. As a guy who's had his fair share of knee troubles, I don't think it's going to be good news. In fact, I'm shocked they let Brady walk off the field on his own power after the hit, never mind down a flight of stairs to the locker room.

The play itself was actually less of a hit than it was a kind of roll, or a lunge. Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard was picked up nicely on a blitz by Pats RB Sammy Morris, but his forward momentum carried him into Brady, who was just releasing the ball and had his left leg in a straight-up, vulnerable position. At the point of contact, Brady's upper leg went one way and his lower leg went the other. When he was writhing in pain on the ground, I had that same sinking feeling in my stomach that you get when a state trooper throws his flashing blues on behind you, and then passes you in pursuit of another driver. Now, with Brady no doubt holed up in complete secrecy in some medical institution in the Boston area tonight, the Pats shot at another dream season is most likely over before it really got started. Brady will have an MRI tomorrow and then we'll know more. (By the way, I love how the different sports websites throughout the day had little links saying 'Hear what Belichick has to say about Brady's injury.' No need to click - he had nothing to say about it. Just like, um, always.) If he's done, it will be interesting to see if the Pats target a veteran QB or stick with Matt Cassel.

It was a scenario made all the more surreal because we spent the whole pre-season around here talking about how bad our backup QBs are, and can you imagine if anything happened to Brady? Just a week ago, people were up in arms that Cassel had made the team after a crappy training camp. But lo and behold, you gotta give Cassel credit. For all the grief he took in the past week, his performance - not great, but pretty darn good considering - was inspiring and you genuinely felt good for the guy. The highlight was easily the 51-yard slant pass he made to Randy Moss when the Pats were stuck deep in their own zone. He also hit Moss later for a TD, and when he wasn't throwing it, he was relying on RB's Laurence Maroney and Morris to chew up some yardage. The Maroney/Morris team was impressive all day. And hats off, too, to the defense. They had a pretty solid showing all around, the secondary made some nice plays, and the goal line stand at the end to preserve the win brought back memories. Still, we realize that it was the lowly Chiefs, and oh yeah, we lost our Hall of Fame quarterback. Final score: Pats 17, Chiefs 10.

More on football as the week goes on, but let's get back to baseball for a second. If you haven't noticed, the front-running Rays are in the process of coughing up a big furball, and the Sox are the benefactors. One week ago, the Rays had a comfortable 5-1/2 game lead on the Sox, and our thoughts were mostly on winning the wild card. But then the Sox got hot against some pretty piss-poor teams, and the Rays had to contend with the Yankees (remember, A-Rod's always on when the games matter less) and the feisty Blue Jays. As we sit here tonight, with a much-awaited series with Tampa on tap at Fenway starting tomorrow night, the lead has been shaved down to 1-1/2 games. If all goes well, we could be in first place come Wednesday morning. Series matchups: Jon Lester vs. Edwin Jackson tomorrow night, Dice-K vs. Scott Kazmir Tuesday, and Josh Beckett vs. Andy Sonnanstine Wednesday.

(UPDATE, 9:58 p.m. - both Yahoo's Michael Silver and WEEI.com's Ron Borges are reporting that Brady is indeed done for the year with a torn ACL. Unbelievable. Pats fans - be prepared for an onslaught of 'karma' comments from the haters. Some reports are saying that the Pats will bring in Chris Simms tomorrow for a look-see. Cassel may keep the job for a while, but what happens if he goes down? If I hear the name Vinny Testaverde in the next few days, I will puke.)

Dice-K Dominates

2008-08-30T09:27:00.004-04:00

As you know by now, the Sox took 2 of 3 from the Yankees in their finale at the original Yankee Stadium - unable to complete the sweep thanks to a titanic home run by Jason Giambi - and then came home and Dice-ected the White Sox last night at Fenway.

Matsuzaka was masterful - easily his best performance of '08 - as he shut out a hot-hitting team, held them to two measly hits, struck out 7 and walked - get this - two. He was backed by the normal offensive suspects, including the incredible duo of Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, and Everyday Jason Bay. Meanwhile, Sox hitters feasted on Javier Vazquez and a succession of mediocre relievers. Final score was 8-zip.

While the Sox were running roughshod over their hosiery counterparts, those friggin' Rays continued to win, this time drubbing the Orioles 14-3 and in the process ensuring the first winning season in team history. As for the current standings, the Sox are 4.5 games behind Tampa, and the Yanks are 10.5 out. The Sox have a 2.5-game lead on Minnesota for the wild-card, and a six-game cushion on the Spanks (hard to believe they're still kicking - Carl Pavano came back last night and won a game - that's $25 million per win for the Yanks)

Personnel-wise, there's been lots of movement for the Sox over the past week. The biggest story revolved around Josh Beckett, who traveled to Alabama Friday to meet with Dr. James Andrews, who may as well be the Jack Kevorkian for major league pitchers. Beckett and the team wanted to get some peace of mind that his right elbow was okay, and they got that yesterday when Andrews gave the all-clear. The Sox could not have withstood a major injury to Beckett - particularly in October. They're already beat up, with J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and now Beckett on the DL.

What I like about this year's team, though, is that they've been able to mix in new pieces along the way during an otherwise tumultuous season. In fact, this may be the best job Terry Francona has done during his Boston tenure, which is saying quite a bit. It seems like there's a new player in the lineup every night, and tonight is no different. Because the Sox had to DL Beckett, they called up promising righty Michael Bowden from Pawtucket and he'll go tonight against Mark Buehrle and the Sox. I've said it before and I'll say it again: a rookie pitcher debut is one of the coolest things to watch in baseball.

Two more quick Sox observations. It's been beyond fun to watch the breakout seasons Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia are having this year. They've become the de facto leaders of this team. Every time you look up, one of them's lining a ball somewhere for a hit. Second, I want to introduce a new statistical category, On-Field Intelligence (OFI). It's hard not to notice that Theo has gone after anti-Manny guys - that is, smart baseball players who show up every day and contribute in many different ways to winning ballgames. Bay, Paul Byrd, and Mark Kotsay are all talented in their own ways, and they score highly in OFI. These things matter when the leaves start to turn colors.

A-Fraud

2008-08-27T09:46:00.006-04:00

The Sox put one nail in the Yanks' coffin last night with a sweet 7-3 victory in New York. Highlights in this one were Alex Rodriguez' ineptness at the plate and in the field, and a huge double-play groundball induced by Justin Masterson (on A-Fraud) to squelch a Yanks' rally in the seventh (I just used 'induced' and 'squelch' in the same sentence by the way...)

The Yankee "fans" were all over A-Rod last night, booing every at-bat, and even booing the guy whenever he touched the ball in the field, which really says something about how they feel about their bazillionaire slugger. He's got numbers this year, but not your typical A-Rod numbers, and he has not been good in the clutch. Think he's batting around .245 with runners in scoring position and two outs.

Could it be the personal swirl that's doing A-Rod in this year? Is the Material Girl messing with his brain?

Game 2 is tonight at 7, with Paul Byrd going against the Clown Prince of Aruba, Sidney Ponson.

(One other quick note: several media outlets are reporting that the Sox have signed Mark Kotsay to join their outfield ranks. Makes sense, with J.D. Drew now on the DL and Brandon Moss now playing in Pittsburgh (that's the one that's gonna hurt me for a while - I liked Mossy). This is the spot they envisioned for Brian Giles, but he decided he'd rather stay in beautiful San Diego and play for a loser. To each his own, I s'pose.)

Y.E.P., or R.I.P., Whichever You Prefer...

2008-08-26T13:53:00.003-04:00

Before I 'splain my acronym above, one of the great - and truly scary - things about the proliferation of blogs over the past few years is that they give anyone and everyone a forum to say whatever the hell's on their minds. Here's a strange nugget that crossed my mind as I made my way into work this morning. At a certain point along the highway, there was a major piece of road kill in the middle of the road. I'm talking blood and guts spattered over a decent-sized area. My question for you to ponder today is this: Do cars swerve to avoid running over said roadkill out of respect to the previously breathing critter, or do they do it to avoid getting the gross entrails trapped on their precious tires? These are the things I think about when sitting in traffic for 35 minutes, and I get to share them with you. Don't ya feel lucky?

Anyway, onto the post title. Y.E.P. stands for Yankees Elimination Party, which I'm hoping we can celebrate after this little three-game set in the Bronx. Which also just so happens to be the last time the Red Sox will have to play in the haunted house that is Yankee Stadium. I saw a stat last night that the Sox are roughly 200 games under .500 lifetime in the place. Ba-bye.

The Yanks themselves are definitely circling the drain - they're five games behind the Sox in the division and the wild card - but they're also buoyed by the fact that they get to play the Sox six more times before year's end. In other words, it's up to them if they want to get back into it. The fun starts tonight with Tim Wakefield making his return from the DL against Andy Pettitte. Here's hoping the Sox make the Yanks roadkill. That's something I'd happily drive my car over.

Taking on Water

2008-08-24T09:50:00.002-04:00

So this is what they meant by 'dog days of August.' The Sox are springing leaks all around as they try to stay within tracking distance of the first-place Rays and keep their hold on the wild card lead. They're missing their starting shortstop, third baseman, and right fielder, and their #1 pitcher has some sort of mysterious ailment going on his throwing arm. To add salt to the proverbial wounds, Jon Lester got shelled yesterday en route to an embarrassing 11-0 defeat to the Blue Jays, who have our number this year.

It's been a chaotic 2008 for this team in more ways than one, and really, if you think about it objectively, the fact that they have a half-game lead over the White Sox for the wild card is borderline incredible. Schilling gone for the year, Papi and Lowell out for extended periods, the gas-can bullpen, the spaghetti bats of Lugo, Crisp and Varitek, and oh, almost forgot, the loud departure of Manny Ramirez. The Sox' depth has allowed them to stay afloat, but it remains to be seen if the leaks can be stopped before this team hits the ocean floor.

The Blue Jays have certainly been trying to poke more holes in the hull. The Jays hold a 7-3 edge over the Sox this year, and they send the hot A.J. Burnett (16-9) to the hill today against Dice-K (15-2). Should be a good one... or it could be an ugly one.

Checking Back In

2008-08-22T10:53:00.009-04:00

Rested, refreshed, and re-charged for what should be a pretty good pennant race...

Lots to catch up on after my two-week hiatus from posting. I was sequestered in the woods of Maine for most of that time, where cell phone and wireless internet signals go to die. But we're back, and ready to roll. We'll rename the site today Volleyball Heaven in honor of our outgoing commander in chief, who spent some quality time in Beijing last week with our champion lady v-ballers (left).

Thought I'd just do a quick around-the-horn with some local issues that have been debated over the past week or so:

- Everyday Jason Bay is holding his own against that walking (jogging?) consumer fraud now playing with the Dodgers. The tale of the tape since the big deal went down - Manny's hitting .406 with six homers, 21 RBI's, 12 runs, and, get this, one steal. Everyday Jason Bay, meanwhile, is hitting .347 with 4 homers, 18 ribs, 19 runs, 3 SB's, and oh yeah, as his nickname implies, he's playing every day and not shoving elderly people to the ground. The Manny sycophants are still out there, but the more I see of Bay, the more I think Theo did a hell of a job under extreme duress. Here's a piece from T.J. Simers in the LA Times that will give you a good guffaw. Most amazing takeaway for me: Manny knows how to operate an iPhone? He's probably got his own techie guy. Like L'Montro his own personal hairstylist, this guy's name is L'Pod.

- I like to take stock of the Patriots after the third game of the pre-season each year, but we still may not have a clue about this team after tonight's game against Asante Samuel and the Eagles at Gillette. We may not see Tom Brady for this one, as the organization continues to rightfully protect its Faberge egg. So it could be another dose of Backup QB Derby. I'll probably tune in and watch at least a couple of quarters. I still think the Pats go 14-2 this year with the easy schedule and they add another trophy to the case.

- I must say, the Olympics are alluring. I mean, where else can we see our Commander in Chief galivanting with bikini-clad women in public? Honestly, I think the attraction for me is the stories and the smiles. The raw human emotion of the whole thing. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. I'll shut up now. But it's been fun watching Phelps and that lightning streak sprinter from Jamaica. I guess not everyone in that country takes their time getting places.

- It's YEP time, otherwise known as the Yankee Elimination Party. That team is all done, friends. Hank Steinbrenner's already on record as saying they're the team to beat in 2009. The white flag is waving from the Empire itself.

- One of Brett Favre's first requests to Stool Pigeon Mangini was to simplify the offense a little more. Not a good sign.

- Rumors are flying around the Hub about Jason Varitek's divorce - actually not so much his divorce but who he may be seeing. My moles are telling me it's NESN's own Kathryn Tappen, who I must say is quite fetching. Still, doesn't this smack a little of the Derek Lowe situation?

- My fantasy football team: QB: Brett Favre, Philip Rivers; RB: Marshawn Lynch, Willie Parker, Jonathan Stewart, Felix Jones; WR: Randy Moss, Dwayne Bowe, Anthony Gonzalez, Darrell Jackson; TE: Jason Witten, Zach Miller; K: Phil Dawson, Martin Gramatica; OFF: Arizona, Detroit; DEF: NYG, NYJ. Thoughts?

- Still not sure how I feel about NBA players playing for Team USA in the Olympics. Then I realize they haven't won gold for a while and I'm more okay with it. I do wish someone from the Celts was on the team, though I realize they played the most post-season games, like, ever. So I guess a rest is warranted.

- Just tried to think of something to write about hockey and came up completely empty. Sad.

- Where's Bill Simmons over at ESPN? Talk about a long hiatus. Rick Reilly's starting to take over as the lead draw, at least for me.

- Gotta love the vicious Boston sports media. After his latest poor outing, I half-expected to see Clay Buchholz dangling from a tree on Boston Common. I understand that everything is amplified in Boston, but the level of outrage over this guy - and the way people take it so personally - is ridiculous. Much like the weight of perfection wore on the Pats last January/February, Buchholz' dalliance with perfection - his September '07 no-no vs. Baltimore - could be affecting him right now. The way I look at it is some people develop more slowly - he mastered Double-A, and after mixed results at Triple-A, he eventually got into a groove before being called back up. It's a process, people. Give the kid some time.

- That said, you have to be concerned about the current state of the rotation. Josh Beckett has some sort of mysterious numbness/tingling going on in his pitching hand, though anything serious has been ruled out. Wake's on the DL. Buchholz is headed up to Portland to get it all back. Really, if you think about the guys you trust on the mound right now for the Sox, it's Dice-K, Lester and Papelbon, and maybe throw in Masterson. If that isn't worrisome, I don't know what is. The Sox did pick up Paul Byrd for the stretch drive, and he goes tonight against a familiar foe in the Blue Jays. Byrd's last two starts - one for the Indians, one for the Sox - have been against Toronto.

- And finally, let's end on a political note. Who is Obama going to pick as his VP candidate? It's a fun parlor game to watch, and kudos to his campaign for somehow keeping his choice quiet. Not easy to do in today's media age. I'm going to go against the grain and predict that his selection will be a complete surprise.

Back in the Saddle

2008-08-09T11:16:00.003-04:00

Why the eight-day hiatus? Let's just say I can't quite socialize the way I used to. Spent last weekend in the hinterlands of Maine with a couple pals and it honestly took till mid-week to start to feel somewhat normal. Getting old sucks.

Lots of things to catch up on so here's a mish-mash:

- Manny Ramirez and Jason Bay have settled in on their respective coasts, and each are doing very well. Manny's been absolutely scalding the ball - funny, haven't seen many defensive highlights - and Bay's been impressive with the stick and with the glove. Manny has gone 13 for 28 so far with 4 homers, 9 RBI's and 7 runs scored, while Bay has gone 12 for 30, with 1 homer, 6 RBI's and 10 runs scored. Interesting to see a little sidebar in today's Globe with the headline "Hansen has Moss to thank for first save." Anything to get people around here up in arms - which admittedly isn't difficult to do.

- Sticking with Manny, I've had more than a week to digest this whole thing and what I keep coming back to is that what he did to his team, to us fans, and to the guys who sign his paychecks is unforgivable. I'm not one to make bold statements, but Manny's quitting attitude during his final days in Boston was a large middle-finger salute to the integrity of the game. In fact, the Globe reported this week that MLB has some people poking around the matter of Manny's last days, to see if there is any evidence of intentional tanking. In the end, of course, we'll never get all the answers. Somebody in the local press will attempt to do a Will McDonough-esque piece breaking it all down, but it will be partly speculation. We'll never know if the ownership group kept telling Manny one thing and doing another. We'll never know how many more Youkilis/McCormick moments Manny may have had over the last seven years. We'll never know what Scott Boras did or didn't tell Manny to do as part of his overall strategery to break away from the two one-year options, which only months ago seemed to favor the Sox but in the end turned out to be leg shackles. What we do know is that Manny dogged it one too many times, and his quit this time was perceived by many to be an insult aimed directly at the owner's box. It was personal this time around. One last thing - we fans have a part in all of this too. We - along with the owners and his teammates - looked the other way with Manny because of his bat and because he played a major role in helping to erase 86 years of sheer torture and misery. In the end, maybe Manny thought his behavior was okay, because it's been permitted for so long.

- Next in the crosshairs: Brett Favre and the Packers. What an utter mess. I have to agree with Mike Golic, who this week on ESPN strongly questioned why the Packers wouldn't want to have Favre as their starter in the first place. Yes, the guy threw an abysmal interception to end their season last year, and he's only won one Super Bowl. But does he not make your team better when he's in there? That's really the only question. You can bring up Manny as an example - he obviously makes the Sox better - but his flaws were deeper than we knew. From everything I've seen, read and heard, and there has been a lot, his teammates still respect Favre. Seems like Packers GM Ted Thompson is the loser in all this. GM Rule No. 1 - never get into a pissing match with a beloved legend. Now Favre's with the Jets, which should make for some fun twice a year against the Pats.

- Hey, did you know the PGA Championship - golf's fourth major - was taking place this weekend? Me neither. Amazing the impact Tiger has.

- I was kind of hoping the Pats might get a crack at released QB Chad Pennington, though I knew he'd obviously be more interested in playing every Sunday. He'll be a good backup QB to have around some day.

- Hey, did you know the Olympics started yesterday? Me neither. No, I'm kidding - I caught some of the opening ceremony last night and it was truly spectacular. I'll most likely try to tune in for men's hoops, and swimming and diving. I've always liked the pool events for some reason. Weird but true fact about your humble blogger servant.

- I didn't watch one snap of the Pats' first exhibition game the other night against the Ravens, but I did hear from many that rookie LB Jerod Mayo - the team's first round pick - was very impressive. And that Tom Brady's Backups were very unimpressive. Talk to me after the third exhibition game.

- Try as they might, the Red Sox just can't seem to chip into the Rays' division lead. Entering today's games, they're 3 1/2 back and some eyes have turned to the wild card standings, which have the Sox ahead of the Twins by a game and a half. I still believe that the Sox win the AL East, the Rays win the wild card, and the Yankees don't make the playoffs, especially with Joba Chamberlain's injury.

- Dice-K needs to come through tonight with a good performance against a good team. The Sox lost 5-3 to the White Sox last night.

- Ozzie Guillen makes for good TV. The guys wears his emotions on his sleeve, and it's particularly entertaining to watch him while his bullpen is in the process of imploding. If you had a split-screen on TV, he'd go from a frown, to taking his hat off and rubbing his forehead, to throwing his arms up and cussing, to barking at his pitching coach to get on the phone. The man is animated.

- And that's all I have for you at the moment. Thanks for listening. Go forth and prosper on this fine Saturday.

Out of Left Field

2008-07-31T17:03:00.006-04:00

I always say that our Boston Red Sox are the greatest soap opera going. Today's episode goes down as one of the best cliffhangers ever.

First, the big news: Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pirates OF Jason Bay is coming to Boston. The Sox also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh, and the Dodgers sent two prospects to the Pirates. Sounds clean and simple, but if you've been following the bouncing ball today (like thousands in Boston have - Boston.com crashed at around 4), it was anything but.

All day long, it seemed like Manny's destination was going to be South Florida. The Marlins, by all accounts, were in the lead to get him, but in the back of my mind their pursuit never made sense. They don't go out and get big names like this. They groom their talent, they're very good at it, and why would they take Ramirez on when they know he can walk after this year? (As part of waiving his no-trade, Manny and Bore-ass made it clear the acquiring team would not have the twin $20M options). It just didn't add up.

After untold updates throughout the day, it seemed like nothing was going to happen right at the 4:00 deadline, and my thoughts turned to 'how is the Sox clubhouse going to take this?' A sulking Manny for the stretch run we've seen before, but this was a different feel - this year alone, he's slapped a teammate, pushed a 65-year old man to the ground, and perhaps the most inflammatory of all, had used his personal mouthpiece - a Spanish ESPN reporter - to toss hand grenades at Red Sox ownership. How was Tito's much-discussed team meeting for tomorrow night going to go down with Manny still there? Just as I - and I'm sure countless others - were fretting about that, word came down from the Globe's Gordon Edes that Manny was heading to LA. There were some excruciating minutes after the news alert where we didn't know who we got in return. Was it Matt Kemp (please, no) or Jason Bay (please, yes) and it turned out to be Bay.

Did the Sox give up a lot? Yes. They give up Manny, Hansen, Moss and $7 million for the rest of this year and they get one player back in Bay. I would have liked to have seen a reliever in the mix somehow. The Dodgers give up two stiffs. But in the end, Theo had to get rid of Manny for all of the reasons documented above. Count me as satisfied.

If you think about it, LA made sense all along. It's been like our little Ellis Island for Red Sox cast-offs. They welcomed Grady Little, Bill Mueller, Nomar Garciaparra, and Derek Lowe with open arms, and now they're getting the clown prince of left fielders. Do you think Manny realizes there's no DH in the NL? We're going to see some tape-measure homers, but we're also going to see some comedic fielding highlights. In other words, more of the same.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2008-07-31T09:26:00.003-04:00

Isn't the trading deadline grand? I'd love to see some web traffic numbers in the city of Boston today, as Theo continues his effort to unload Manny Malcontent. The latest rumor du jour - and to be fair, it's become more than a rumor in the last 12 hours - has Manny going to the Florida Marlins, Jeremy Hermida and some other bodies going from the Marlins to the Pirates, and the Sox getting Jason Bay and reliever John Grabow from Pittsburgh. SI's Jon Heyman has been all over the deal, which has taken on different permutations. Some people this morning are saying that the Pirates are still haggling over who they'd receive, and the Sox may also be eyeing Pirates' SS Jack Wilson.

I'm officially in the camp of 'let's get this done now.' As I said yesterday, this team needs an injection of something. They looked horrendous last night in getting swept away by the Angels at Fenway, and it clearly appears to the casual viewer that the Manny circus is taking its toll. We shall see. Either way, it's going to be a very interesting day, and quite possibly an unproductive one - unless your job involves web surfing.

Time for Something Bold

2008-07-30T08:33:00.003-04:00

There's a little more than 30 hours left till the trading deadline tomorrow at 4 p.m., and I'm officially of the mind that Theo and his front office minions need to pull a Nomar-like move out of their hat and get rid of Manny Ramirez.

This situation has come to a head, and if it's possible, was exacerbated last night as Angels pitcher John Lackey was working on a no-hitter at Fenway. Manny hit a grounder that he could have beaten out for a single - that is, of course, if he had been running at more than a jogging speed. To their credit, the fans actually booed him. Appropriately, the true dirt dogs on this team - Pedroia and Youkilis - proceeded to put a halt to both the no-no and the shutout in the ninth, but the Sox still fell to the hottest team in the majors, 6-2. By the way, that hottest team also made news yesterday by picking up slugging 1B Mark Texiera for Casey Kotchman and a minor-league pitcher. With that one move, the Angels made a statement to the rest of the league that they're going for it.

The Sox now need to do the same. Their two AL postseason rivals - the Yankees and Angels - have both made moves in the past week while the Sox have been mum. While there are some obvious parallels to trading Nomar in July 2004 and trading Manny now, I'm not saying that Theo will get so lucky this time around. I think we all said a giant 'WTF?' when it was announced that we had traded our golden-boy shortstop for Dave Roberts and Doug Mientkiewicz, but we quickly forgot about that as that team went on a tear and ultimately ended 86 years of misery. This time around, Theo has to get more than that. Young prospects aren't going to do it alone. As of this morning, word is that the main players for Manny are rumored to be the Phillies (Pat Burrell), Dodgers and Mets (Carlos Beltran?). Pedro Martinez supposedly stumped for acquiring Manny by declaring him "a great human being."

Whatever happens in the next day or so, one thing is for certain: this Red Sox team needs to have some fresh air pumped into it. Manny is a lame duck every day now, and it's abundantly clear that his teammates are sick of the spectacle. Let him take his act to the National League, and let's give this team the chance it deserves to try to repeat.

Halo Effect

2008-07-29T07:51:00.004-04:00

Damn, it sure looks like the Angels are the team to beat this year. Have they finally got the pieces to put themselves over the hump? The addition of Torii Hunter has paid huge dividends for a team that's always been good defensively, but now has more offense. The Angels once again took the Sox and Dice-K to the woodshed last night, winning 7-5 in a game that Dice-K seemingly had in control until he unraveled in the sixth. These teams have now played each other seven times this year and the Sox have won one.

The good news for the Nation last night was that both the Rays and Yankees lost, so no ground gained by anyone. Another tough matchup tonight at Fenway with Clay Buchholz going against John Lackey.

As far as a Manny update, the talk continues to swirl but no news yet. As you probably know by now, Manny has come and said that he would agree to a trade 'if it helped the Red Sox.' How magnanimous of him. WEEI reported last night that the Dodgers, Mets and Diamondbacks have all dialed Theo's Blackberry to inquire. The concept of trading Manny seems to have sunk in around here - at the very least, people don't think the Sox will pick up his option for 2009 - but when you see him scald the ball like he did last night, it makes it that much more bittersweet. Ideally, you'd like to see the freak finish out his career here. But for circumstances that we'll probably never know for sure, it most likely isn't going to happen. I'd still love to see Teixeira in a Red Sox uniform so we could right a wrong.

By the way, Peter Gammons checked in with a damning entry on his blog yesterday (available only to those with an ESPN Insider subscription). The story was filled with negative "clubhouse quotes" on Manny, and pointed out the disturbing penchant the dreadlocked one has for conveniently skipping games against the game's best righties (Chamberlain twice, Felix Hernandez twice, Edinson Volquez and Justin Verlander). Makes you wonder a bit more about the non at-bat vs. Mariano Rivera, eh?

Yanks Seize Momentum - On and Off the Field

2008-07-26T21:59:00.003-04:00

After today's 10-3 shellacking, the Yanks have now won 8 straight games, and they pulled off a thievery of a trade last night/this morning when they sent four stiffs to Pittsburgh for OF Xavier Nady and RP Damaso Marte, both of whom have been in the crosshairs of several contending teams leading up to next Thursday's trading deadline.

Yup, the Bombers are beating up on our Sox both on the field and off, and they must be having a ball of a time watching the circus develop around the Manny situation. While I generally agree with the long-term, stable approach Theo Epstein espouses, I do believe he'll be working the phones like crazy over the next 48 hours to try to counter the Yanks' momentum. The two things he should be looking for, in my humble opinion, are a shutdown reliever - lefty or righty - and someone who can make us all forget Coco Crisp. In fact, I'd probably put the Crisp replacement at the top of the shopping list. I can no longer watch when the Sox have a rally, and their 7-8-9 hitters are strolling to the plate. Lowrie will be fine, and Varitek's not going anywhere. Which leaves Coco. The man makes some incredible plays in center field, and he knows how to duck a punch, no doubt. But can you think of one single offensive memory from this guy? Neither can I. My two biggest memories of Coco are the amazing catch he made off David Wright last year and the fight against James Shields and the Rays. If the Sox want to stay in this race, they need to make their lineup as strong 1 through 9 as they possibly can, because Lord knows the Yankees have the lineup - and they're starting to get the pitching.

Hopefully, Jon Lester continues his dominance tomorrow night and the Red Sox avoid an ugly Fenway sweep at their hands of their blood rivals. And hopefully, Theo's working the Blackberry non-stop. It could be something big (goodbye Manny) or it could be something medium. Either way, it's time for Theo to summon his creative juices and help his team have a chance to repeat.

Last Straw?

2008-07-26T10:25:00.003-04:00

Leave it to our air-head leftfielder to overshadow an otherwise entertaining ballgame against the Spanks last night. Everything was great at around 4 p.m. Friday. The sun was shining, the post-work crowd was filling up on beer and heading into Fenway, Big Papi was returning, Beckett vs. Chamberlain... you know the drill.

And then Manny pulls a fast one, telling Brad Mills to let Terry Francona know that he wasn't going to be able to play due to a sore right knee. All of a sudden, a lineup that would have had Pedroia leading off, Papi and Manny reunited, and Ellsbury pushed down to No. 9, had to be erased and done over.

While it was certainly no surprise, the minute I heard it on the radio I was pissed, and I think a lot of diehard Sox fans - and Manny fans - were as well. This has happened before, yet this time it's very different. Things change when you're in a contract year, and things have most definitely changed with Manny. Maybe it's the Scott Boras factor, but Manny's no longer just happy-go-lucky. He seems to be trying to force his way out of town. I'm not going to say the at-bat against Rivera a few weeks ago, where he let three strikes sail past him without taking the bat off his shoulder, was an intentional swipe at Sox management. I'm not willing to go that far. But the deal with the traveling secretary, his unwillingness to play at certain times, his little verbal joust in the Herald with owner John Henry, and these goddamn mystery injuries (he went for an MRI last night on both knees and it came back clean) are getting very tiresome. Dan Shaughnessy, at his best in times of turmoil, pens a pretty good column today on the whole situation, speculating that the Sox may look to trade Manny before the year's up. There's certainly plenty here to indicate that Francona and the owners are pissed off big-time. Nice timing, Manny. Biggest game of the season and this is the message you send to your teammates, the fans, and the owners who sign your enormous checks.

Enough spouting on this man-child. If the Sox can get Mark Teixeira somehow from the Braves, move Youk to left and put Tex - another Gold Glover who can rip the cover off the ball at first - let's do it.

While all of this was going on, we got to see a pretty good pitcher's duel last night between two fireballers. Joba was more unhittable than Beckett, but the only run Beckett allowed came on a feeble grounder that was hit to the right spot when the Sox had the Giambi Shift on. We also had some fireworks, with Chamberlain again buzzing Youkilis near his dome, and then Mike Lowell vehemently arguing a called strike in the 9th inning. Two thoughts: Jerry Remy on NESN said there was no way ?Joba was trying to hit Youkilis in a 1-0 game and a 2-0 count. "There's no way that was intentional," said Remy, "unless Chamberlain is that stupid." Well, Jerry, he just may be that stupid. He had pinpoint control all night except for that at-bat. Draw your own conclusions. The Sox now have a little payback business to attend to with both the Rays and the Yankees. Regarding Lowell, can someone tell me why Mariano Rivera's strike zone is the size of Rosie O'Donnell's ass? (Sorry for the visual). This guy is well-respected and has done a lot in the game, but come on. Call 'em fair, umps. That was B.S. and Lowell was justified in letting him know it.

In the end, the Sox lose 1-0. Game 2 is at 4:00 today on Fox, with Tim Wakefield going against Andy Pettitte. By the way, can you come up with any players who have been with the same team as long as Wake has? He came to Beantown in 1995 - remember that crazy winning streak he had that summer - and he's now in his 14th season as a Sox. (Just looked up Derek Jeter - he, too, joined the Yanks in 1995). Any others?

Hit the Bull, Pap.. Just Hit the $%#@ Bull

2008-07-24T10:14:00.007-04:00

Wow, are the Seattle Mariners atrocious or what? Talk about doing a complete 180 from the Anaheim series last weekend. What's that? Your bullpen's in disarray? Head straight to the Pacific Northwest for a cure. Huh? Your 7-8-9 hitters look like they're holding strands of spaghetti at the plate? Starbucks Country is your answer. What sayeth you? Your All-Star left-fielder is acting goofy? Sorry, we can't help you there.

The Red Sox had to work overtime yesterday in Seattle, but they managed to make the cross-country flight home with a .500 record after their abysmal series against the Angels. They're now a half-game behind the Rays, and only 3 games up on the Yankees, but we'll take it. We've got Big Papi slated to come back tomorrow night in a certifiable EVENT game at Fenway (more on that in a minute), and if yesterday's performance is any indication, Justin Masterson may be just what the bullpen doctor ordered.

I guess the best way to go at the past few days is to throw out some random observations:

- For starters (pun intended), who'da thunk Jon Lester would be shaping into our ace as we head into August? The tall, soft-spoken lefty has been dominant in his past few starts, and he completely shut down the Mariners yesterday to ensure a road split. Here's hoping he gives a little push to Josh Beckett, who needs to turn it up a notch starting tomorrow night against the Yankees. I'm not expecting Beckett to duplicate his postseason form, but he has to be better for the rest of the season.

- Sticking with the starters for a moment, we must salute Dice-K. Yes, he can be maddening to watch. The man pitches like he's picking out a perfect piece of fruit, but he's been damn good results-wise all year long thanks to his Houdini-like ability to escape from jams. Teams are 0 for 11 against him in bases loaded situations so far this year. Now, he seems like he's finding a better groove.

- The injury to Julio Lugo may actually work in the Sox' favor. Jed Lowrie's going to get the chance to play every day at short, and so far so good with both the bat and the glove. Tito Francona likens him a little bit to one of my alltime favorite Sox - Bill Mueller - and I think it's a spot-on comparison. We'll see how he does against the big boys down the stretch, but I like his approach at the plate.

- Yes, Jacoby Ellsbury is slumping but he will - and should - continue to play every day. He made a spectacular running catch yesterday, running full tilt from left to center when Coco got a late break on the ball, and his glove is very much needed. His bat is, too, obviously, and I kind of wish he'd go back to laying a few bunts down every now and then. He was doing that pretty effectively earlier this year but has abandoned it for the most part. It's a true weapon with this kid's legs.

- We need to appreciate Mike Lowell more. Yesterday's game was a microcosm of what the man brings to the table. He started a HUGE double play in extra innings when Papelbon got into a little trouble, and then he strokes the clutch game-winning hit.

- Back to the 'pen for a moment. If Masterson can give us 2 innings of solid relief when he's in there, I think you'll see a far more effective Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen. Yes, I'm leaving Craig Hansen off that list. He just ain't getting it done.

- I know Theo gets lots of kudos for the player development machine he's built, but it's still incredible to me to look at the core players: Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Papelbon. Now Lowrie and Masterson are getting their shots. Very impressive.

- Why do people still insist on running against the best arm in the game (Ichiro)?

- Speaking of Papelbon, I'm convinced that he's the real-life version of Nuke LaLoosh from Bull Durham. And hell, Varitek is his Crash Davis.

- Okay, I was hoping to avoid it, but we must expend a few words on one Manuel Aristides Ramirez. Once again, it was an eventful few days on Planet Manny. First he gets a "stern lecture" from a Seattle policeman on the dangers of jaywalking (by the way, the fact that Boston.com felt compelled to make this a front-page news item is a sad commentary on both readers and the media today), and then he shows up at the park yesterday and begs out of the lineup with a sore right knee that was a surprise to all. Hmmm. Felix Hernandez on the hill, off-day today... I'm just sayin'. I think there's some credence to the theory being floated around that Manny and his new agent - who just so happens to be Scott Boras - are playing games to see if Manny can get a long-term contract somewhere else. They probably don't want the the Sox to pick up the next two one-year options at $20 million per. Manny's probably looking to land that final, four-year or so deal before he hangs up his dreds. As for whether I think the Sox should keep him, I'm incredibly torn. I'm sick of his clown act, but his production will be difficult to replace.

- Now, onto the game tomorrow night. If there was one game you could attend this year at Fenway, this one is it. Friday nights are always electric, but throw in the Yankees, a pennant race, the return of David Ortiz to the lineup, and - try this on for size - Beckett vs. Joba Chamberlain, and it's downright nirvana.

Road Kill

2008-07-21T08:47:00.003-04:00

As you know by now, the Red Sox road woes continued this weekend as they dropped three straight to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Orange County (why couldn't they just keep 'California' Angels?). While I readily admit that Mike Scioscia (the Kevin Youkilis of managers in terms of whining) has a very good ballclub, these were winnable games and once again, the bullpen let us down. I'm talking to you Lopez and Delcarmen. Thankfully, Theo was sitting behind the plate during the series, no doubt taking stock of what he's got on the field so he can contemplate some potential trading-deadline moves.

The home/road splits for the Sox are incredible. They're 36-11 in the friendly confines, and 21-32 when staying in another town. Counting this lost weekend, they've now been swept six times this year on the road (Toronto, Tampa (twice), Baltimore (2-game series), Oakland and Anaheim). Conversely, they enjoyed a 13-game winning streak at Fenway from May 2 through June 5. It's downright maddening - reminiscent, in fact, of the Celtics' problems on the road during this past year's NBA postseason.

Bullpen aside, could a healthy David Ortiz have made a difference in some of these ugly road losses? Absolutely. Despite the temptation to activate Papi after he hit homers in three consecutive games down in Pawtucket, the organization is sticking to its original plan. Papi will be looking to hit a couple more bombs off Double-A pitching in Portland, Maine, this week. But the bullpen needs serious overhauling. Delcarmen has a nice fastball, but you have to wonder where his head is sometimes. The heater's his best pitch, and he throws some type of off-speed junk to Casey Kotchman yesterday, whose eyes light up as he ropes it for a game-winning 2-run double? This comes after a visit to the mound by pitching coach John Farrell?

On the flight to Seattle, Theo had to be doing a quick inventory of available relievers on the market as the deadline nears. Unfortunately, the price will be high, and the sting of trading David Murphy, Kason Gabbard, and a minor leaguer - Engel Beltre, who is tearing it up in AA ball - for tomato can Eric Gagne is still fresh. One hope is that Justin Masterson can be effective pitching in relief. The Sox recalled Masterson yesterday and he'll be called upon very soon to try to reverse this disturbing trend.

As they prepare to take on the Mariners tonight, the Sox find themselves a game and a half behind Tampa, and only three games up on the suddenly surging Yankees. Washington homeboy Jon Lester goes against Jarrod Washburn.

Sight for Sore Eyes

2008-07-18T09:24:00.002-04:00

I think it's fair to say that I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say how awesome it was to open today's Globe sports page and see a large color picture of David Ortiz in full extension, watching his fourth-inning home run leave the park in his first rehab game at Triple-A Pawtucket. Ortiz will be playing a few games there, and then will head north up Route 95 to play for Double-A Portland because Pawtucket goes on the road. The plan calls for Papi to be in the starting lineup on Friday, July 25, when the Sox play the Yankees at Fenway. Friday night games are always the best, but throw in the Yankees and Big Papi's return and you've got yourself a certified EVENT. Can't wait.

Was out with a few buddies last night and everyone to a man agreed that as the Sox start the second half of the season, things are looking good. When you think about all the adversity this team has been through - starting with the loss of Curt Schilling and obviously Big Papi, and the bullpen implosions - the fact that we're up a 1/2 game on the Rays is a bit of a miracle. With Papi on the cusp of returning, it changes the entire dynamic of the lineup. And hopefully, the Sox can patch up the 'pen organically, like they're doing by having Justin Masterson back in Triple-A to work on becoming a reliever. If all goes according to plan, Masterson could be using his nasty sinker to quell some potential big innings late in the season.

To be sure, there are other things to think about before we even ponder this team's chances for a repeat trip to the Fall Classic. Will Jason Varitek start hitting, at least a little bit? Will Jed Lowrie/Alex Cora rise to the occasion and fill in ably for Julio Lugo (can't imagine a downgrade)? Will Jonathan Papelbon go back to his lights-out 1-2-3 inning self? Will Josh Beckett regain his 2007 form just in time? How will Clay Buchholz do? And last but not least, will Manny Ramirez be distracted by his contract status or will he just play ball and leave 65-year old traveling secretaries alone?

Lots of questions, and we'll start getting some answers tonight when the Sox play the Angels in Anaheim. Buchholz vs. John Lackey at 10.

Midnight Run

2008-07-16T08:45:00.002-04:00

I'm glad I went to bed when I did last night. It took 15 innings for a winner to be declared in last night's Midsummer Classic, as Rangers SS Michael Young hit a sacrifice fly that scored Justin Morneau. As for all those Yankee fans that took delight in booing the boys from Boston, well, we get the last laugh. Can you say J.D. Drew/MVP?

Something tells me Papelbon will have a little extra snarl in him the rest of the way against the Yankees, which is a good thing. Kudos to him for not flipping the bird to the crowd last night as he was booed off the mound. And some news from Yankee camp: Hideki Matsui's knee injury is worse than originally feared, and he could be out for the rest of the year. The guy they're talking about as a replacement? One Barry Bonds. Please, God, let this happen.

No ball until Friday night when the Sox take on the Angels in Anaheim. Enjoy the break.

Stay Classy, New York

2008-07-15T22:52:00.006-04:00

I don't really feel like organizing my thoughts tonight, so I'm just gonna go with what's on my mind.

- I'm a 40-year old man and I'm still excited to see my guys play in the All-Star Game. (By the way, I just called J.D. Drew's home run in the bottom of the 7th for the American League - my dog Lucy and a stuffed monkey as my witnesses). We're heading to the top of the 8th all knotted up at 2. Will we see Papelbon for the 8th? Why, yes we will. And the Yanks' fans are booing lustily. More on this in a moment.

- For all of us Yankee haters out there, one of the more underrated results from winning the World Series last year is that our guys pretty much get to go into the Yanks' clubhouse during the All-Star Game and, you know, take the place over. I mean, think about how cool it is that Terry Francona is sitting in the same office where Billy Martin and Joe Torre sat, and Big Papi, Drew, Kevin Youkilis, Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, and Manny Ramirez are occupying lockers. All during the celebrated swan song of Yankee Stadium. Me likey. %$#@ the Yankees.

- The NYC media can certainly whip up a good shit storm, can't it? For two weeks, we've heard 'start Mariano' or 'Mariano better close.' Up yours, you entitled pieces of dung. First of all, it's a slap to Francona to think that he won't get Rivera - one of the very few Yankees I respect - into the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Francona's a classy guy, as evidenced already by his mid-inning removals of A-Rod and Derek Jeter so they could get ovations. If Rivera doesn't pitch in this game - ahead, behind, tied, whatever - I'll wear a Yankees hat for a day.

- Still, that doesn't stop the media B.S., which brings us back to our favorite party boy, Mr. Papelbon. During interviews yesterday, Papelbon said that yes, his competitive nature makes him want to close out the game tonight if he has the chance. But alack and alas, in his very next sentence - which the New York Daily News conveniently omitted - he called Rivera the "Godfather" and said he thinks Rivera should get the ball. So naturally the headline in the News this morning screamed 'Papelbum', and during the player parade down the streets of Manhattan, Papelbon took a ton of crap from the Yankee-loving cretins in the crowd. With a pregnant wife alongside him, he was understandably pissed off.

- The NL unfortunately went ahead 3-2 off Papelbon, but the AL still has a very good chance to win because Billy Wagner's coming into the game. (And on cue, Wagner almost takes his catcher's arm off with a near wild pitch, and Grady Sizemore just singled to right. Two outs, bottom of the 8th, and Evan Longoria is up. Sizemore just stole second and Longoria singled him in. Tied up at 3. Told ya about Billy Wags.

- Try as they might, the Yanks tried to replicate the beautiful pre-game ceremony at Fenway back in 1999 (one of the top-5 sporting events I've attended), when all of the players spontaneously gathered around The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, Ted Williams (above). This time, they dragged ol' George Steinbrener out in a golf cart and the poor guy looked like a fossilized mummy. Of course, the only guys who went up to him were ex-Yankee legends. I will say this, though. When George is gone, the rivalry will lose a hugely important ingredient.

- Looks like I won't be wearing a Yankee hat anytime soon. That brain-dead Francona just went out to the mound to relieve K-Rod in favor of Mariano. Fox dropped the ball big time, though. Just as Rivera's sprinting through the outfield to the sound of Metallica's "Enter Sandman", they cut away to commercial. Pretty piss poor.

- Oh yeah, the game. It's 3-3.

- Poor Ryan Ludwick has to face the Godfather in a howling Yankee Stadium. In my opinion, it's the only stadium in the U.S. that sounds like those hooligan soccer matches. Loud, louder, loudest. Ludwick K's and Cristian Guzman gets thrown out at second trying to steal.

- Could this possibly be another ugly tie, like we had back in 2002 when both managers ran out of pitchers? Francona has used all of his bench guys as we head to the bottom of the 9th.

- And I'm hitting the rack.

Reeling Rays

2008-07-12T08:45:00.003-04:00

Maybe all the attention is finally getting to them. Or, more likely, maybe the lack of a consistent power bat in their lineup is catching up. Whatever it is, the Rays - after last night's whitewashing at the hands of Cliff Lee and the Indians - have lost five games in a row and find themselves clinging to a 1-1/2 game lead over the Sox entering today's action.

We all know that this is a 162-game soap opera. That's why we love it - the ups and downs, and all that goes into riding the daily waves (that's us in the raft). When the Red Sox limped out of Tampa a couple weeks back, it was the low point of the season. The hitters couldn't hit, and the bullpen was tossing grenades at every turn and losing leads in the ugliest of fashions. Fans and geek bloggers were airing their grievances on the radio airwaves and the ol' interweb. And I'll admit that I was a bit depressed.

So what's happened in the past week or so? The Rays have hit a road bump - appropriately, on the road - and the Sox swept a good Twins team. From a mental confidence standpoint, the news that David Ortiz's wrist is in far better shape than anyone expected has also been a huge boost.

Things were going so well during the past week that the Sox went bowling and picked up a full game on the Rays. Josh Beckett held his annual "Beckett Bowl" for local-area charities Thursday night at the same time the Rays were getting pummeled 13-2 in Cleveland.

The Sox are hosting the feisty Orioles this weekend in the final series before the All-Star break, while the Rays finish out a four-game set versus the Tribe. Last night, it was Clay Buchholz making a return appearance after spending some time in Pawtucket working on a few things. Justin Masterson was sent down to work on becoming a reliever. Buchholz was admittedly nervous last night, but showed some glimpses of why the Sox' brass is so fond of him. In the end, Baltimore won 7-3 as all-around pest Brian Roberts was once again a thorn in our side. Tonight's game has Tim Wakefield going against someone named Radhames Liz. Something tells me the Sox break out the lumber tonight.

Cool Picture of the Day

2008-07-08T15:56:00.003-04:00

Came across this great shot of Pittsburgh Pirates fans watching the 1960 World Series (wonder if this was the famous Bill Mazeroski HR game?) from a nearby rooftop.

Couple of quick notes: Sox won a nice ballgame behind the solid and shockingly efficient pitching of Dice-K last night, 1-0. And even more shocking, the game-winning hit came off the bat of Manny.

The talk of Barry Bonds coming to Boston is just that - talk. Ain't happening in this lifetime.

Big Papi took some cuts in batting practice yesterday, and several onlookers reported that he looked pretty damn good. He supposedly swatted six bombs out of the yard during his session. Let's hope he's back in the lineup soon after the All-Star break.

Jon Lester vs. Nick Blackburn tonight at the Fens. Rays are playing the Yanks in New York, and for the life of me I can't figure out who to root for. Injuries, I guess.

Joba, Seeing Stars, and Throwing Like Girlie Men

2008-07-06T21:20:00.005-04:00

You know, I was coming around to like Joba Chamberlain. Heartwarming story. No Mom. Raised by a baseball-loving Dad with polio or some such disease who's in a wheelchair. I remember when they showed the Dad watching the son pitch in the big leagues for the first time. If the tears of pride running down the old man's face didn't thaw the hatred for all things Yankee nothing will. I was even okay with Joba's late-inning histrionics, whenever he punched out a batter in a crucial situation. I've always liked that stuff. We can't look the other way when Jonathan Papelbon does it, then give Chamberlain grief for the same thing.

But tonight - in the last game of the Sox' series in the Bronx (Sox are up 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 5th) - he's irritating me. Since the first inning, he's done nothing but bitch, moan and make all sorts of gestures toward home plate umpire Laz Diaz if he doesn't care for the ump's calls. One or two? Fine. But he's been at it all game, almost as though there's some sense of entitlement because he's the Great Joba and he's pitching in Yankee Stadium and dammit, those balls that are clearly inside or outside or low or high are strikes. Pipe down and pitch, rookie.

That's my lecture for the night. A busy day in baseball - here's a few noteworthy notes:

- Looks like the Brewers are going to grab free-agent-to-be C.C. Sabathia, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. This puts the Brewers in great position to make the postseason, and it's a smart move by C.C. because he's always been a pretty good hitter and he can now take a few more swings in the NL.

- A-Rod + Madonna + Lenny Kravitz = New York tabloid nirvana

- The All-Star game is a week from this Tuesday and the starters from both squads were unveiled today. Both the Sox and the Cubs placed 7 players each on the AL and NL teams. The rosters, as voted in by a blend of fans, players and the team managers:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters
C: Joe Mauer; 1B: Kevin Youkilis; 2B: Dustin Pedroia; SS: Derek Jeter; 3B: Alex Rodriguez; LF: Manny Ramirez; CF: Ichiro Suzuki; RF: Josh Hamilton

Reserves
C: Jason Varitek, Dioner Navarro; 1B: Justin Morneau, Carlos Guillen; 2B: Ian Kinsler; SS: Michael Young; 3B: Joe Crede; OF: Carlos Quentin, J.D. Drew, Grady Sizemore, Milton Bradley

Pitchers
Starters: Cliff Lee, Justin Duscherer, Roy Halladay, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana; Relievers: Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, George Sherrill, Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters
C: Geovany Soto; 1B: Lance Berkman; 2B: Chase Utley; SS: Hanley Ramirez; 3B: Chipper Jones; LF: Ryan Braun; CF: Alfonso Soriano; RF: Kosuke Fukudome

Reserves
C: Russell Martin, Brian McCann; 1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols; 2B: Dan Uggla; SS: Miguel Tejada, Cristian Guzman; 3B: Aramis Ramirez; OF: Matt Holliday, Nate McLouth, Ryan Ludwick

Pitchers
Starters: Carlos Zambrano, Dan Haren, Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Dempster, Brandon Webb, Ben Sheets; Relievers: Brad Lidge, Brian Wilson, Kerry Wood, Billy Wagner

Finally, five players from each league are vying for the final spot on each squad. In the AL, fans can vote in Jason Giambi, Evan Longoria (my vote), Brian Roberts, Jose Guillen or Jermaine Dye. In the NL, it's David Wright, Pat Burrell, Corey Hart (my vote), Carlos Lee, and Aaron Rowand.

Couple of quick observations: Kinsler should be starting at 2B for the AL... I respect everything Jason Varitek means to my favorite ballclub, but no way in hell he's an all-star if Victor Martinez is healthy... interesting how the AL loaded up on relievers and the NL loaded up on starters. Guess it makes sense when you see how ridiculously stacked the AL is with stud closers... Interesting dilemmas for both Francona and Clint Hurdle on who gets the rock to start the game. My choices would be Halladay and Lincecum, but I wouldn't be disappointed with Lee/Volquez... Word came out today that the plan is to have Mariano Rivera pitch the last inning of the last-ever All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. Wonder if that was an MLB directive or a Tito thing... probably MLB. What are your thoughts on the All-Star selections?

Sox-Yanks update: Joe Girardi was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes. Game is tied at 4 in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Yanks tied it on a triple to the right-center gap by Robinson Cano, a play on which Coco Crisp made one of the most pathetic throws you'll ever see. How about a throw-off between Johnny Damon, Coco, and my grandmother?

Wacky Fourth in the Bronx

2008-07-05T07:11:00.006-04:00

The nightmare at the Trop a distant memory, the Sox won their second straight over the Bombers yesterday in New York in a game that featured one of the most incredible plays I've ever seen in 35 years of baseball-watching.

Let me set the stage: Top of the third inning, Yanks are up 3-1, Sox have two men on base with Kevin Youkilis at the plate. Youk smashes a Darrell Rasner offering to deep left, where Johnny Damon makes a leaping attempt to prevent a home run. The ball snow-cones in his glove, and as he crashes into the soft, padded wall like a hockey player getting checked, the ball pops out and Damon falls to the ground. Amazingly, the ball actually comes to a rest on top of the fence, which has a flat surface, before dropping to the playing field. As the dazed Damon (his natural state?) looks around wondering what happened, the fans behind the fence are pointing furiously at the ground. Meanwhile, Youk steams into third base with the strangest game-tying triple you'll ever see. Damon had to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a sprained shoulder.

Mike Lowell - who along with J.D. Drew have covered nicely in Big Papi's absence - hit a no-doubt three-run homer later in the game to give the Sox a 6-3 cushion and then the rains came. After a one-hour plus delay, the teams got back to it and the Sox escaped with a 6-4 win, despite what appeared to be a blown call on a Coco Crisp diving catch. Jacoby Ellsbury had himself a fine game, as he's been more willing to throw the bunt down to get on base with his speed. Josh Beckett, meanwhile, grinded his way through six innings and was rewarded with his 8th win of the season.

So after Joe Girardi's tongue-lashing on Thursday, the Yanks come out and lose again. Now what? The Yankee hitters were much more patient with Beckett than they were the prior day with Lester, but their problem in this game was that their starting pitcher - Rasner - should be in Triple-A.

The Rays beat Kansas City, 11-2, yesterday to remain 3 games in front of the Sox. Today's game is a Fox national broadcast, with Justin Masterson going against Mike Mussina.

Girardi Supplies the Fireworks

2008-07-04T13:10:00.005-04:00

First things first -- happy Fourth of July to you and yours, and I know you all join me in wishing George Steinbrenner a very miserable 78th birthday. He certainly had to endure a miserable birthday eve last night.

After Jon Lester and the Sox blanked the Boss' overpaid band of underachievers last night, 7-0, manager Joe Girardi spent more than a half-hour ripping his team a new one behind closed doors. The NESN postgame report showed Girardi's press conference live after the verbal beatdown, and the guy was still steaming. A couple of wiseass NY baseball writers kept asking him to share details from the meeting but Joe wasn't buying and you could just see his body temperature rising by the second. Very entertaining TV.

First off, though, we're not going to talk about how listless and lazy the Yankees were last night. Nope, we're going to talk first and foremost about Jon Lester: Stopper. I know he threw a no-hitter against the Royals earlier this year, but in my book last night's performance (9 ip, 0 er, 5 hits, 2 bb, 8 k) - against that lineup - was the best I've ever seen him. He was dominant at a time when we needed him most.

Okay, now for the Yankees. They were flat as a pancake last night, no doubt about it, but they just may be - as Dennis Green famously said - what we thought they were. Their lineup, when humming, is scary. Their pitching is not. They're still relying on old-timers Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte - who was terrible last night - and their young kids have not been impressive. Alex Rodriguez is a sideshow unto himself off the field. Derek Jeter has not been Jeter-like through the first half of the year. Jorge Posada's banged up. There's been a litany of issues that have led to the Yanks entering today's action at 45-41, good for 8 games behind the Rays and 5 behind the Sox.

Josh Beckett vs. Darrell Rasner today in Game 2, and maybe Girardi's words have had some effect. The Sox left 'em loaded in their half of the first, and the Yanks just plated three runs to take a quick lead. Something tells me there's going to be a few runs scored in this one.

Reaching New Depths

2008-07-03T00:30:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when you're pissed off and angry, it's better to wait and calm down a bit before saying something you'll regret later. This ain't one of those times.

The Red Sox were broomed away by the surging Rays last night in ugly fashion, as Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen completely reversed a rare 4-1 lead in a matter of minutes. Allow me to set the stage.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was his maddening self again last night, nibbling instead of pounding (what a contrast to the Rays' pitchers in this series), but he ultimately pitched well. The problem is he only went 5 innings and we had to go to the bullpen. Hideki Okajima pitched a problem-free sixth inning, but it was the seventh when it unraveled. Delcarmen came in first and threw grenades, and Hansen followed and wasn't much better. In a span of 30 pitches, the combined line for the two: 0 outs, 4 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks. Lead gone.

Now to be fair, Dice-K needs to give us more than five. There's no question about that. But he has been pitching better lately, and logic dictates that he should continue to get better as his recent DL stay fades further in the rear view mirror. The Sox mounted a comeback in the 9th, but Francona curiously called a hit and run with one of his slowest runners on first (Lowell) and his worst batter (Varitek) at the plate. Swing and a miss, Lowell out by a mile.

The Sox are now 3.5 games behind the Rays as they enter Yankee Stadium tonight, and the pressure is on Jon Lester to come through with a clutch performance. As for the bullpen? Theo needs to do something, and he may have to make a move before the trading deadline with some internal pieces. I'm thinking Justin Masterson goes to the pen, and Clay Buchholz comes up from Pawtucket to face the Yankees on Sunday. Beyond that, maybe we see more of Chris Smith, who's pitched well but hasn't seen much time on the bump lately.

In the midst of my pissed-off-edness last night, I think I heard the guys on NESN say that the Sox haven't been 3.5 games out of first-place since late 2006. They're clearly hurting without David Ortiz in the lineup, Manny is scuffling, Youkilis is hitting the ball hard but right at everybody, and Varitek is doing his best imitation of Dave Kingman. He's 3 for his last 48, and man is he starting to look like an old catcher.

I know we've been extremely fortunate around here when it comes to sports success. I haven't felt the way I did last night at around 11 p.m. in a long, long time. But when the Tampa Bay Rays are walking all over you, the defending world champs, something's not right. I like and respect the Rays, but 1 through 25, the Red Sox are the better club. Time to start showing it.

For Your Reading Pleasure...

2008-06-30T13:54:00.002-04:00

From time to time, I like to pass on some things that I've found on the worldwide blog-o-sphere that I feel you must read. If you're not checking out Joe Posnanski's blog, you should be. He's a columnnist for the Kansas City Royals and his blog is fantastic. Here's a great post he did recently on what makes Tiger Woods - and other transcendent athletes - tick.

Hideous Woe-kajima

2008-06-30T09:04:00.004-04:00

Our lights-out 7th inning guy from last year is officially AWOL. Hideki Okajima once again served up a fat meatball for a key hit - this time to Astros' infielder Mark Loretta yesterday to help Houston take two of three from the Sox. Okajima has been downright hideous this year, especially when he comes in with runners on base. Since June 4, Okajima has given up 15 hits and six earned runs in just 7 2/3 innings of work. Something tells me Theo will be looking to shore up the bullpen at the trading deadline.

At any rate, the Sox lose to the Astros 3-2 yesterday, wasting yet another solid pitching performance from Josh Beckett. Manny went deep late in the game to tie it at 2, but the big story was the number of men left on base. Jason Varitek, by the way, is 12 for his last 91. Ouch. And on a side note, Dustin Pedroia is absolutely on fire right now. He must feel like he's in the Route 1 batting cages every time he comes up these days.

Speaking of Manny, news filtered out today that he got into an altercation on Saturday with Jack McCormick, the team's 66-year old traveling secretary. Supposedly Manny needed 16 tickets for the game that night, and didn't give McCormick much notice to allow him to do some digging. McCormick responded that he wasn't sure he'd be able to fulfill Manny's request and Manny responded back with an angry 'Just do your f'ng job' and a nice little push. Counting the Youkilis situation a few weeks back, this is now the second time Manny has been out of line. And as always, I'm sure this latest incident will be neatly swept under the rug. In fact, Tito Francona is already quoted today as saying, 'These things happen...'

Not exactly the wave of momentum the Sox need as they wake up this morning in lovely St. Petersburg, Florida, home of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. While the Sox' bullpen was busy imploding in Houston, the for-real Rays took 2 of 3 from Pittsburgh and are riding high into this series, during which they'll start James Shields, Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir. They're playing with oodles of confidence, while the Sox are just shuffling along, trying to stay afloat. This series could get ugly. One thing that will be interesting is whether the fans show up for this series, and I'm not talking about the Red Sox transplants. If you're a baseball fan in the Tampa-St. Pete area and you're not supporting this team, shame on you. They have a legitimate chance to do some postseason damage, especially if they trade a few chits in July for another stud pitcher and maybe a big hitter.

Of course, the big back-story to this series is the brawl the two teams got into earlier this month. Coco is serving his suspension, so the prime instigator won't be around. Still, it will be interesting to see what level of warnings are issued prior to the game and whether the Sox abide by them. I mentioned in a recent post that I don't think you'll see any payback, but I just looked at the Sox' schedule and Tampa doesn't come back to Fenway until early September. That's a long time to let things simmer. So maybe we will see something. If I'm Jonny Gomes or Carl Crawford, I'm stepping into the batter's box feeling a little uneasy.

Re-Entering the Atmosphere

2008-06-27T23:05:00.005-04:00

Apologies for the little mini-vacation around here. Call it a prolonged case of Celtic euphoria, combined with catching up on some sleep after the endurance test of watching the 9 p.m. start times on the East Coast. Who was the brilliant one who thought that was a great idea?

All the green and white confetti is gone from last week's parade, the draft was held this week, and the big question for hoops fans around here now is whether the Celtics will be able to sign free agent James Posey, who came up huge in the Finals. In other words, it's time to think about next year for the Celts, which means it's time to think about this year and the (ho-hum) 2-time World Champion Boston Red Sox.

As they hit the official mid-point of the season tonight, the amazing thing about the Red Sox so far in 2008 has been their ability to stay on top of the division despite suffering some key injuries. The most suprising thing by far has been the play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who have solidified themselves as a serious postseason contender on the backs of some extraordinarily talented youngsters.

The Sox entered tonight's game with the Astros with a 1/2 game lead over the Rays, which is all the more impressive when you realize the rash of adversity we've dealt with so far this year. Schilling out for the season. Papi and Dice-K out for extended periods. A hamstrug Manny playing at half-speed, which when you think about it, is really half-half speed.

But instead of fading, the Sox have shown the incredibe organizational depth that young Theo Epstein promised during his introductory press conference in 2002. J.D. Drew has picked up the slack big-time on offense, and is in line for AL Player of the Month honors after slugging his 11th homer in June last night in Houston. If you're keeping score at home, he hit 11 all of last year. On the mound, Justin Masterson has supplied some spackle, Jon Lester has shown why Theo was so reluctant to trade him, and the Sox seem to have settled into a good bullpen rotation after some shaky periods. Biggest surprise in the pen has been David Aardsma. Chris Smith has been solid, as have Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen.

Hopefully the boys can sweep three in Houston, because next week they get into the brunt of the AL East, with a series against the Rays and then a Fourth of July series at Yankee Stadium. Here's a current look at the AL East standings:

Boston 50-32 .610 -
TB 48-31 .608 .5
NYY 43-37 .538 6
Balt 40-38 .513 8
Tor 38-43 .469 11.5

As you no doubt remember, there were some fisticuffs the last time the Sox and Rays met at Fenway - when Coco Crisp charged James Shields after getting beaned and an all-out brawl ensued. Multiple players on both sides received suspensions. Coco just had his suspension reduced from 7 games to 5, and not surprisingly, he'll be out for the Rays series coming up this week. As our own Nuke LaLoosh - Jonathan Papelbon put it - the Soxwon't soon forget the sight of several Rays (hello Jonny Gomes) pounding away on a restrained Coco. My best guess is you won't see any hostilities this coming week at the Trop, but you'll see something the next time they meet at Fenway. There's too much focus on the brawl right now and what may happen next so the umps will be extra-aggressive. It wil be interesting, though, to see if Jonny Gomes steps foot in the batter's box. If I'm a Sox pitcher, it would be very hard to abide by an ump's warning in favor of plunking that derelict in the earhole.

The bottom line with the Sox' first half is all things considered, we're in a pretty good place. And the team should really take off with a healthy Papi back and a healthier Manny.

Idle thought: Anyone heard from Roger Clemens lately?

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words

2008-06-18T08:44:00.001-04:00

Anyone Seen the Lakers? Anyone? Bunch of Tall, Wussy-Looking Guys in Purple and Gold?

2008-06-17T22:50:00.002-04:00

I guess that kid's t-shirt rubbed off on the Lakers, because boy are they laying a huge egg. P.J. Brown just hit two free throws to put the Celtics up by 31 points with just over 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Lakers look listless, the Celtics look hungry and possessed. Barring a major letdown, it's going to be a special night in Boston.

KG has risen to the occasion big time in this one. Best highlight was a sequence toward the end of the first half when he hit a ludicrous falling away shot after being fouled, blocked a Laker at the other end, and then made a sweet pass to Perkins for another bucket. He's been diving for loose balls all night long, and Rondo is back to his ball-hawking ways. He's got six steals and we're not even through the third quarter.

If I was a true blogger, I'd drive the 20 minutes south to the Garden and get some street reaction. You're just going to have to settle for some couch reaction.

A Good Start

2008-06-17T21:42:00.003-04:00

Well, the Celts ended the first quarter tonight with a 24-20 lead and with P.J. Brown, Eddie House, James Posey and Leon Powe on the floor. KG had 10 points on 5 for 7 shooting, it was nice to have Perkins in there, and Ray Allen had to leave after he got poked in the eye by Lamar Odom. Second quarter is just underway and both KG and Allen are on the bench. They should be plenty rested when Doc calls their numbers.

Favorite sight so far: the kid with the LA Sucks t-shirt on right behind the Celts' bench. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if someone makes him take it off. He's gonna be on TV all night long...

Tonight's the Night

2008-06-17T09:07:00.004-04:00

At least it better be. We don't need no stinking Game 7 again. Uh-uh. I'd describe the mood in Boston as confident but cautious. There are so many little things going against the C's - Rondo not 100%, Perkins probably out, Ray Allen dealing with a family issue, the team's plane being delayed yesterday in LA for several hours, etc. On the other hand, I think this team has shown that it's deep enough to beat the Lakers without Rondo/Perk, and I keep going back to the fact that they were one Kobe poke away from beating them on their home floor in a must-win game. Either way, it's exciting to have a chance to win the trophy at the Garden, and I can't wait to watch the scene unfold should the night go our way. My one little prediction for tonight is that KG absolutely goes off.

With all the focus on the Celtics lately - and rightfully so - we haven't talked much about the Red Sox. They're into their intraleague schedule, having played a weekend series in Cincinnati and now they're in Philly. Taking 2 of 3 from the Reds - including a win against their young ace Edinson Volquez - was impressive, especially without Papi and Manny in the lineup. I didn't get to see much of the game last night, but it looked like the Phillies laid the lumber on Bartolo Colon. Some people are speculating that this could be a preview of a big October matchup.

The other baseball story right now concerns the age-old debate over AL pitchers batting in these NL games. Yanks' starter Chien Ming Wang hurt his foot running the bases the other night, and could be out until September. And as you might suspect, Hank Steinbrenner is up in arms about it. It's a worthy debate. I mean, if you go to a game, would you rather see a rumpled Bartolo Colon strike out four times, or would you rather see another guy in the lineup who actually hits for a living? It's a no-brainer to me, baseball purists be damned. For a major professional sports league to have two different sets of rules is completely inane.

I guess the other thing to talk about - and what can be said anymore? - is the incredible Tiger Woods. And I should add the amazing Rocco Mediate. The two played in a playoff yesterday for the U.S. Open championship, and the older, bad-backed Rocco gave Tiger everything he could handle. In the end, Woods wins his 14th major and on the whole, it's a tournament that we'll remember for a long, long time.

Here's hoping Green 17 means more than just John Havlicek's retired number after tonight. If not, things could get a little, ah, skittish around here.

The (Gimpy) Man

2008-06-15T09:31:00.003-04:00

Every now and then, something happens in this crazy Wide World of Sports of ours that makes us veer away from the normal topics. Today is one of those days.

Thanks to West Coast golf, I was able to watch the last nine holes of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines (San Diego) last night, and what a fortuitous decision it was.

It started when I was at the gym, watching Tiger - hobbling due to a recent knee surgery - lining up a seemingly impossible two-putt from a mile away from the hole. Of course, he drilled it right in the middle of the cup for an eagle, prompting yours truly to let out a 'woo-hoo' loud enough for the whole gym to hear. But Tiger wasn't finished. As he limped up the 18th fairway, the fans let him know how much they appreciated the effort - and he rewarded them with yet another eagle putt. In the span of six holes, he went from even par to 3 under. All on a bad wheel. Absolutely amazing.

Happy Dad's Day to all, especially the new Dad down there in Sarasota.

How Sweet It Is

2008-06-14T08:16:00.005-04:00

More than 24 hours later, it's still awfully damn sweet isn't it? The Celtics staged one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history Thursday night, storming back from 24 down to beat the Lakers and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Not to go all sappy on you, but this game epitomized why we watch sports in the first place. The odds were stacked ridiculously against our team most of the night, and yet when it was all over, they didn't give up and they stole a game that we'll be talking about until we're six feet under, and well after that.

I mean, think about it. You had a sore-ankled Rajon Rondo, whose game revolves around his Ellsbury-like speed. (Like to see those two in a footrace.) You had Kendrick Perkins walking off the floor seemingly holding his shoulder together. You had Lamar Odom (Lamar Odom!) finishing off baskets and wagging his tongue at everyone. You're on the road, which hasn't been kind in these playoffs. The best player on the planet is on the other team. And, to top it all off, it seemed like somebody had nailed a piece of plywood over the C's rim in the first half. Honestly, this one deteriorated so quickly that I was watching U.S. Open golf highlights during the first half, and how many people do you know that went to bed? My college roommate tucked in early, and said his 8-year old son told him Friday morning that "they won." "Who won? The Red Sox?" "No, the Celtics." "What?!? No way..." That conversation was probably pretty common.

Personally, I stuck with it even though I had bricks on my eyelids. I started nodding off a little at the start of the fourth, but somebody up above must have given me a good nudge for the ending. Sitting alone in my family room, I honestly can't remember the last time the Celtics gave me such a thrill.Even better, they do it in front of hater Spike Lee and all the fake Hollywood celebs. C's completed this improbable comeback in front of haters like Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee. (Editor's aside: Lee recently questioned why Clint Eastwood hadn't portrayed any black soldiers in his movie about Iwo Jima. Dirty Harry's response: "Tell Spike Lee to shut his face." Love Clint.)

This game once again showed why this current C's team is just that -- a team. Beginning with the Atlanta series (seems like eons ago), then through Cleveland, Detroit, and now LA, think about how many bench guys have come up big at certain crucial times. James "Pocketful of" Posey. Eddie House. P.J. Brown. Hell, I can even remember Sam Cassell connecting on some important shots. As I've been saying all along, one through twelve the Celtics were/are clearly the better team.

And now? Well now we've got another potential t-shirt and hat game coming up tomorrow - on Father's Day no less. I've debated back and forth with some pals on whether we want the C's to win it all out in LA, or if we'd be okay if they lost Game 5 and won it at home in Game 6. As much as I'd love to see a championship victory on our home turf (that's the only thing missing from this incredible run), I'm also fully aware that you have to kill Kobe and those guys while they're down. That's an easy one. Get the Duck Boats gassed up.

Big Game, Bigger Problem

2008-06-12T10:19:00.006-04:00

For all intents and purposes, tonight's the Big One in this series. A Celtic win puts LA in a tough hole; a Laker win results in a complete momentum shift, with another game in Botox-land. It's as simple as that. In terms of storylines - and we'll get to the whole referee mess in a minute - there are plenty.

Most seem to believe that we won't see another 8 for 35 combined from the field for KG and Pierce. I concur. Shank Shaughnessy actually pens a pretty decent article this morning imploring KG to work more inside. He's been nailing his mid-range jumper throughout the playoffs, but he was cold the other night. But when you look at the Laker bigs - namely Gasol and Odom - it's hard to believe KG can't assert himself more in the paint. I think we see a return of the jumper falling tonight, mixed in with some slashing to the net. As for Pierce, we'll settle for half the guy we saw in Game 2. You also have to wonder about the fatigue factor, flying to LA, etc. Hopefully a little rest does these two some good.

Rajon Rondo is another question mark. He rolled his ankle pretty good the other night, and spent most of the remainder of the evening wearing warm-ups and watching Eddie House fire away. He told the media that he's ready to go for Game 4, but we'll see how much it affects him. Kendrick Perkins is on record as saying that Rondo's the key and I agree wholeheartedly. When he's penetrating, dishing, hitting that baseline jumper, and agitating the other team's ballhandlers, the C's win.

Next topic: Sasha Vujacic. Damn, he killed us the other night. Bet Doc didn't dream that he'd have to put some specific thinking into how to stop this dude. He's been the balance between the disappointing performances so far of Gasol and Odom. I'll just reiterate here what I've been saying to a few buddies all along. Personnel-wise, from 1 to 12, this Boston Celtics team is flat-out better than this Lakers team. I truly don't think there's much room for debate. It's up to Doc and the C's to make that play out in the end result.

Ok - now turning to the giant elephant in the room. First off, who would have thunk that bumbling Bud Selig would show more command and balls in a time of crisis than David Stern? I understand that the stakes are incredibly high and Stern has to reject everything Tim Donaghy says. The NBA is his baby and it's surely done well under his watch. But the commish must know that at the very least, he's got a huge perception problem on his hands with the credibility/integrity of his refs. In my humble opinion, he's doing himself and the league a huge disservice by not staying out in front of this and offering solutions. Maybe he takes a different tack when the Finals are over.

Oh, and by the way - why isn't ESPN devoting the same amount/level of coverage to this scandal as it did to Spygate? And where's Senator Sphincter? (Oh right - the Sixers weren't involved). This latest sports scandal is far more serious than Spygate, steroids, Pete Rose, maybe even the Black Sox throwing the World Series in 1919

And with that, one more note on tonight's game - the focus on the refs in the last few days should help the Celtics. Will there ever be a more scrutinized group of officials than the ones who will ref the next few games?

This is Gonna Be a Good One

2008-06-10T21:24:00.003-04:00

So I'm sitting here in ample family room, with my ample arse parked on my ample sofa, next to my ample buddy Bopper, and we're watching Game 3 of the Finals. First quarter is almost over, and the Celts have survived some Laker momentum. Nice play just now with Kobe going behind the back to the Spanish Slug, who got a Mr. Wilson sandwich in his face from KG. This has got all the earmarks of a good one. You boys out there? This is live TV, dammit...

Game 3 on Tap

2008-06-10T12:31:00.011-04:00

After having to wait almost three full days between Games 1 and 2, it's nice to have another game tonight. The universal opinion of most "experts" is that the calls and bounces go the Lakers' way tonight, and Kobe ends up going 27 of 28 from the foul line. While I do agree to some extent, I'd simply point out that you have to get to the basket to get the whistles. To my untrained eyes, it looks like the Celtics' D has figured out how to frustrate slashers like LeBron and Kobe by clogging up the lanes. No matter what happens the rest of the way, take this one to the bank: defensive guru Tom Thibodeau will be a head coach somewhere next year. But back to the very exciting present. The Celtics are in the drivers seat with a 2-0 lead, and really, all they need to do is win at least one of the three games in LA. Even if it's 3-2 heading back to Boston, you have to like the C's chances. That said, I hope they go for the jugular and try to end this thing out in Hollywood.

Just some assorted notes and observations to get you primed for Game 3:

* Paul Pierce - an LA homeboy - is averaging 28.5 points a game in his career vs. the Lakers. Great story in today's New York Times about Pierce's Cali roots...

* Rajon Rondo - 16 assists, one turnover in Game 2 (read it and weep, Toddie)

* I didn't realize how smarmy Phil Jackson can be - what a sarcastic prick

* And while we're on the subject of pricks, I also didn't realize the full extent of Kobe Bryant's douchebaggery. For some proof, believe it or not, we turn to blogger Curt Schilling, who filed this report from courtside during Game 2. Some interesting tidbits on Kobe and KG.

* I enjoy reading Bill Simmons just like the next guy, but his latest missive on his experience during Game 2 was even "too much Boston" for me.

* Sticking with the media for a moment, think the Globe regrets its decision to let hoops writer extraordinaire Jackie MacMullan go? Now we have to read Shank Shaughnessy's tired act.

* Was that not the most obvious travel you've ever seen the other night, when Vladimir Whatever quick-stepped his way from the foul line to the basket? I mean, my friggin' wife was giving the traveling sign!

* Here's hoping the high-wattage celebrities come out to play for this one. I've had my fill of Donnie Wahlberg, and various Pats and Red Sox players. I hate to say it, but I need my dose of Jack.

* And last but not least, because I don't work and don't have a family to worry about, I'm going to attempt a little live-blogging tonight during the game. Come check it out and leave comments throughout the game. C'mon - it'll be cool. Really.

Blam!! Bam!! Ka-Powe!!

2008-06-09T10:39:00.001-04:00

And the beat goes on here in the Hub of All Sports. Since we last chatted, nothing much has happened - unless you count Paul Pierce being wheeled off the court in a wheelchair in Game 1 of the Finals at the Garden, Coco Crisp igniting an all-out brawl against the Rays across town at Fenway, Manny and Youk going at it a bit in the dugout during the same game, and the C's going up 2-0 last night on the Lakers, who suddenly find themselves in desperate straits - as nothing much.

Let's cover the high points:

The Coco thing had been simmering from earlier in the Rays' series, when he slid into second on a steal and the shortstop was covering the bag with his leg. Evidently, this is one of those no-no's in baseball etiquette, and Coco let everyone within earshot know about it. He then chose to take matters into his own hands, and almost decapitated Akinori Iwamura later with a hard slide into the bag. It was definitely a slide with a purpose - the only problem is that it wasn't Jason Bartlett, who had angered Coco on the other play. This got the Rays pissed off, and on Thursday night James Shields decided to plunk Coco with his second pitch (he missed him on his first try). Coco knew it was coming, paused a moment (he said to 'get the catcher off him a little bit') and then charged the mound. Shields unleashed a huge right hook that Coco miraculously ducked away from - and thank God, because he would have been seriously hurt. Shields is a bid dude, swinging downhill. After that, Dioner Navarro had Coco wrapped up on the ground, and a couple of cowardly Rays took multiple punches, most notably Jonny Punkass Gomes and Carl Crawford. Suspensions will be forthcoming.

As for the Manny-Youk flare-up, it was originally speculated that Youk was all over Manny because the dredlocked one was quite late to the pile at the mound after Coco got smothered. It came out the next day, however, that some players have been on Youk this year for his antics after striking out or making an out. The Sox could be up 10-0, and if Youk K's on what he feels is a bad pitch, you'd think he just got word that his dog died. I can see how some players feel it makes him look selfish. We'll see if there's any improvement in the histrionics.

And finally, keeeping with the Sox for one last moment, they swept the Rays and then bid them good riddance for the lowly Mariners this weekend. Sox took 2 out of 3 from Ichiro & Co. and have leapfrogged over the Rays for the division lead. Off day today and then back into action with Baltimore at Fenway tomorrow night.

Okay, onto the NBA Finals, where the Celtics have built up a shocking 2-0 lead on the heels of their tenacious D. The first game was pure drama, with Pierce getting hurt early, being carted off in a wheelchair and then bounding back onto the court moments later as if nothing had happened. The Lakers - particularly Phil Jackson - were dubious, but here's my take. Pierce has waited 10 years for this. He heard a pop in his knee. He was scared, and they took every precaution possible. Sure, it looked embarrassing as hell - but in the end, who cares? Of course, if that was Kobe, we'd be all over him so call me a hypocrite.

Naturally, Pierce led the charge in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and he was on his game last night as well, even after a couple days of wondering whether he'd play. He was nailing threes and driving to the basket, but it was Leon Powe (rhymes with 'eat CROW' Phil Jackson) who was the hero of the night in Game 2. Powe - who was banished to DNP-CD status for much of Rounds 1 and 2, was fully unleashed last night and he showed off his strong inside game. In the end, Powe finished with 21 points, and as Jackson pointed out in the post-game presser (after mispronouncing his name) Powe shot more free throws in 14 minutes of play than the entire Lakers team did all night. That, my friends, is downright startling and you can bet it will change in LA. If you're into that sort of thing - betting, that is... you might be inclined to place a Mike Donaghy Memorial Wager on Game 3 because Kobe will be reacquainted with the charity stripe many times in Game 3. Bank on it.

T-Minus 10 Hours and Counting...

2008-06-05T10:53:00.003-04:00

It's only 11:00 but I'm already pacing around, thinking about what Pau Gasol brings to the table, and wondering what the refs will have up their whistles for tonight's Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Garden. I've also been thinking a lot about how cool it would be to have Red Auerbach see this, especially with LA coach Phil Jackson attempting to beat his record of 9 NBA titles. Red's watching over everything, so look for a little "bounce" or two to go the Celts' way. (Editor's note: It's supposed to be 90 degrees in Boston on Sunday for Game 2 - could we have some HVAC shenanigans, maybe, say, in the Lakers' locker room?)

Even if you don't root for the Celtics or the Lakers, how can you not be fired up for this series? It's obviously got the history angle going for it, but more importantly it's the best offensive team going against the best defensive team. This is the 2007 Patriots going against the 1986 Bears.

I ain't no analyst, but let's look at the personnel. The Lakers will start Lamar Odom and Vlad Radmanovic at forward, Pau Gasol in the middle, and Kobe and Derek Fisher at guard. For the Celtics, it'll be Garnett and Pierce at forward, Perkins at center, and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo at guard.

Kobe's going to get his, but it will be interesting to see if Doc unleashes Pierce on him like he did with LeBron in Round 2. I don't think we want to see Ray Allen guarding Kobe. The rebounding battle between Perkins and Odom will also be very interesting to watch. Just going by the talent alone on the floor at the start of the game, it seems like the Celtics have the edge. Lakers have the edge in coaching, and maybe give a slight edge to the Celts' bench. So I guess it'll be C's in 4.

And of course, it won't be. This one's going the full 7 - a view I feel even stronger about after hearing Bill Simmons say on the radio today that the NBA makes $80 million per Finals game. Not to suggest that there's anything sketchy going on here, but would you not be surprised to see the refs maybe calls things a little differently as the series evolves? Let's hope when it's all said and done that we're talking more about great plays and players than about referees and blown calls. Enjoy.

Say It Ain't So

2008-06-03T11:10:00.003-04:00

You know, I've thought a lot lately about how easy it must be for "professional" sports media types here in Boston to do their jobs. I mean, the radio shows and columns just kind of write themselves on a daily basis, don't they? The Pats going 18-0, the Super Bowl, the Celtics with the biggest one-year turnaround in NBA history, Spygate, the renewal of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry on the big stage, Manny's 500th... and now 501 and 502... it's truly a non-stop carousel.

The latest addition to the sports news shuffle isn't a very uplifting one. Over the weekend in Baltimore, David Ortiz swung at a pitch and felt a pop in his left wrist. An MRI yesterday showed that he's got a torn tendon sheath (look it up on WebMD), and projections have him out of the lineup for at least a month. It's never good to have the big feller out of the lineup period, but this timing hurts because Big Papi was just heating up after a slow start, and he was starting to foil the right-field shift a lot of teams employ by going to the opposite field. Still, the Sox are obviously doing the right thing by proceeding with caution. They're saying surgery isn't an option, but with a guy who makes his living with some powerful flicks of his wrists, it's not the best injury to have. For the time being, we'll probably see lots of Manny at DH which allows Francona to field a better defensive outfield of Ellsbury, Drew and Crisp. Also look for a Brandon Moss call-up. Moss was getting into a groove here a while back before he had to have an emergency appendectomy. He's killing the ball again down in Pawtucket.

The Sox are finally back home tonight, with a 7:00 start time against the team they're chasing, believe it or not, the Tampa Bay Rays. Justin Masterson - who's pitched two beauties in spot duty this year - gets the ball for the Sox. Matt Garza for the Rays.

Hello, Old Friend

2008-06-01T10:55:00.003-04:00

As if we aren't blessed enough around here with our sports teams, the Celtics did it the other night - beating the Pistons on their home turf to win the East in six games. Next up: a hugely delicious championship series against... are you sitting down?... the Los Angeles Lakers. Once again, the two best teams in the Association are the Celtics and Lakers, and the stars have aligned to put them in the Finals for the whole world to see. This is gonna be fun.

As we sit here on a beautiful Sunday morning to begin the month of June, you just know the Globe and the Herald are busy preparing special Finals sections. Get ready for an absolute onslaught of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Gerald Henderson stole the ball, McHale clotheslined Clark Kent Rambis, Jack Nicholson, the heat game in the '84 finals at the Garden, Wilt, Russ, Auerbach, West, Johnny Most, Chick Hearn, Hollywood vs. blue-collar Boston. It's going to be loud, it's going to be frequent, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The other beauty in all of this: the only way I've been able to convince my wife to watch the games (she hates basketball because of all the foul calls - smart girl) is to see some of the big celebrities in the good seats on high-definition. The other night it was Ellen Pompeo from Gray's Anatomy and that went over big. So this is going to be heaven for both of us.

I'll be back with a post on matchups, but for now, I think we all need a little basketball break. Game 1 is Thursday night at the Garden with a ludicrous 9:20 start time.

Perk, "33", the Sleeve and the Refs

2008-05-30T07:31:00.005-04:00

I can't believe I'm about to type these words but the Boston Celtics are one win away from going to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987. This is all thanks, of course, to the huge Game 5 victory the other night that saw KG put up 33 (33 - a good omen?), Ray Allen re-discover his shooting touch - with a new fashion accessory no less, and Kendrick Perkins showing off his beastly talents in the paint. There were certainly some tenuous moments - as the Celts frittered away an 18-point lead and let the Pistons climb back into it - but they held on for a 106-102 win.

KG - as he has been all postseason, save for Pierce's explosion against the Cavs in Game 7 - has been the best player on the floor. In Game 5, he continued to show the outside scoring touch, but also was more aggressive inside and didn't fade in the fourth quarter. Allen was immense, particularly down the stretch when he nailed a crucial long-range jumper and hit some free throws to ice it. Ray Ray showed up wearing a white sleeve on his non-shooting arm, and whatever it was meant for, it worked. And what can you say about young Perk? You can see him getting better each game, and he just took over in Game 5, putting up 18 points and grabbing 16 boards, many of which came at big junctures momentum-wise.

One other quick observation - have NBA referees always had this much of an imprint on the game? Aren't they supposed to be seen and not heard? From what I've seen in these NBA playoffs of 2008, David Stern ought to take a very hard, close look at his refs and make some changes. I understand fouls are going to be called and they're part of the game, but they shouldn't completely take over the flow of a game with their omnipresent whistles. It's been extremely annoying to watch, kinda like watching a Dice-K outing. Anyway, Game 6 tonight at the Palace.

As far as the Sox, yeccch. Their offense took a major siesta during last week's Oakland/Seattle road trip - which saw them win one game out of six, and be outscored 25-14. They were shut out twice, and were one-hit and two-hit by A's and Mariners pitchers. Does Youk mean that much to the lineup? He's been out for a few games with a sore wrist, but here's hoping he's back in there tonight against the Orioles in Baltimore. Probably the lone highlight of the trip - Manny hit No. 499, so we're about to witness some history.

Fastballs will be popping tonight at Camden with Josh Beckett going against Daniel "Wild Thing" Cabrera.

The Way Life Should Be

2008-05-24T22:42:00.006-04:00

That's what the sign says on the highway when you officially enter into the state of Maine, which is where I find myself at the current moment, watching to see if the Celtics can seal the deal in Detroit and win their first road game of this (seemingly eternal) postseason.

Just to set the scene quickly: There's 2:17 left in the game, and KG's on the line with a chance to put the Celtics up by 10, which he does. Believe it or not, Boston has held as much as a 24-point lead over Detroit at various points tonight, and have thoroughly played their asses off. When Kendrick Perkins is juking people in the post and hitting turnaround jumpers, things is going good. We're now down to 1:38 left, Pistons with the ball, down by 10. I'm liking our chances. KG makes a huge shot to make it a 12-point lead and this one's over. The Celts are going to take home their first road win, baby! I can't believe how flat Detroit looked tonight. A huge, huge win for the C's, especially in terms of confidence after going 0-6 on the road in the first two rounds. Final score in this one, and it's a certifiable stunner: Celtics 94, Pistons 80. KG's the player of the game with 22 points, 13 boards and six assists.

By the way, I'm liking the Mike Breen/Jeff Van Gundy/Mark Jackson trio on ESPN. The mark to me of a good journalist - be it a columnist or a broadcaster - is if he teaches you something new every now and then. Van Gundy and Jackson explain things well, and Breen's a very good pilot. Or maybe I'm just so used to hearing Joe Morgan that anybody sounds good.

(That, my friends is one hell of a transition to baseball and the Red Sox...)

The Sox, meanwhile, are about to lose their second straight game to the A's in Oakland, and this one was ugly. They got one hit against Justin Duscherer and Huston Street and lose 3-0. Three runs in two games to a team that's just not very good.

But who cares about the A's? There's another Sox-Yankees-David Ortiz saga brewing that is just as laughable as the Curse of the Shirt. Evidently, Big Papi has signed up with MLB and State Farm to do a promotion during the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, where Ortiz will "call his shot" by pointing to the stands and trying to hit a home run there. The Yankees - specifically jackass extraordinaire Randy Levine - have expressed their discomfort in having the guy who singlehandedly caused the greatest choke job in sports history play such a prominent role in the ceremonies. Not very gracious if you ask me, SINCE WE'RE THE ONES WHO F'ING GAVE YOU BABE RUTH IN THE FIRST PLACE. Ass. The Yanks' "leadership" team is starting to bear a resemblance to Arlen Specter. A joke, a disgrace, and far too consumed with idiotic matters when your main interest (your team/your country) is circling the drain. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If MLB caves, they should be ashamed.

Hey, did I mention the Celts won? On the road? Game 4 Monday night in Motown.

Justin Case

2008-05-21T10:44:00.003-04:00

Man, the Sox' pitching depth is truly showing after the last couple of days, eh? Last night, Justin Masterson (right) made another spot start and once again pitched very well. Even better, the bullpen didn't give it up this time and the kid gets his first MLB victory. Methinks young Mr. Masterson might be our 7th-8th inning answer before too long. Sox win 2-1, and tonight we get to see if Bartolo Colon can give us anything.

Oh yeah - there was another game going on in town last night. The Celtics opened up against Detroit, and if you didn't know better you would have sworn the Pistons had just finished up a grueling 7-game series. The Celts had the fresh legs and Detroit looked old. Garnett and Rondo were the offensive stars and Ray Allen continued to shoot like a blind man. In the end, C's win 88-79. Game 2 is tomorrow night.

Embarrasment of Riches

2008-05-19T23:28:00.004-04:00

You know, we all need to exhale every now and then and realize just how good we have it with the current Boston sports scene. On a seemingly mundane Monday night - with the Red Sox in action against the Triple-A Royals and the Celtics across town preparing for tomorrow's night's Eastern Conference Finals opener against Detroit - wouldn't you know Jon Lester and Jason Varitek would make a little history.

Lester became the second Sox pitcher in 2 years to throw a no-hitter, blanking the hapless Royals 7-0. It was the first no-no by a Sox southpaw in 52 years, and followed Clay Buchholz' masterpiece last Labor Day against the Orioles. It was also the fourth no-hitter Varitek has caught in his career, which sets a new MLB record. Tek has now caught no-hitters thrown by Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Buchholz and Lester. Not too shabby.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are getting ready for another brutal series after beating LeBron James and the Cavaliers yesterday in another Game 7 at the Garden. It was a great game, with Paul Pierce and LeBron both submitting heroic performances. While it wasn't pretty, the bottom line is the Celts are still alive. Anything can happen against the Pistons. As for the Cavaliers and their young superstar, you've gained my eternal respect, LBJ. You're a treat to watch play the game, and your postgame comments after a tough loss - actually, your demeanor during the whole series - was classy. Remember in Game 3 when Pierce and KG went crashing into LeBron's mom, and he started yelling at his mom to sit down? The whole arena was rapidly turning on Pierce for his hard foul on LeBron, and LeBron just went over to Pierce, patted him on the shoulder and made everything cool. Every set of eyeballs in the stadium saw this gesture, and it completely defused what could have quickly become a hostile sitchy-ayshun.

Spygate-Free Zone

2008-05-17T09:01:00.005-04:00

After getting rained out last night, the Sox and the Brewers will play two today, with Game 1 starting at around 4 and Game 2 at 8:30. Gonna be a long evening of baseball, which is always a good thing. There's also a big playoff basketball game at the Garden tomorrow, but unfortunately it's another Game 7 as LeBron and the Cavaliers once again beat the C's in Cleveland last night.

Some quick thoughts on all the sports news swirling around:

- The biggest subject in the NBA playoffs so far is the incredible home-court advantage that teams have had. Going into last night, I think visiting teams were 1-18 or something like that, and for the Celts that trend continued. The Lakers, playing in Salt Lake City, bucked the trend and beat the Jazz to advance to the West finals. Why the big discrepancy? It's hard to ignore the difference in the calls the refs make depending on which arena they're in. The Cavs last night got the better of the late calls - one a goaltending that should have been whistled; another the Pierce/LeBron collision where James got the call. In all, Cleveland went to the line 25 times to the Celts' 13, and that's a pattern that has been pretty consistent so far in the playoffs. It would be interesting to see if David Stern's guys are looking into this, because it's starting to become patently obvious.

- Before the day off Thursday and the rainout last night, the Sox were struggling, having lost 3 of 4 in Minnesota and both games in Baltimore. The problem has clearly been the bullpen, with even Okajima looking mortal so far this year. He's been especially piss-poor with inherited runners, though to give him some slack, he's also come into some hellish situations. Either way, you can bet Theo's trying to figure out a way to reinforce the 'pen because the trend can't continue. The first game today is on Fox at 4:00 with Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-0, 2.45) going against Jeff Suppan (2-2, 4.63). Nightcap on NESN at 8:30 has Tim Wakefield (3-2, 4.25) vs. Dave Bush (1-4, 6.06).

- Everyone knows the NBA is a star league. You need the one guy who can absolutely take over a game for stretches of time. Kobe in LA. LeBron in Cleveland. Chris Paul in New Orleans. Based on what you've seen so far in the playoffs, is KG one of those kinds of guys? He's clearly been our best, most consistent players, but has he shown spurts of dominance? I say no, only because he just hasn't established his presence down low. It's easy to see why he might be conflicted between the inside and outside game, though - he's got an unreal touch for a 7-footer.

- Wally Sczerbiak recently had a son and named him Maximus Jack Sczerbiak. Just something I thought you might want to know.

- How about the Yankees' abrupt turn to mediocrity? Their pitching has been positively atrocious, A-Rod's been out with an injury, and ol' Hank Steinbrenner is starting to voice his frustratoins publicly. It will add some salt to the wound when Johan Santana faces them today, the guy they could have gotten for the disappointing Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

- Had to love the Manny high-five play in Baltimore. If you haven't seen it, the Orioles have guys on first and second with one out. Manny tracks down a deep fly to left, and runs up the wall in the process. At the top, he briefly slaps hands with a Red Sox fan, then comes down and fires the ball back in and they double the guy off first. Incredible.">.

Road Worriers

2008-05-13T12:50:00.005-04:00

Before I get to the Spygate crap happening today, I must expend a few words on the Celtics - whose frustrating loss last night in Cleveland tied the second-round series up at 2 games apiece.

I do not profess in any way to be a basketball junkie, nor would I describe myself as having one iota of intelligence regarding hoops strategy, but I did watch the C's all year long and I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night. And one thing that stands out like a sore thumb is that the Celtics aren't sticking with the blueprint that helped them make NBA history during the regular season.

Personally, I think the additions of P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell - particularly Cassell - have had a negative effect on the team. Doc Rivers had to force-feed them into their roles on the fly, and it feels like he's giving them way too much leeway in the postseason. We're not seeing Leon Powe, Eddie House, Big Baby or Tony Allen much, and unless Powe is injured, the fact that we didn't see him down the stretch last night is a horrible coaching call on Doc Rivers' part.

Looking strictly at the Big Three, Pierce and Ray Allen have been disappointing, and KG - while he's carried the team in the playoffs - seems out of his element as well, taking way too many long-range jumpers and hanging out around the perimeter. I'll give Pierce somewhat of a break because he's the one chasing LeBron around all night - and that has to be exhausting - but he needs to do more on the offensive end. And Allen? He showed his scoring touch a bit last night, but he's been getting torched on the opposite end by - UGH - Wally Sczerbiak. Watching ex-Celtics Joe Johnson, Delonte West, and Wally light it up the last few weeks has been about as fun as getting a paper cut.

In a way, winning the 66 games and making history is working against this team. They weren't pressured at all during the year, didn't have to play in hostile arenas, and their unmitigated success has made their fans set the bar extremely high for this postseason. We'll see what happens going forward, but this much is clear, even to the ignorant observer that I am. If this keeps up, and they're lucky enough to advance to play Detroit, they're going to be Motor City roadkill.

*****

Just a brief note on the Sox - they lost again last night in Minnesota as Clay Buccholz got roughed up. Manny hit No. 498, and Youkilis - arguably the hottest hitter in the American League right now - took a night off. The boys are in Baltimore tonight for a quick two-gamer, with Josh Beckett going against Jeremy Guthrie.

*****

And finally, Spygate. You know my opinion on this whole charade, which several media outlets - and individual writers - have been hellbent on prolonging. Matt Walsh had his much ballyhooed (good word) meeting with NFL commish Roger Goodell this morning, and as expected, there were no big "gotcha's." The league actually set up a couple of flat-screen TV's to show the videos Walsh handed over, and it was pretty much what Fox' Jay Glazer showed on the air back when - offensive and defensive coaches windmilling their arms in nonsensical fashion. Must have been riveting TV. There was also some up-close footage of some of the San Diego Chargers' cheerleaders, which greatly pleases me - though I'm not sure if the league opted to show that on the TV's. Walsh also told Goodell that a Pats player on injured reserve back in 2001 was practicing with the team (a no-no), and that he assisted some players and coaches in scalping Super Bowl tickets. That's about it. Walsh is now meeting with Senator Sphincter, who will also hold his own little press conference immediately thereafter. Can't wait to hear what this blowhard has to say. Again, I advocate for the impeachment process to start now.

One last note - if you find yourself having a bad day over the next week or so, just remember this - your name could be John Tomase. He's the Herald beat writer who broke the Rams' walkthrough tape story by citing a single, unnamed source. Tomase may be looking for work elsewhere pretty soon.

Mike Fish Wants So Desperately to Be Our Generation's Woodward and Bernstein

2008-05-08T20:20:00.003-04:00

So as you probably know by now, word leaked out this week about the contents of Matt Walsh's videotape collection, and as many people suspected there was no smoking gun - i.e., a tape of the Rams' walk-through before SB 36. Thankfully, the Spygate stuff can now end.

Or can it? If it's up to ESPN, Mike Fish, Gregg Easterbrook, Arlen Sphincter, and Walsh's attorney, they're going to do everything in their power to keep the story alive. You want proof, you say? The second headline on ESPN.com right now says 'Tapes show Patriots also stole offensive signals' - written by, shockah of shockahs, Mr. Douche, ah, Fish. That was preceded by another story by Fish this morning with the headline 'NFL might be interested in certain aspects of tapes'. I mean, are you shitting me? ESPN has slowly deteriorated over the last few years, but this is just irresponsible, biased reporting. ESPN's hatred for Belichick and the Patriots' dynasty is pretty obvious, which is shameful.

As for the demented Senator from Pennsylvania - big Eagles fan they tell me - he felt he was important enough to issue a statement today on the Walsh tapes, saying 'let's not rush to judgment here' and claiming the NFL is already putting a 'nothing new' spin on Walsh's uneventful evidence. Congress actually ought to launch an investigation into Sphincter's work routine, because he's obviously not spending much time on the things that really matter. The evidence against this clown is overwhelming. Yes, he's a big Eagles fan, and of course, they all suck. It also just so happens that the NFL is in the midst of a lawsuit against Comcast Cable, one of Sphincter's largest political contributors. And I just read today that Sphincter's actually got a book out - probably called "Me and My Agenda" - that has sold, like, five copies. Specter is a disgrace to his office and to his constituents. He should be impeached, and then tarred and feathered immediately thereafter.

The other fraud in all of this is John Tomase, who broke the story about the Rams tape on the morning of the Super Bowl, and his employer, the Boston Herald. For months after Tomase's initial story, the Herald and a bevy of writers went out of their way to bash Belichick, Kraft and the Pats at every turn. It really was a sharp turn into overly negative coverage, and was very distinguishable from the Globe's more measured approach. Again, I understand the Herald is also a tabloid, but I believe they went over the line.

And after all the B.S., the Patriots will be exonerated but their reputation will wrongfully take a hit. Tomase's ill-timed, fraudulent story took the steam out of what should have been a historic Super Sunday, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he or the paper could face some type of legal action. I'd love to know what Kraft and his lawyers are thinking of doing. I'd sue the whole lot of them for slander. Make Tomase take the stand and identify the "source" that he was so confident in.

Oh, and one last note on the biased media coverage, this one actually made by Pete Sheppard on WEEI this afternoon. If it was a Patriots star player who was part of a shooting investigation that killed someone and injured a child, and it was proven that his gun was used in the killing, would he be getting the same pass Marvin Harrison is right now? Exactly.

Celtics-Cavs, Game 1

2008-05-06T22:34:00.004-04:00

It's been like watching a Dice-K pitching performance, this tractor-pull of a playoff game between the Celts and the LeBrons. We're currently in the 4th quarter, with just over 4 minutes left, and the Celts are leading by a slim 3 points. It has truly been ugly, and when you consider that the Cavs are this close despite LeBron having only 4 points, it's a little scary. Mr. James could go off at any moment.

For the Celts, Garnett has been a one-man show, and Allen and Pierce have mostly been no-shows. Rondo has also played a good game so far. With 3 minutes now left, Pierce and Allen need to contribute down the stretch. Gibson just hit a three for Cleveland and we're all knotted up at 68. Pierce and Allen still can't get anything to drop. Allen looks, well, old.

The Cavs take the lead briefly, but KG nails a long-range jumper to tie it at 70. For a big man, Garnett's shooting range is pretty damn impressive. Uh-oh. LeBron's driving and slicing, and that big Russian dude - Z - is there to gobble up any rebounds. Celts now lead 74-72, and James Posey - who's been superglued to LeBron all night - hits two free throws to make it 76-72. Eight and a half seconds left, and let's hope we don't have a Detroit clock moment. And it's over. C's win. It wasn't pretty, which all the idiots on sports talk radio tomorrow will remind us, but they got it done. To be honest, this was the game I was worried about after the big win over the Hawks. Now the Celts can re-load and Pierce and Allen can get their shit together and take some of the load off KG. By the way, Allen scored zero points tonight, the first time he's been shut out since his rookie season in 1996. LeBron finished with 12 points on 2 for 18 shooting. Just a weird night all around.

Word has it some other pro sports team from Boston was also playing tonight. The Sox - on a quietly efficient little winning run here - beat the Tigers 5-0 behind Tim Wakefield. Wake's a notoriously quick worker when he's in a groove - tonight's game lasted only 2 hours, 10 minutes, or roughly the same time it takes a wicked fast Kenyan to win the Boston Marathon. It's hard to believe that the Tigers - who made a big splash by getting both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis - are this bad. I'm liking how the Sox are looking - they're deep. Oh yeah - almost forgot - Papi and Manny both hit bombs tonight, back to back in the seventh inning. Manny's at 497 and counting.

Worth the Trip

2008-05-04T10:33:00.013-04:00

What a difference a week makes. Last Friday night, I was in the stands at Tropicana Field watching the lifeless, flu-ridden Red Sox lose in extra innings on their way to being swept for the weekend. Rays starters Edwin Jackson and James Shields looked like the modern-day version of Koufax and Drysdale. Our hitters looked like they were standing at the plate in cement boots. Now the Rays are in Boston, the Sox' hitters have come to life, and the Sox are on the verge of returning the favor with a three-game sweep of their own. It's always fun to watch the Sox play on the road, so I thought I'd share a few observations on my Trip to the Trop, which overall was an enjoyable experience.

The stadium itself sits like a cratered flying saucer in the middle a working-class neighborhood. When we pulled into the parking lot, I immediately thought I was in Foxborough. Tailgating going on in every direction (imagine one big central lot at Fenway) with tons of Patriots and Red Sox jerseys walking around, with "Brady" and "Schilling" easily the most popular.

We were pleasantly shocked as we were waved into the lot and told we could park for free. Evidently, when you go to the game with 4 or more people in your car, you get to park for free. Imagine that. We talked briefly with Al the Security Guy, whose badge told us he hailed from Needham, Mass. He gave us a quick lowdown on navigating the building, and also told us about a promotion after the game involving women, roller derby, and free beer. There are lots of Al's from Needhams working at the Trop. It's almost like it's become the retirement job to get, replacing starter-sitting-in-a-golf-cart at the nearby country club.

At the main entrance, the Rays have images of young stars like Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir painted on the outside of the building, and the starting lineups are posted on a big board. Then you enter the mall. The whole ground floor of the Trop is ringed with shops and food stands, with little staircases on the right-hand side leading up to the field. There are stores specifically dedicated to Red Sox and Yankee gear. Walking up the ramp wasn't quite the same as seeing the Fenway green for the first time, but it's still always a cool feeling seeing a field for the first time. Even if it's an indoor abomination like this one.

The first thing I looked at when I walked in was the crazy structure that hangs from the ceiling of this bizarro building, the one with all the ladders and catwalks that has swallowed many a David Ortiz moonshot.Sure enough, Dustin Pedroia hit a ball up there in the first inning that never came down.

We had arrived early for the game, so we had some time to poke around the mall and observe. Always a nice plus if you can map out a food/beverage game plan for the whole night. We checked out a stand offering Corona, but with no limes. Egregious. We found the all-important sausage stand, and eventually the best beer bargain at the Trop, a 24-ouncer of Bud or Bud Light for $8. We checked out a souvenir store that carried only Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs gear. One fashion trend we noticed was that a lot of Rays fans like to buy the team jersey and put their first name on the back. This, too, is egregious. I always kid my wife that Maine is the personalized license plate capital of the world; the Trop is the personalized jersey capital of the world.

It being a Friday night and all, there was plenty of pre-game drunkenness. Some guy in a black satin shirt, jeans, black cowboy boots and a 70's haircut/mustache combo kept prancing in front of a largely Red Sox section during the game, belittling the Sox any chance he got. It became a pretty funny schtick as the night wore on.

The Red Sox scored first and the place erupted in cheers. I've always wondered if the pro-Sox crowds at the Trop and Camden Yards are as loud as they sound on TV and the answer - at least in St. Pete - is a resounding yes. I was watching some of the Rays players on the field, checking for any body language signs that they were disappointed in the cheers. They didn't show it, but the Saturday newspapers down there had some comments wondering why Rays fans don't show up.

They could be showing up in droves if the Rays keep playing well and the team can figure out how to get a sparkling new waterfront ballpark built. Tampa has a great young nucleus of players in Crawford, Evan Longoria, one of the Upton brothers (too lazy to look it up), Kazmir, Jackson, and Shields. They have the talent to finish at least third in the AL East, and they will most definitely be a royal pain in the ass for the Sox and Yankees all year. And if things really go right, they could be playing in a gorgeous new park on the water.

Another retiree who found work at the Trop - John from Watertown - was standing beside a table in the mall promoting plans for the Rays' new ballpark. All I can say is, yes please. Get it done. I tried taking a picture of the park, which hopefully comes through okay.

As for the game, it was tied up at 4-4 heading into the ninth and some ground rules were laid for extra innings. I was with my father-in-law, wife, and my wife's sister, and the girls had pretty much been troopers in coming along in the first place. They gave us one extra inning, and when it was still tied after 10, we left. Egregious, I know. But I justified it in my mind by envisioning the women's roller derby beer extravaganza. We were about halfway home when we heard David Ortiz ground into a killer double play, and then the Rays cooked up a run in the next inning to win it 5-4.

All things considered, while Fenway and the Trop are completely different animals, it was a cool experience. I like the direction the Rays are headed in - with new management, a good manager, and a very talented crew of young players. I wish they played in the National League, because they make you want to root for them.

Win or Go Home

2008-05-04T09:54:00.002-04:00

That's the deal for KG and the Celtics, who are playing the Hawks in a shocking Game 7 today at the Gahden. Atlanta has won all three games in their frenzied arena, and the Celts now need to win all 4 in their gym. I guess home court is pretty important.

Boston's inability to put the final nail in the coffin on the road has been both frustrating and concerning at the same time. I mean, this is a 37-win Atlanta team who snuck its way into the playoffs. What's gonna happen when the C's are playing at Detroit? But credit to the Hawks, whose athleticism is what's been getting in the way of that final nail. Josh Smith, Joe Johnson (thanks Ricky P), and Al Horford are incredible talents. When he's on, Mike Bibby scares you. Josh Childress showed some things in Game 6. They've got a team on the rise.

In my humble opinion, and you may think I'm nuts, I think this particular Boston team really needed to go through some adversity like this as a big gelling, maturity step. I know that sounds like psycho-babble, but if you think about it, this team - and all of its new personalities - was never truly tested during the regular season as they cruised to the best record in the league and made history for the biggest one-year turnaround. Now they've put themselves in a position to erase a season's worth of good with one more loss. I think they win, and learn some valuable things about themselves as they head into a second-round matchup against Cleveland.

Oh, and note to Doc: let Rajon play dammit. Even though his airball three at the end Friday night was painful, the kid shouldn't sit in favor of Cassell.

Greetings from Sunny Florida

2008-04-24T18:45:00.003-04:00

Apologies for the extended break. As most working stiffs know, anytime you've got a vacation coming up, the week before (and for that matter, the week after) are pure hell.

I'm currently sunning my ample arse in Bradenton, Florida, inside a gated golf resort enclave that I must say is pretty damn nice. The weather has been positively spectacular, and of course, with our timing and luck, so has the weather back home. Nothing like clicking on Boston.com and seeing the old folks frolicking on the shores of Nantasket Beach. Not that we wish our family and friends back home bad weather, but... I guess we do. But no complaints here whatsoever. Still can't figure out why we live in the Northeast.

Anyway, enough about that. Let's catch up a little on the sporting scene, beginning with today's solid debut - albeit a wasted one - by Sox rookie pitcher Justin Masterson. The kid threw a gem against a very good team, but, as has been the trend so far this season, the lead eroded when the middle relievers (hello, Javy Lopez and Manny Delcarmen) answered the call. In the end, Masterson goes six, gives up two hits, one run, walks four, and K's four - and gets nothing to show for it. 'Twill be interesting to see what his immediate future holds. Probably heading back down route 95 to Pawtucket. In the end, the Angels take two of three from the Sox at Fenway, with a caveat that we had to skip Beckett and Dice-K, and didn't have Jason Varitek - all because of a rampaging flu bug.

Turning to hoops, the Celtics have sprinted to a somewhat easy 2-0 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in their first-round series. No surprise there. The big story has been Hawks' guard/idiot Mike Bibby, who called out C's fans this week as being bandwagon jumpers. Whatever, Mike. That bandwagon is currently leaving treadmarks on your ass.

We all know how the Bruins-Habs series ended, and while it was a disappointing finale, you have to give the B's credit for making the Canadiens work for it. The 5-4 win in Game 6 will go down as one of the great ones. And it hurts a bit to wonder what the injured Patrice Bergeron would have brought to the table.

As for the local pro football entry, the NFL Draft - quite possibly the most overrated, overhyped sporting "event" of the year - is happening this weekend. Drink every time you see or hear Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, and you'll be passed out within a half-hour. Pats currently have the 7th pick, and I'm not even going to project who they might get. Let's just say probably someone pretty good.

Provided, that is, that commish Roger Goodell doesn't dock them yet another pick. News broke yesterday - and ESPN was ALL OVER IT don't ya know - that the league had finally reached an agreement with scumbag Matt Walsh to see what kind of evidence he has. He'll be meeting with Goodell on May 13. Let's get it over with. Even if Walsh has new, incriminating evidence, good luck proving that Coach B sanctioned it. There's nothing he can produce that will take anything away from what the Patriots have accomplished - and will continue to accomplish - this decade. They have the softest schedule in the league in 2009 and could easily go undefeated again and be right back where they were. If they do, they ain't losing this time.

And finally... why do I have a picture of the SNL Cowbell skit up there? Well, I'm heading over to Tropicana Field tomorrow night to see the Sox play the Rays. And it just so happens that the Rays are giving all fans who enter the park with some sort of Rays' gear on a cowbell. See, they want them to ring the cowbell every time a Sox batter has two strikes on him. But they forgot something kind of important - 60% of the fans will be Red Sox fans, who may just use the giveaway against the home team. Either way, I'll have a game recap for you Friday night after the festivities.

Borowski. Polish for "Not Good"

2008-04-15T10:17:00.004-04:00

Scintillating comeback win for the Sox last night in Cleveland. They trailed 4-1 at one point, and ended up winning 6-4 on a huge Manny Ramirez home run in the top of the 9th off Indians "closer" Joe Borowski. The Sox tied it at 4 thanks to a Julio Lugo double down the line, a sacrifice bunt by Coco Crisp that moved Lugo to third, and a sacrifice fly by Dustin Pedroia. After that, Big Papi got his second hit of the game, Tito pinch-ran Jacoby Ellsbury for him, and then Manny smashed his 493rd career homer off Borowski, who may be looking for work soon. The only sour note was Jon Lester's lackluster performance.

In other news, as you know already, the Yankees unearthed the David Ortiz shirt that would have cursed the organization and the new ballpark into eternity. Wouldn't you have loved to have been a fly on the well when the braintrust was discussing what to do? Absolutely beautiful. And maybe it will be a reverse curse, as Big Papi had two hits last night.

Topping it Off

2008-04-14T08:32:00.006-04:00

Putting a cherry on a jam-packed sports Sunday here in the Hub...

- Someone in MLB's corporate offices needs to take a look at the length of these damn ballgames. Last night's Sox-Yanks series finale was a four-hour affair, which, combined with Dice-K's maddening tendency to be too fine with mediocre hitters, made for a long, drawn-out night. Add to that the fact that we had to listen to Joe Morgan's "analysis" and it was downright excruciating. MLB needs to get at the root cause of these long games. Let the home plate ump call a ball if a pitcher's taking too long, or a strike if a batter is stepping out of the box repeatedly. Do something.

- At least the wait was worth it. The Sox took the series from the Spanks with an 8-5 win, despite having Big Papi on the bench for a mental health day, and a less-than-stellar Dice-K. We'll take it. The boys are on to Cleveland tonight for a three-game set.

- One last thing on Sox-Yanks. It didn't take very long for the Yankees braintrust (and I use that term lightly) to excavate the David Ortiz shirt that was buried underneath the new stadium. While I expected them to do this, it still blows me away that a) they believed it might lead to a curse, and b) they paid a construction crew overtime to dig it out of several feet of concrete. Here's hoping it's a reverse curse of sorts, and Big Papi starts swinging the lumber the way we've all become accustomed to.

- How 'bout those Bruins?? Struggling to get some good pub in this sports-crazed town, the Bruins came up big last night against the Canadiens in a must-win game at the Garden. For a while, it looked like a great effort was going to be wasted yet again. But the B's came through in overtime on a sweet feed from Dennis Wideman to Marc Savard, and they're right back in it. Say what you want about the state of the NHL, but it's become a more exciting game and there's nothing quite like playoff hockey.

- As much as I can't stand them, I have to give props to the Boston College men's hockey team. They were struggling at the mid-year point, but as usual, Jerry York had them flying when it matters most. All they did at the Frozen Four was outscore their opponents by a 10-2 margin. Makes me believe even more that the coach at my alma mater - UNH - needs to be scrutizined a bit. Someone else agrees with me.

- And of course, it was Masters weekend. Not the most riveting tournament, but still a treat to watch. South African Trevor Immelman took advantage of Tiger's putting woes to win.

Sports Sensory Overload

2008-04-12T20:17:00.005-04:00

Thank you, Mr. Remote Control inventor, whoever you are. Thank you Sony. Thank you Verizon high-def. Thank you Captain Morgan. Thank you sister-in-law, for inviting my wife and kids up to Portland tonight for a play date. I'm here at home having my own little play date.

Holy crap, what a sports day! A quick rundown: Red Sox vs. Yankees at Fenway kicked it off. The game started at 4 and is actually in a rain delay right now. Situation was Sox up 4-3 in the top of the 8th... Yanks have men on first and second... Papelbon facing A-Rod. So, um, it kind of was stopped at a crucial time. We'll see what happens.

Next, the venerable Masters. Nothing like watching Augusta National in high definition. Tiger's 4 shots back, I believe, after doing some nice catch-up work today. Trevor Immelman is in the lead. Tonight, you've got the Bruins playing Montreal in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. B's lost Game 1 and are trailing 2-0 right now. I want to get behind the Bruins, but it's so hard not to be a cynic about this team. The Celtics are also in action tonight, playing the Hawks in a meaningless game. And you've got the NCAA hockey championship going on between BC and Notre Dame. BC, which incredibly has been in the last three title games (0-2) is in command so far with a 3-1 lead.

The post-Super Bowl sports dead zone is so dead.

I'll end on this note, since the Sox and Yanks are playing this weekend. It's uncanny how the karma between the two franchises has shifted since Grady Little's brain fart in the 2003 ALCS. Of course, the most obvious evidence is that the Sox have won two titles this decade, while the Yankees have won zero. But consider these other forces at work: Roger and Andy were fingered in the Mitchell Report. A red hawk that lives at Fenway attacked a schoolgirl named Alexa Rodriguez last week. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are injured. They paid Randy Johnson millions and decided not to pay the price for Johan Santana. George is old and frail and hopefully about to die (kidding, Lord). And just when you think that's it, there's this beauty. Evidently, when the new Yankee Stadium was being built, a Red Sox fan on the construction crew buried a David Ortiz shirt in the foundation to cast a spell on the Yankees. Because the story came out in the New York Post, there was some back and forth over whether it was true or not. The stupid Yankees actually came out and said that it was a late April Fool's joke. Today, the Post (three reporters no less!) followed up with a story quoting the guy who buried the shirt, some mid-40 worker named Gino who's been a lifelong Red Sox fan. I think he may have been lurking somewhere in the picture above, looking for a shovel. Something tells me Gino might want to move to the woods of Idaho pretty quickly, or he may be swimming with the fishies.

And how's this for a finish to the post - the Sox and Yanks just resumed play, and Papelbon struck out all four guys he faced for the victory.

Okay, back to my play date.

Home Cooking

2008-04-08T09:39:00.005-04:00

Well, we'll see if an extra day of sleep and relaxation helps our tired bunch of Sox today. The home opener is on tap today at Fenway for a 2:05 start, with Dice-K going against Kenny Rogers. You've got a jet-lagged team going against a shockingly winless team in the Tigers, who many predict will be in the Fall Classic.

It's hard to put into words, but Opening Day here in Boston always feels good. Everyone's a little happier, people are playing hooky from school and work to be at the game, there's a buzz in the streets of Back Bay, and - as an added gift from Mother Nature - it's actually going to be a pretty nice day weather-wise for some ball.

Oh - and there's this little banner and ring ceremony before the game to get you completely in the mood. As far as I'm concerned, the 2008 season begins today.
*****
I'd be remiss if I didn't expend a few words on last night's classic college hoops championship game. First, though, a quick disclaimer: I'm not a college hoop afficionado even in the slightest; I don't watch the sport at all until March Madness, but always make sure to watch the championship game (mostly because CBS lets me get caught up on the whole tournament with "One Shining Moment"). Last night's game was just a pure treat to watch, with two extraordinarily talented teams going at each other for a full game and then an overtime. Memphis and coach John Calipari will be kicking themselves for eternity after squandering a 9-point lead with 2 minutes to go in regulation. The contributing factors to their demise? Turnovers, good Kansas D, a timeout that wasn't called, and - what everyone kept saying would ultimately be the Tigers' downfall - missed free throws, especially in the clutch. As soon as Jayhawk junior Mario Chalmers hit that epic three to tie it and send it to overtime, you just knew Memphis was all done.

Bring Us Home, Josh

2008-04-06T13:21:00.007-04:00

I come today to pay homage to the months of April and October. If you're a sports fan, these two months bear the greatest gifts by far. April is awesome because baseball is just starting up, you've got the NBA and NHL playoffs, NCAA hoops, the Masters, college hockey, the NFL draft. In fact, did you know that the word 'April' is derived from the Latin 'aperiere' - meaning 'to open?' Consider yourself educated. In October, you've got playoff baseball, the NFL in full gear, basketball and hockey seasons starting up, college football. Oh, and yours truly was born in October, which was obviously a historic moment in the world.

But enough of that gobbledygook. There's a hell of a lot going on so let's get to it...

* At this very moment, Josh Beckett and the Sox are playing their weekend finale against the Blue Jays in Toronto. It's Beckett's debut this year, and his stuff so far looks unhittable. Looks like he's picking up right where left off, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Sox need him to be a stopper today after losing the first two, including yesterday in embarrassing (10-2) fashion. Win today, day off tomorrow, rings and banner on Tuesday. Incredibly, they've been on the road since March 19. Jacoby Ellsbury just went deep to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.

* As for the on-field performance so far, it's way too early to call anything a trend. The middle-relief has looked shaky. Dice-K and Lester have each submitted a bad and good outing. Manny and Papi aren't stroking it the way they will. And to be perfectly honest, the opposing teams so far this year have gotten more of the little bounces that can collectively decide a game.

* The big surprise in the league so far is the loaded but winless Detroit Tigers, who are 0-5 heading into today's games. The big-name offense hasn't delivered, and the same could be said for the Yankees so far as well.

* In the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" department - I guess there are a couple of hawks that nest in and around Fenway Park. Last week during a school tour, one of the hawks swooped in on a young girl and did a little bit of damage to her forehead. The girl's name? Alexa Rodriguez, aka A-Rod.

* As for the Celtics, they hit the 60-win mark this week and clinched home court throughout the playoffs. It's officially the single greatest one-year turnaround in NBA history, and a lot of people around here - right or wrong - are thinking this is the year for banner number 17. At the very least, they have to get to the Eastern Conference finals to justify this season as a success, and I think that will happen and more. I'm calling for a rematch of that tremendous 1976 Finals between the Celtics and Suns.

* By the way, someone in the media needs to do one of those rambling, fawning profiles on Celtics GM Danny Ainge. Danny had a plan and stuck with it, got some luck along the way, and he's proven himself to be a pretty damn good evaluator of talent. Apart from the Big Three, the complementary pieces he's added through free agency and the draft (Posey, House, Rondo, Powe, Big Baby, etc.) have been very impressive.

* As for the Pats, nothing too big. Still no word from our little golf pro friend out in Hawaii. The latest news reports literally have Roger Goodell calling Walsh out to come forward with whatever "evidence" he has, which seems like a possible indicator that nothing else will be coming out. As I've said before, it's not good enough for this story to just die down and fade away, if that's indeed what happens. Someone needs to be held accountable for dragging the Pats' name in the mud, and it will be fascinating to see what Kraft's legal moves might be, if any. Does he want to keep the story alive and go after someone or just let it die?

* With the draft coming up (April 25-27), talk will start to heat up over what the Pats will do. Keep the #7 pick or trade up or down? I like this Gholston kid from Ohio State, but you just know Mangina will swoop in and tweak us by grabbing him. We shall see.

* One last note - you may remember my fondness and frustration for the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team. UNH always has a good team, but the knock on them through the years has been that they don't play well when it counts. Last year, I started to mention that the coach, Dick Umile, needs to be put under the microsocope a little more. I mean, I realize that it's college hockey we're talking about, but this guy signed a monster contract a few years back and he hasn't come close to delivering the goods. It's now the University of No Hardware. Anyway, an enterprising soul put together this site dedicated to putting Umile's feet to the fire. It gives you the year-by-year disappointments and it ain't pretty. Since 2000, they've played in 8 postseason games and have scored 11 goals. And they've been one and done each of the last three years. I'm working on my letter to the AD as we speak.

* Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Kansas-Memphis tomorrow night should be a pretty good one.

Bob Kraft: Model Owner

2008-04-02T08:54:00.004-04:00

In case you needed any more evidence that Pats owner Bob Kraft is one of the best owners in all of sports. SI's Don Banks reports on a surprise Spygate address both Kraft and Bill Belichick delivered to their fellow coaches and owners in Florida yesterday.

Opening Day, Part Deux

2008-04-01T12:40:00.002-04:00

Hopefully the boys have caught up on their sleep since returning from Tokyo. Tonight - in a bit of deja vu - it's Dice-K against Joe Blanton in Oakland in the domestic regular season opener. I actually saw ESPN refer to yesterday's game as the domestic opening day for baseball. Has a nice ring to it, eh?

As for yesterday's games, let's just say if you're a closer it wasn't safe to come out of the bullpen. I think my favorite image - which I saw just as my eyelids were closing last night - was Eric Gagne giving up a huge 9th-inning bomb to the Cubs' Kosuke Fukudome. Some things never change. It's still unfathomable to me that Gagne's getting $10 million this year to throw gopher balls. What a country.

Anyway - nothing hugely exciting yesterday. The Yankees couldn't play their historic last opener in Yankee Stadium due to the rain. The Mets - behind Johan Santana - easily dispatched the weak Florida Marlins. The Indians and White Sox tangled in a barn-burner, and if you have Jim Thome on your fantasy team you're a happy camper. And the Tigers - a lot of peoples' pre-season World Series champ pick - went down to the Royals in extra innings.

A lighter schedule today, but we're jacked for some real Sox baseball.

Fort Myers to Japan to LA to Oakland to Toronto...

2008-03-29T08:57:00.004-04:00

Well, this certainly goes down as the most bizarre start to a baseball season, eh? The Sox played two games that count in Japan, then flew to LA to play three games this weekend that don't count, and then they start up again for real this week in Oakland. For a sport where the players are known to be highly superstitious about their routines, this has to be killing them.

The Sox ended up splitting against the A's in Tokyo, as Rich Harden showed he's back to form with a strong performance in Game 2. This weekend, they play the Dodgers - who are celebrating their 50-year anniversary of the move from Brooklyn to LA - and the second game is being played in the LA Memorial Coliseum, a venue that is more linked with famous football games. Think USC Trojans, O.J. Simpson, circa 1968 or so.

The game in the Coliseum could have a circus-like atmosphere. The Dodgers are hoping to attract more than 100,000 fans to the game and there will be a 60-foot high wall in left field only 200 feet from home plate. Can you imagine Manny playing the caroms?

Let's see - what else is going on...

Oh yeah, remember how I said the two teams I'd be following during the sports dead zone were the Celtics and the UNH Wildcat men's hockey team? Well, one of those teams is flying high, and the other is flying home. The Celtics have been on an amazing run lately, pretty much having their way with any good team in the league. Their magic number for clinching first in the East is now at 4 games. UNH, meanwhile, not so good. They lost a heartbreaker to BC in the Hockey East playoffs, got sent to Denver as the No. 1 see in that region for the NCAA tournament, and promptly went out and laid a gigantic egg, losing in embarrassing fashion to Notre Dame, 7-3.

As for March Madness - the surprise team so far has been Davidson and their star shooter Stephen Curry, who's averaging more than 30 a game. They've taken down Georgetown and Wisconsin in their last two games. The #1 seeds - North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA - are all still breathing. Of those four, I think UCLA's got the best chance to be in the championship game. Two other teams that flew under the radar but have impressed thus far are Louisville and Texas. The Longhorns may actually be better in the post-Kevin Durant era.