The Kids Are Alright

(Nearly titled Jackie Bradley Jr.'s $100,000 Jackpot Wad after the old SNL skit)

Quite the start to the season, some much needed optimism and a welcome change from how the past couple years started (and ended).

What a great debut for Jackie Bradley Jr. Drawing that first walk against CC Sabathia was impressive, as well as key to the rally. But the other two walks and the groundout RBI may have been even more impressive. Through spring training, I kept reading that nothing seems to phase him. Bradley swung and missed at a tough inside pitch in his first plate appearance. In his second plate appearance, Sabathia got him to bite at two similar pitches to get a strikeout. At that point, Rick Sutcliffe noted that AL scouts were making note of the hole in Bradley's swing/judgement. Maybe that strikeout gave the Yankees confidence that they could get Bradley again in the fifth inning. They intentionally walked Gomes with second base open to get to Bradley but Bradley managed to lay off a couple pitches in off the plate in that plate appearance to draw another walk, and didn't bite on similar pitches later in the game. Most impressive.

I loved seeing Saltalamacchia battle Sabathia in a tough at bat in the fifth inning. Lester had been shaky in the fourth and the first two Sox went down quickly in the sixth but Saltalamacchia smartly took the at bat deep into the count, to give Lester a little more rest and to put a little more pressure on Sabathia. Getting the double may have been a bonus, and even though it didn't lead to a run the extra pitches Sabathia threw to Gomes, Bradley and Iglesias forced the Yankees to go to their pen to start the sixth.

Lester pitched well and it was great to see him strike out seven but the two walks were frustrating and unnecessary. If I remember, he had each of those hitters down 0-2 and kept nibbling. When you have just been given a four run lead in the second inning and you have a hitter with an OPS for the last few years under .700 down 0-2, that man should not be on first base four pitches later, courtesy of a walk. And yet, Lester walked both Ben Francisco and Vernon Wells that way. Bloop singles like Ichiro's or doubles down the line bother me a lot less than completely unnecessary walks.

Rick Sutcliffe made a comment about Lester not attacking, as if his goal was to keep the Yankees scoreless when the goal should have been to get outs and pitch deeper into the game. Sutcliffe also pointed out that Lester fell back to his very slow pace at the first sign of trouble. I'd love to know John Farrell and Juan Nieves' take on it.

I know it's a small sample size but while Francisco Cervelli's lifetime OPS is .693, his OPS against the Red Sox is .989.  He's like Curt Suzuki in pinstripes.

It looks like John Farrell will have the Red Sox more aggressive on the basepaths.  Jonny Gomes scored from second on an infield single in the ninth inning, but Jacoby Ellsbury was cut down at home running on contact on Dustin Pedroia's ground ball to third base earlier in the game.  There will be times when that pays off and times when that costs the Red Sox runs, and possibly games.  It will be interesting to see how that aggressiveness is perceived in the instances where it hurts the team.

I loved seeing the team's enthusiasm, especially Uehara's excitement upon reaching the dugout after retiring the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Uehara might have taxed his arm more on those high fives than his actual pitches since he needed only five pitches to induce three popups.  Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino were both fired up and contributed.

The bullpen looked great, though Andrew Miller walking the first two batters made me cringe.  Maybe the fact that he settled down and struck out the next two batters after Juan Nieves visited the mound should be considered even more encouraging because he made the proper adjustments.  Everyone did their job and it was probably smart of Farrell to make liberal use of the bullpen with the off day Tuesday, but I generally assume that if you use five relievers over four innings that at least one of them will struggle.  Here's hoping Lester will be more economical going forward.  Using 96 pitches to get through five innings against this version of the Yankees lineup is more than a little Dice-K-esque.

I was also thrilled to see Iglesias pick up three hits in the opener.  Granted, they were all infield hits, but "ground balls with eyes" still count as hits and help build confidence.  I'm sure there will be plenty of at bats (and possibly entire games) where Iglesias looks overmatched but his bunt for a base hit in the fourth inning was a thing of beauty.  Here's hoping Iglesias holds his own well enough while Drew recovers from his concussion that he's in the lineup more often than not once Drew comes back.

Saltalamacchia had three walks?  That may have been the most surprising outcome.  I'm a little upset at myself for not noticing this during the game.  One of the ESPN commentators (probably Dave O'Brien) pointed out that the Red Sox acquisition of David Ross will likely help keep Saltalamacchia fresher late in the season.  I'm hopeful that will be the case and I'm even more encouraged by Saltalamacchia's strike zone judgement in the opener.  All players have their strengths and weaknesses.  Scouts of all forms are constantly looking for ways to take advantage of a player's weaknesses.  I just find it encouraging when a player seems to be making adjustments to address critical weaknesses, especially in baseball where constant adjustments seem necessary.

It's so much easier to root for a player who is trying to make adjustments rather than for someone who refuses to acknowledge that anything might require adjustments.  That's why it was easier for me to root for Carl Crawford than Adrian Gonzalez or Josh Beckett.  When all three struggled, Crawford seemed more open to adjusting than Gonzalez or Beckett.  Saltalamacchia is working on his plate discipline and Bradley is working on adapting to major league pitching in the middle of his first major league game?  That speaks well to those players and to the coaching staff as a whole.  What a welcome change from last season, on so many levels.

Will they make the playoffs?  Who knows?  A lot could go right, a lot could go wrong.  They could win 90 games.  They could finish below .500.  They could win the division.  They could finish last.  Again.  But that's not the point.  The point is that they're a far more likable team, there's already more passion being shown than all of last year (except for Pedroia's response to the prior manager's ill-advised comments about Youkilis) and there's a lot more hope.  Not everything will break the way Sox fans will like.  But there's a lot more hope that, to quote Dick Williams, they'll win more than they'll lose.  And in 2013, that means you're in the hunt for a wild card and entrance into the playoffs where anything can happen.

So hell yeah, I'm excited about this team.

Checking In

Patriots

Expectations are so high for the Patriots that any season that doesn't end with a Super Bowl win is seen as a disappointment on some level.  Unfortunately, the season ended against a team that matches up well against them.  But it's worth remembering that the Patriots put together yet another amazing and enjoyable season.  It sure beats being a Jets fan.

Congratulations to the Ravens on beating the Patriots.  The Ravens definitely outplayed the Patriots, dominating the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense.  Flacco had far more time and space to operate in than Brady did.  Combine that with the fact that the Ravens played mistake-free football while the Patriots left far too many points on the board, and the game didn't feel as close as the score indicated.

With that said, I loathe the Ravens defense.  Don't get me wrong, their defense is incredibly effective.  They're a talented group that has played much better in the playoffs.  But there should be no need for them to focus on headhunting to the extent they do.  I'm all for hard hitting defenses, but I don't like seeing defenders launching themselves, aiming their helmets at receivers' heads.  It happens now and then as part of the game, but the Ravens sure seem to go out of their way to hit that way.  The play that stands out for me was one where a Patriots receiver (Welker?) had caught the ball at about the ten and was on the turf.  Pollard takes two steps and dives helmet first at the receiver.

After Goodell's penalties from Bountygate were challenged, overturned, whatever, it was comical to see that the NFL's focus after the game was what to do about Brady lifting a foot while sliding.  Remember that Reed had been suspended one game for repeated shots at prone receivers' heads and that the suspension was overturned.  Given how Goodell's suspensions had been neutered all season, you knew there was no way Reed or Pollard could be suspended for the Super Bowl because of their head shots in the AFC Championship.

Another Ravens/Patriots game, another week of the Ravens yapping in the press pre and post-game about how the Patriots disrespect them before, during and after the game.  Where this comes from, I have no idea, since the Ravens are the ones who do all the talking.  Well, unless the wife of a Patriot saying something stupid after a loss.  Nice of Ray Lewis to forgive Welker's wife for her silly Twitter post, though.  Forgiveness is very important to Lewis, for obvious reasons.

The Patriots offense has major struggles with defenses that can generate pressure without blitzing and whose defensive backs employ tight, physical coverage.  It makes it harder for the Patriots to get down the field effectively.  The quick hitting passes are still fairly effective, but a greater percentage of those  passes are broken up and the receivers who come up with catches are hit hard, likely leading to more drops later in the game.  If the defense can also keep the Patriots from picking up two yards on the ground when they show run, the Patriots are in real trouble.

I had hoped that Lloyd would help open up the offense more.  During the regular season, Lloyd did well catching mid range passes down the sideline.  It seemed like that type of play would be open against the Ravens defense.

On the Patriots fake punt, I'd love to know what Zoltan Mesko's responsibilities were if they'd run the fake.

I've never seen an offensive lineman do the weird leg kick thing that the Ravens' Oher does.

Not having Gronkowski was a huge deal against the Ravens, not only because the Patriots passing offense broke down inside the Ravens 40 but because Gronkowski also made the running game much more effective.  Not having Edelman was a big loss as well.  I love Deion Branch and I believe that he runs routes effectively but Edelman is much more of a weapon.

Where do the Patriots go from here?  I'd love to see the Patriots keep Welker, Talib, Edelman and Woodhead.  We'll see who they prioritize and what needs they address via the draft.  I think their top needs are receiver, cornerback and safety.  A tall receiver who can stretch the field and would Brady to throw ball over cornerbacks' heads keep the defense from being able to overplay the short pass.  (A healthy Gronk would help, too.)  Boldin and Smith allow Flacco to throw balls high to both receivers in traffic and know that if he's on target, the worst that can happen is an incompletion.  The Patriots haven't had that type of threat since Randy Moss checked out.

(I imagine a press conference where Woodhead and Edelman announce they're hopping in an old VW van to sign with the Broncos and pursue opportunities they'd rather not discuss.)

Celtics

I'm really curious to see what the Celtics do the rest of the season.  Losing Rondo for the season is a major blow because he's the only true point guard on the roster.  However, I think their offense will open up more going forward.  I don't get to watch many Celtics games but I loved hearing that the Celtics moved the ball much better in their first couple games after Rondo's injury.

Rondo amazes and frustrates me.  Point guards who are a threat to score (not a ball hog, just a threat) can open up the offensive end far more than point guards who are not.  Especially in the fourth quarter or when the other team's defense tightens up, Rondo becomes a liability in the halfcourt offense.  In transition, he can be an absolute wizard.  But if he decides that he's not going to drive and doesn't trust his shot, he doesn't help the Celtics offense.  Late in the game, the Celtics offense relies more and more on on jump shots because of Rondo's offensive limitations.

I love seeing a point guard help facilitate more on offense.  Pick and rolls, penetration, forcing the defense to respect the open shot all help open up the offense.  It's fun to see a point guard who penetrates to make the defense help and switch, leading to other offensive players cutting and moving to open space.  Point guards who do this to the Celtics cause huge problems.  Even if the first shot doesn't fall, the offense is more likely than normal to get an offensive rebound because of the defense is in constant movement and is not set to box out.

Here's hoping Rondo comes back next season fully healed.  In the meantime, I hope he watches some games and decides what he wants to add to his game to be more effective once he's back.  Rondo is a valuable player but he'd be far more valuable if he was comfortable sticking the open jump shot and going to the free throw line in a tight game.

Quick thoughts as I try to relax before the Patriots / Ravens game

Bruins

I'm glad hockey's back.  It was fun listening to the game over the radio yesterday.  It's good to see that most of the team from the Cup run is in tact.

Red Sox

The Red Sox had a truckload of money to spend this offseason and they've spent most of it.  We'll see if they spent it wisely or not.  It's easy to say that they overpaid the free agents they signed and yet didn't get a "sexy" signing.  Yet all of the big names in free agency also expected to sign top dollar long term contracts while presenting major risks, exactly the kind of contracts they'd just gotten out from under on.  I'm hoping they offered Hamilton big money on a short-term contract.  I love the Uehara signing.  While the hold up on Napoli's contract makes me wonder about whether or not he'll make it through the season in once piece, it also shows that the Red Sox are doing due diligence and that they're doing so in an intelligent way.  They're not negotiating in the press and they're still working to get the contract done.  That's still a refreshing change to me as I think back to the Lou Gorman and Dan Duquette eras.  Imagine either of those GMs re-working Napoli's contract without causing Napoli or his agent to explode publicly.  Now that I think about it, that speaks well of Napoli and his agent.  I think.

I'm interested to see how the team does.  Hopefully, they'll be exciting enough to make me want to pick up tickets to all of their games in Seattle.

Oh, and it was good to see Dan Duquette get another shot with the Orioles.  While the way he handled players late in his Red Sox tenure was awful, he still did a lot to improve the ballclub and I'm surprised it took this long for him to get another shot in the big leagues.  I hope he does well for the Orioles, but that the O's go 0-16 or whatever against the Red Sox.

NFL Playoffs

The Return of Tecmo Bowl Randall Cunningham

Kaepernick scares the hell out of me.  In other words: Go, Falcons.  The Patriots played the 49ers earlier in the season, but they didn't see the offense that the 49ers unleashed last week against the Packers.  I don't remember which article made the comparison, but someone pointed out that last week Kaepernick played like Tecmo Bowl Randall Cunningham.

Speaking of which, what a season for Russell Wilson.  The Seahawks future looks bright with him leading the team.

Here's hoping Robert Griffin III recovers quickly.  For me, he was even more fun to watch than Kaepernick or Wilson because of the way the offense ran through him and Morris.  In their second game against the Cowbows I was bug eyed watching the Redskins leave DeMarcus Ware unblocked at the line of scrimmage.  Once the ball was snapped, Griffin would move to hand off to Morris.  If Ware flinched to the outside, Griffin let Morris take the ball to the inside of Ware.  If Ware flinched to the inside, Griffin pulled the ball back and ran to the outside.  I don't watch much college football, so maybe this type of matchup happens more at that level.  But I don't remember seeing it at the pro level, especially not when focused on someone as good as DeMarcus Ware.  The poor guy looked gassed and frustrated late in the game.  With that said, the way the Redskins used RGIII may lead to him not having as long or as successful a career.  We'll see.

I heard rumors on ESPN Radio that Chip Kelly will put most of the Browns' money into the defense and bring in multiple effective but low budget college quarterbacks who can run the read option, knowing that those players may have short term success and he can just replace them as they get injured.  Somewhere, Billy Beane nods in agreement.

One last running quarterback note.  Last year, Cam Newton broke my favorite NFL record - rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback.  I asked a few people about who previously held that record.  They guessed Randall Cunningham.  The rest of the discussion went..."Wait, Randall Cunningham doesn't hold record?  Did Vick break his record without me knowing about it?  Steve Grogan holds that record?  Seriously?!?  That guy who had the enormous neck roll in the 80's?"

Back to the Seahawks for a moment.  I'm no Pete Carroll fan.  I didn't like him as the Patriots coach and really dislike how he takes credit for USC's dominance while completely distancing himself from the fallout there.  On some level, I chuckled at how his decisions in the first half of the Seahawks/Falcons game affected the outcome.  Two trips into the red zone in the first half for zero points?  Maybe I'm just conservative but as the game was being played, I thought he should have kicked field goals in both spots.  The Seahawks have been a great forth quarter team this year and I thought that taking the points there to keep it close was key.  Even though the Seahawks were scoreless in the first half, it's not like the Falcons' defense was stopping them.  That was a good sign for the second half.

Flacco v. Ryan - The Search for a Pulse

I watched the fourth quarters (and overtime, where applicable) of the Ravens/Broncos and Falcons/Seahawks games and I've been amazed at how much credit the winning quarterbacks of those games have received for inspiring their teams with their supreme confidence.   Granted, both of those quarterbacks deserve a lot of credit for leading last minute drives to save their seasons.  And yet...they both seemed incredibly detached leading up to and during those drives.

When the Seahawks took the lead with less than a minute left, the cameras showed Matt Ryan hanging his head on the sidelines.  A couple days later on sports radio (with the reception fading in and out), a host was talking about how as the Seahawks were driving for their go ahead touchdown, Matt Ryan was pumping up his entire offense, reminding them that they'd been in this type of situation before in the season, with less than a minute left to go and needing a field goal to win, that they knew how to do this because they'd done it before and would do it again.  I figured maybe that was something the Fox broadcast didn't show.  It turns out, the sports radio host wasn't talking about Ryan, he was talking about the Falcons' kicker - Matt Bryant.  So it's the kicker who's revving up the offense just before they take the field to try to keep their season alive?  Too much ice in Matty Ice?

Meanwhile in the Ravens/Broncos game, Cool Joe is so cool that the play cock doesn't phase him.  In the fourth quarter, John Harbaugh had to burn a timeout late in the game because Flacco wasn't going to get the play off and didn't seem to realize it.  It's a road playoff game.  It happens now and then, even to quarterbacks with road playoff experience.  As if to prove that point, Flacco was called for delay of game in the first overtime period.  Again, Flacco seemed completely unaware, but at least it was a cool unawareness.

Speaking of Flacco, his five road playoff victories is an interesting stat.  Flacco's road record in the playoffs is just over .500 (for now) at 5-4.  Compare those numbers to Brady's, who has played in five road playoff games in his career and he's 3-2.   Brady hasn't played in a road playoff game since the 2006 season.  By the end of the day, Flacco will have played in ten road playoff games in five seasons.  By my math, he and the Ravens are averaging two road playoff games every season.  That's the stat that's truly amazing to me.  In order for a team to do that, they have to be good enough to make the playoffs and do well, but struggle just enough to have a low playoff seed to have road playoff games.  Crazy.

Ray Lewis' Last Pre-Game Speech?

It's about heart, who wants it most, putting blood, sweat and tears on the field, fighting for every last inch, not letting up, playing to the whistle and beyond, fighting for your life, not letting anyone take anything from you, and not giving up anything, not your season, not your career, not even that white suit, even if they have a warrant.

Don't Blame Us If We Ever Doubt You, You Know We Couldn't Live Without You

I watched today's game at Safeco Field (hooray last minute StubHub purchase to score first row seats along the third base line) and had to get some thoughts about this team out of my head.

What a season.  I still don't know what to make of the trade.


Gonzalez' contract was big, but reasonable given his production.  It doesn't bother me that he's not emotional on the field, but both this year and down the stretch last year it felt like he wasn't setting the right tone for the team.  Saying last September's collapse was due to too many night games at the end of trips and/or God's plan just doesn't give the impression that he's someone who's going to work harder to change things.  I'd hoped that maybe a second season in Boston would allow him to put some roots down and become more of a presence on the team.  A lot of comments from players did make him sound like a leader (and no, not just in the meeting with owners about Bobby V).  Gonzalez' attitude when things weren't going well didn't help the impression he made.  Between the 2011 and 2012 all star breaks, his power disappeared as did his ability to draw walks.  He didn't agree with anyone's perception that he wasn't driving the ball and he made vague hints about his problems drawing walks, saying he knew what was wrong and couldn't talk about it.  I give Gonzalez a lot of credit for playing right field when that was in the team's best interest due to the black plague running through the roster.  He's a tremendous defensive first baseman and I don't see the Red Sox replacing his production anytime soon.  Here's hoping he does as well in Los Angeles as so many thought he'd do in Boston.

Also, here's hoping Carl Crawford returns to his former self in LA.  Had the trade not happened, I had more hope that Crawford would do well in 2013.  It really sounded like he was trying too hard to justify his salary.  While that may not have helped him perform, it never seemed like his problems were related to his attitude or not caring "enough".  I still think his signing wasn't a great use of the team's resources, but it was easy to keep pulling for Crawford.  In fact, it seemed like when he rejoined the team after the all star break this year that we were seeing the player the Red Sox brass were hoping for.  Throughout Valentine's cryptic comments about Crawford's status and his eventual shutdown, it still felt like Crawford was trying to do what was best for the ballclub.  Granted, it's easier to focus on that when you have an enormous contract, but it was still easy to get excited and believe the next double, the next stolen base was going to be the start of something.

Beckett, on the other hand, seemed hell bent on trying to make everyone hate him.  He was great for most of last year until the stretch run, but he was awful this year but it seemed like he was the only one who couldn't or wouldn't recognize that.  A lot of pitchers hit a bump in the road in their careers, getting to a point where they have to redefine themselves once or even multiple times, acknowledging that what worked before isn't working now and searching for a different approach.  I still appreciate what Beckett did for the Sox in 2007 but with every passing start or ill advised comment, it became tougher to imagine him as an effective pitcher in 2013 and beyond.

So now what?  How do we get excited about this team as they spiral out of control and down the drain while the manager talks about how they're somehow going to win a lot of games this month?  How does the team get back to above .500 next year, let alone fight for a playoff spot?  Will Valentine be back?  Will Papi want to sign another contract?  Who steps up in 2013 and 2014?

Iglesias looks absolutely overmatched at the plate but the Red Sox need to find out whether or not he's part of the team's future.  The team is going absolutely nowhere right now and that's fine on some level.  Let Iglesias get some time with the big league club and (hopefully) start to adjust to major league pitching.  Maybe September stats are misleading (see Pedroia, Dustin 2006) but start the evaluation process now so the club has more of a sense for whether he can handle the starting job in 2013 or if he's a trade chip.  If Iglesias isn't the answer, can Ciriaco be effective enough in the field?

Keep Ellsbury, at least for the first half of 2013.  Even though he's likely to try to sign for megabucks after the 2013 season, his trade value is close to rock bottom right now.  Consider his 2013 season like Beltre in 2010.  He's playing for a contract.  He has to be seriously motivated next year to look at least half as good as he did in 2011, right?

Have realistic expectations for the young starting pitchers.  If Morales and Doubront are both in the rotation, expect at least one of them to have issues to the point where he'll need to be pulled from the rotation.  If you're going to commit to them both at the start of the season, make sure there's a rehabbing veteran who is expected to be ready in June.  Aaron Cook isn't a great example because he wasn't terribly effective but the basic idea is a good one.  Speaking of Aaron Cook, he seems to have a little bit of The Bad Wakefield in him.  I loved seeing him mow down the Mariners with an 81 pitch shutout but that was his high point.  After that, even when Cook had a no hitter and a three run lead in the fifth inning, you had to hold your breath to see if he'd be able to get through the inning.

Will Bard ever be close to the reliable reliever he was until August of 2011?  What's most frustrating for me about his 2012 season is that most people seem to focus on his move to the rotation and forget that he was brutal down the stretch in 2011.  This is a guy who most people expected to be able to close once Papelbon moved on and Bard wanted to go in a completely different direction.  That's not a good sign in terms of a player's confidence.  Here's hoping he starts to find his old stuff.  Maybe the key is to bring him into a couple difficult situations earlier in the game, like a first and third situation with no one out in the sixth inning but get him to focus on the task at hand.  If he can keep the inherited runners from scoring, bonus.  Bard's initial success with the Sox had a 1999 Derek Lowe feel to it.  He just kept performing in bigger and bigger situations until you found yourself wanting him to get the ball in a jam in the eighth inning with runners on base, even though the closer would get the glory in an easier situation in the ninth inning.  Bard's 2010 felt like that.  Maybe he can find some of that next year.

I don't know what to make of Aceves.  He did an admirable job filling in as closer.  Based on what little I know of such things, he looks like he's running on fumes.  He's thrown a ton of innings over the past two seasons.  Even though Valentine anointed him the closer, Valentine has also brought Aceves into some near no-win situations, like bringing him into a one run game with nobody out and the bases loaded in the eighth inning.  That may still have been the right call for the team (relying on your best reliever to get the toughest outs) but it can also cause a player to look bad, especially a guy who wants to be the closer sees he's being brought in for a near guaranteed blown save.  On top of looking gassed, Aceves looks like he's pitching with a chip on his shoulder, and not in a good way.  I don't know how much of that might improve under a different manager, or if this is the big reason why the Yankees let him walk after the 2010 season.

Could Padilla be an effective piece of the bullpen next season?  I hope so.  I want to see him throw the eephus some more and come in just to plunk Texiera a couple times.  I still expect he's going to go all Danny Trejo and throw a machete at a batter at some point.  At least he won't pull a Clemens and claim he thought he was throwing the ball at a runner, as if he was playing wiffle ball or kickball and hitting the runner with the ball counted as an out.

As to the rest of the bullpen, here's hoping Melancon finds himself, that Bailey's effective, that Atchison and Hill are healthy.

With respect to the lineup, I hope they re-sign Papi and Ross and that along with Pedroia, Middlebrooks and Ellsbury that they can put up some runs.

Who should they go after in free agency?  Who knows?  It doesn't look like there are big names out there who are worth big money.  But maybe the Sox can revisit the old Moneyball approach, but with deeper pockets.  I can't remember the exact quote, but if memory serves Billy Beane talked about breaking the season down into thirds to evaluate the team and figure out what to do next.  Maybe the Red Sox should find out who in their system is capable of helping the team get back to the playoffs, then look around and steal a page from the Yankees' old playbook by picking up mid-to-high priced guys mid-season when teams decide to sell or give more playing time to their younger players.  It's not a formula that I expect will help them make the playoffs in 2013, but maybe between the deep pockets and some tradeable assets, that lays the groundwork for 2014.  At the very least, hopefully the team will be relevant and maybe even fun to watch in August and September.

One last thing.  Fire Bobby V.  Yesterday.  He's not to blame for the state of the franchise, but his bizarro communication skills definitely count as "part of the problem".

Breaking News

The recovery period for A-Rod's injury will be longer and require more rehab because he broke his slapping hand.

Opening Day 2012

Random thoughts while taking the day off to watch Opening Day

I'll really miss Terry Francona and Theo Epstein. It's a shame the 2011 season ended the way it did. Maybe it was time for a change, but they each deserve a lot of credit for 2004 and 2007. It's so rare that someone leaves on great terms, like Dave Roberts. All too often, players and management who should be revered eventually move on with ill feelings, like Keith Foulke.

Nice to see Ortiz go the other way for a double in the second. Much as I like Jon Lester, he's not close to being as effective as Justin Verlander. It's the fifth inning and the Tigers have put the lead off hitter on base in each inning so far. That's not a recipe for success. I'm very impressed that he's put up zeros so far given that every inning has started with the first batter reaching base. Lester continues to show that he's a very good pitcher but whether or not he is a true ace is still open to debate.

When there were rumors about the Red Sox hiring Bobby Valentine, I got nervous. Valentine has always struck me as someone who wants (and possibly needs) to be the center of attention and for everyone to know how right he is. Some of his assessments of players' strengths and weaknesses during Spring Training made me cringe. I believe it was Doubront who struggled in one start and did well in his following start. Valentine's comments following Doubront's improvement sounded like "He did really well because he listened to my advice. So long as he listens to me and does what I say, he'll do well." While I love Valentine's focus on fundamentals, I expect Valentine's general attitude will become a major problem this season.

Schilling is a complete hypocrite for claiming he knows what's going on in the Red Sox clubhouse and that the players already dislike Valentine, since this is the type of media opinion that he claimed had no merit when he was a player, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.

What different feel the Red Sox have this spring, completely ignoring the managerial change. It's not just that many experts pick them to finish behind the Rays and Yankees. There are major questions about the corner outfield spots, shortstop, the rotation and the bullpen. The Red Sox' opening day DL probably has a higher salary than some second division teams.

The Scutaro trade still feels odd. Aviles may be adequate in the field and a possible upgrade at the plate, but I'll be very surprised if he's the starting shortstop in September. My hope is that the Scutaro and Lowrie trades weren't just small market salary dumps but a sign that Iglesias will be ready for the majors soon, that Aviles is a stopgap in the meantime and that Scutaro's salary could be used more effectively elsewhere. I'm OK with not knowing the true story. While it's confusing, it's still much better for the team than Lou Gorman announcing in advance who he intended to trade and then being surprised at his lack of negotiating leverage.

Can Bard pitch effectively for six plus innings at a time? If he and Doubront are effective as starters in the first few months of the season, what's their innings ceiling for the season? 170? I'm OK with the Sox giving both of them a shot, with Cook waiting in Pawtucket, a Dice K as a possible option around mid-season and Oswalt as a possibility.

I remember being surprised when the Yankees cut ties with Aceves and excited when the Red Sox signed him. It seemed like a good, inexpensive signing at the time. Who knew he'd be so valuable to the team in '11, let alone the opening day closer in '12? Best of all, he seems like a great mix of intelligence and Tavarez-esque bat shit crazy. The Globe had an article last year that mentioned him wearing #91 because Dennis Rodman was his favorite basketball player. He wanted to start, they let him try, told him "You didn't make the cut, but might need to take Beckett's start unless...wait...never mind, you're the closer." I'd bet if he had the option to personalize his uniform, a la the XFL, he'd change it to "Uh. Save Us."

I wish Varitek and Wakefield well. I'll miss watching bullpen catchers try to corral Wakefield's knuckler during pre-game warm ups. The pitch really did seem to move like he'd coated it with the wood repellant from It Happens Every Spring. The Red Sox should remember to send Dan Duquette a thank you note to commemorate their retirements. I really did get excited when the Red Sox signed Wake. I loved reading about him when he came up with the Pirates and about getting help from the Niekros. I love weird, underdog baseball stories like his - signed as a first baseman, wasn't going to make it, decided to give it a shot as a knuckleballer. Utility guys with five different gloves (Randy Kutcher), ambidextrous pitchers (Greg Harris), large, lovable and effective relievers (Rich Garces), pitchers who hit in a pinch outside of inter league games ( Dick Drago), utility players who pitch in a pinch (David McCarty), switch-hitting relievers (JC Romero), catchers who yell at their pitchers in effective but unintelligible Spanglish (Tony Pena), journeyman minor leaguers who eventually get their chance (Chris Coste), chronologically challenged players (Jamie Moyer and Julio Franco) and guys who reinvent themselves to keep playing (Wake, Ron Mahay and Rick Ankiel) always make me smile.

On to other sports...

Kudos to the Celtics for not going quietly. They've beaten the bad teams and lost to the good ones. I don't expect them to goo too deep in the playoffs, but they're battling hard and that's good enough for me.

I love seeing that there's still fire in Garnett. Ainge deserves a ton of credit for picking up Bass (for Big Baby) and Pietrus. Their lack of big men may or may not be exposed in the playoffs. They get killed on the boards by teams with a big front line, like the Lakers, but it's possible that won't do them in. They still struggle mightily in the fourth quarter if the other team plays good defense because their half court offense boils down to a contested outside shot by Pierce. Speaking of their offense...

Despite how Rondo racks up numbers, I still think he hurts the team a lot more than he helps in close games. The Celtics don't need him to score a ton in the fourth quarter. They just need him to be more effective in the half court set.

I watched the fourth quarter of the overtime game against the Knicks where Rondo put up ridiculous numbers but (at least while I was watching) Jeremy Lin was a catalyst in the Knicks' offense, causing havoc with his penetration that led to double teams and guys cutting into space and being open because of Lin, while Rondo looked like a spectator. Rondo's contributions to the half court offense involved giving up the ball at the top of the key and disappearing apart from an occasional offensive rebound or letting his defender play way off him and forcing a pass to Pierce, who is double-covered sometimes before he even receives the ball.

I love what Rondo does bring to the table but find it maddening that he's been in the league this long but still hasn't improved on his two most glaring late game weaknesses - the inability to keep the defense honest by hitting an uncontested outside shot, and the fear to go to the free throw line. I wish he'd fix at least one of those two gaping holes. I really hope I'm wrong.

The Celtics play the Bulls tonight. I may be able to watch. Rose may play. An ESPN article talked about him practicing. The link to the article actually said "Bulls Rose (groin) takes contact, to face Celts?" Comedy.

The Bruins have done well this season, despite battling some level of Lord Stanley's Hangover. At times they've looked unstoppable. Other times, bored. Last year's run was unbelievable. It's odd to think about how close they came to getting beaten in the first round by the Habs. Had Chara's skate been turned slightly, there would have been one less duck parade.

Speaking of coming so close, I loved the Patriots season. The Giants were the only team I worried about them facing in the playoffs. Scary flashbacks. And yet, had Brady connected with Welker late in the fourth or if the Pats recovered any of those fumbles... So close.

I still laugh when I see comments about the Patriots record against "winning" teams since they didn't beat a team in the regular season that finished above .500. Of course, the Pats really only had one opportunity to do so - against the Steelers. Had the Pats beaten the Giants in the regular season, that wouldn't have "counted" since the Giants would have then finished the season at 8-8. That's like comparing an 8th inning reliever's "save percentage" against a closer's. It's not really a save opportunity for the set up man since he's not going to be allowed to finish the game. Technically, had the Pats lost one of their games against the Jets, the Jets would have finished above .500, thereby making the other Pats win against the Jets a "quality" win. Absurd, but so is the entire argument about the Pats' record and their schedule.

The Pats received the standard divisional champ schedule - playing the other divisional winners in their conference. That two of the other three prior division winners finished at or well well below .500 (hello, Indianapolis!) should just make people more impressed by the Patriots' amazing run since the 2001 season. Even the season there the Patriots lost Brady in the first game, they went 11-5 and nearly made the playoffs rather than tank the season to get the #1 pick in the draft.

So what was the Patriots' record against teams that went above .500 against the rest of the league? 7-2. The Steelers, for comparison, were 5-4 against teams that were over .500 against the rest of the league.

I also had a good laugh when I heard one NFL fan on a local radio show say he was rooting for the quarterback who was a humble underdog coming out of college who had nothing handed to him, no one believed in him but he just worked hard to beat the odds and turned himself into a star. It took me a while to realize that this guy wasn't talking about the sixth round draft choice who was a backup in college and spent his rookie season as the fourth string quarterback. No, he was talking about the guy who was the #1 pick in the draft who, despite being guaranteed an enormous contract before ever taking a snap, said he'd never play for the team that wanted to draft him, instead forcing a trade to a big market in the Northeast. What an unassuming kid. What an underdog. What a feel good story. There's the guy to root for.

I love the Pats offseason moves - nothing overly big in terms of cost but nice pickups for depth. Let's see if they can find an improved pass rush in the draft and if Gronk can return to full Gronk-ness next season. Good luck to Law Firm.

The Jets pick up of Tebow may be a great move, especially since the Jets' offensive coordinator installed the wildcat under the Dolphins. It could also become a slow motion train wreck. Memo to Sanchez: If your teammates anonymously question your leadership and your response is to challenge them to say that publicly...you're actually helping to make their point.

MLB has an ad for its Extra Innings package where they show highlights from the end of the 2011 season, including Longoria's home run to send the Rays to the postseason. The funny part is that the voice over says "If a playoff clinching miracle falls into the stands and no one is there to watch, did it really happen?" They probably weren't trying to make fun of the Tampa Bay fans, but I'm surprised no one thought to alter the language slightly just to be on the safe side, given their attendance problems despite the team's success.

Lester pitched well, Verlander pitched better, the Sox rallied to tie it up in the ninth, and Melancon and Aceves combined to give up a run in the ninth. Get well soon, Andrew Bailey.

An Abrupt End To A Surprising Season

It was certainly an exciting Patriots season.  The Patriots fared much better in the regular season than anyone had expected.  A couple friends asked me about the season just as it was getting started.  I remember saying that I was already more excited about the 2011 season because of all the early round picks the Patriots held and that making the playoffs this year would be quite an accomplishment.  It was great seeing so many of the young players play well.  Then factor in the unheralded players who took advantage of opportunities due to injuries - Woodhead, Cunningham, Gerald Warren, Ninkovich, Graham, Fletcher, Moore and Deaderick all played well.  The Patriots weren't the only team to deal with a lot of injuries, but I don't remember a season where so many players picked up in the middle of the season were asked to play key roles on defense.  So while it's disappointing to see the team not advance further, it's hard to consider the season itself to be a disappointment.

The highlights for me were watching Gronkowski (I love my new shirt, Dad!), Hernandez and Woodhead this season.  Gronkowski is just a beast and I really look forward to both he and Hernandez contributing even more next year.  Maybe there really is something about Woodhead's height (or lack thereof) that makes him more of a threat on plays where he seemed to hide behind blockers and wait for something to open up.  I'd love to know if defensive lineman had any idea where he was.  Green-Ellis also deserves a lot of credit, along with the offensive line, for racking up over a thousand yards while getting very little attention.  Brady had a spectacular season.  I loved reading about Zoltan Mesko in the Globe.  He also made a tackle (I wish I could who he tackled and when) where the punt returner had picked up about thirty five yards before Mesko took him down hard along the sidelines.  The punt returner popped up and celebrated a little, then saw he'd been drilled by the punter and decided that celebrating might not be appropriate.

Through much of the season, it felt like the Patriots were winning with smoke and mirrors.  While their record was 14-2, they never really felt like a dominant team, even if they stood atop most late season rankings, power polls, etc.  The Patriots were more than happy to take advantage of other teams miscues, while trying to minimize their own mistakes.  Looking back, the Patriots wins against the Ravens, Chargers, Colts and Packers stood out more to me than blowout wins.  I still can't believe how many dumb mistakes the Chargers made (Goodman celebrating a reception by putting the live ball on the ground still cracks me up) and the Patriots still just barely escaped with a victory.  If the Patriots could jump out to a lead and force the other team to play catch up (and the other team didn't have Payton Manning behind center) then there was a relaxed feel to the game.  Otherwise, the games were tense, leaving us to wonder if the defense would be able to come through with a key stop or turnover despite generating minimal pressure on the quarterback and little experience in the secondary.  Plus, despite the fact that this has been a weakness in the Patriots offense for years, the Patriots running game really struggles to pick yards in key situations when everyone in the stadium knows they're about to run.  I love Green-Ellis but I think a major reason he's successful is that the defense generally has to respect the Patriots passing game.  When the Patriots go with a power running formation late in the game to try to run out the clock and the defense expects it, they rarely pick up the first down.

After the Browns game, the Patriots offense played magnificently from that point, but there was a recurring question before many games of "Will the opposing team be able to frustrate the Patriots offense the way the Browns did?"  That question ran through my mind before the games against the Steelers, Jets and Packers in November and December.  We kept hearing that those teams had strong defenses and might be able to slow down the Patriots offense.  While I still have no idea what the Jets coaching staff was thinking when game planning for their December matchup, they had a much better plan for their playoff game and the players played extremely well.

Speaking of the Jets, congratulations to the Jets on a great game.  Their defense did a great job against the Patriots offense.  I don't know much about defensive schemes, but it sure looked like their secondary had the Patriots confused.  The Jets defensive did a great job putting pressure on Brady, though a lot of the hits came from Brady being unable to find someone open.  All the yapping the Jets did after the playoff game, before the playoff game...hell, all season long makes the team look silly, but they played a whale of a game and deserve to have their season continue.

Looking ahead to next year (assuming the labor situation is resolved) I can't wait to see what the Patriots do in the draft and other offseason moves.  I hope they find a pass rusher or two and pick up an effective running back.  Will Fred Taylor or Sammy Morris be back?  Will the Patriots carry Faulk and Woodhead since they both seem to play similar roles?  Will McCourty, Chung, and Mayo get better?  Will Butler recover and contribute?  Will Meriweather ever manage to be half the player Pro Bowl voters think he is?  Will Ty Warren, Bodden, McGowan, Gostkowski and Brady come back strong from their injuries?  Will Alge Crumpler be back?  (I hope so.  I loved seeing Gronkowski and Hernandez celebrate Crumpler's touchdowns.)  Is there a better name for a blocking tight end than Crumpler?  Is there a stat to keep track of the percentage of time a defender has a clear shot at the quarterback and comes up with a sack?  If so, is Banta-Cain ranked last or slightly further back?  Do opposing running backs' eyes light up when he's in the game, knowing he's gunning for a sack on every play?  Do they laugh when they turn the corner to easily pick up 5+ yards because Banta-Cain (unsurprisingly) decided to go wide around the blocker?  Will Randy Moss still be in the league?

With a little re-tooling and a good draft, next season should be even more fun than this past one.  In the meantime, I already know I'm cheering for the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.

Game Time - Pats vs. Jets

I'm excited but nervous about the game. I don't know what Rex Ryan was thinking about for the last game between these teams. Their game plan, coming out in the shotgun and focusing on the passing game, was absurd. If I'm the Jets, I focus on running the ball, especially in multiple receiver formations. Force the Patriots to stop the run from passing formations and pass just enough to keep the Patriots defense from keying solely on the run. It doesn't seem like a difficult game plan to come up with.

For the Pats, contain the Jets running game and force Sanchez to throw on third down. On offense, give Brady time to read and dissect the Jets defense. Use Woodhead and the tight ends and score early to force the Jets to play catch up.

For the record, there are almost a hundred Pats fans in the back room at Spitfire here in Seattle.

Go, Pats!

Johnny Drama

Since everyone else has a take on the Johnny Damon drama, here's mine.

Now that he's left the Bronx, the first image that comes to mind when I think of Damon is his grand slam in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. I still say that Ortiz' home run in the first inning was a bigger moment. Damon had just been thrown out at home prior to that home run and Yankee Stadium and Tim McCarver were going nuts. Mental images of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown were still bouncing in my head when Ortiz connected. My thoughts immediately went from "Not again. Not again. I still haven't recovered from 2003. Oh, please, not again." to "Holy crap! We might actually win this." I remember screaming triumphantly when Damon went deep. Don't believe any Red Sox fan who *knew* at that moment they were going to win. Damon's grand slam helped us all breathe easier but like in any horror movie, we knew the villain wasn't completely dead and that ghosts of Grady Little precented overly premature celebrations.

My point is that images of Damon in pinstripes don't come to mind first since he left the pinstripes behind. Sure, I think of him crashing into the left field wall in Yankee Stadium and lying prone while Melky Cabrera scurries over to get to the ball and chuckle at the image, but I still think of his moments with the Red Sox first.

Would Damon have helped the Red Sox over the final few weeks? Sure. He likely would have been a marginal upgrade over Nava or McDonald in left field, and an insurance policy to help keep Bill Hall out of the outfield. He could bat at or near the top of the lineup, allowing Francona to move JD Drew back down in the lineup. He wears down pitchers and is still a threat to go deep now and then. But we're not talking about Albert Pujols here.

Personally, I'm not disappointed to see Damon invoke his no trade clause and stay in Detroit. I'm amused by how he did it.

His first priority was to make sure he'd have significant playing time wherever he spent the rest of the season, and that he wanted to play the outfield. Chalk that up to his competitive behavior? Sure. But he'll also be a free agent at the end of the year, so getting as much playing time as possible down the stretch is important in terms of getting a contract for next year. I love that playing time was the biggest factor. He publicly said that if the Tigers weren't going to play him, then he'd accept the trade to Boston. Only when the Tigers said that he'd see significant time did the fact that it was the Red Sox who had claimed him become a factor in the decision making process.

Damon felt slighted because he didn't think the Red Sox pursued him hard enough after the 2005 season ended. The Yankees offered him 30% more than the Red Sox and he took the money. That's a significant chunk of change and an obvious factor in his decision. But the Red Sox were the only other major offer he received, so obviously they felt he was pretty valuable. Plus, keep in mind that the Yankees offer was a "sign now or it's off the table" offer. The Red Sox probably wouldn't have countered the offer, but it's not like the Red Sox made no attempt to sign him. They figured what he was worth to the ballclub and were ready to go in another direction if he wanted more. At the time of the discussions, I cringed at the thought of a four year offer for Damon since I didn't think he'd be an effective center fielder by the end of that contract. The Red Sox, at the time, were already set in left field and designated hitter. I just envisioned that the last two years would be a challenge to find him playing time without being detrimental to the ballclub. I would have been happy to see the Red Sox offer a shorter contract for more money per year, but four years was too much. At the same time, I really felt that if the Red Sox didn't sign Damon that the Yankees would and I didn't want to see Damon in pinstripes.

Earlier in the 2005 season, Damon talked publicly about his impending free agency and said that he could never imagine himself in pinstripes, even though the Yankees might make it tough for him to say no. He'd been in Boston for four years. He understood the fan base well enough to know that if he left the Red Sox, he would get a standing ovation upon returning to Fenway in any uniform other than that of the Yankees. But I don't think he understood that all of his public discussion of his contract negotiations, all of his complaints about the Red Sox disrespect by offering him only forty million dollars, and all of his immediate sucking up to the Yankees fan base would result in the level of venom he received when he returned to Fenway as a Yankee.

I would have loved to see Damon get the warm welcome he deserved. The kind of reaction that Dave Roberts, Kevin Millar, Orlando Cabrera or Derek Lowe received as a visitor. But those reactions are reserved for non-Yankees.

What made the outrage that much stronger in the Red Sox fan base was that this was possibly the player who most typified the Red Sox from 2002-2005, the changing of the guard from Dirt Dogs to Idiots. I'm not sure if people remember how many Sox fans had Damon jerseys and t-shirts, but to fans who saw Damon as they're favorite player talking about how much he loved the Yankees organization and how he was happy to ditch the Idiot look and go for the clean cut Steinbrenner look, this was a betrayal. The t-shirts saying "Looks like Jesus, acts like Judas, throws like Mary" shirts made me chuckle. But the one that really laugh was one fan finding another use for his road Damon jersey, replacing the A in his name with a Sharpied E, removing the 1 and altering the 8 until it looked like a dollar sign.

Had Damon played in Fenway when the Tigers were in town, he would have gotten a warmer reception than he did in 2006. New York didn't initially embrace him, still seeing him as one of the Idiots. He was booed at a Rangers hockey game in New York shortly after signing his contract there. (Tip of the cap to Eric Wilbur on that.) But by handling the waiver wire situation the way he did, that reception will not be as warm in 2011 if he's still playing then. It won't be as bad as it was in 2006, but his statements and actions over the past couple days haven't exactly endeared him to Red Sox fans who booed him when he left.

Damon also loses some credit, in my eyes, for being a suck up. (Again thanks to Eric Wilbur's blog for this tidbit, link below.) As of this morning, his web site talked about his time with Boston and Detroit, but not his time in New York. Then, magically, it was updated later in the day to include his time in New York. He uses the media to try to endear himself to one fan base then another but doesn't seem to get that handling himself that way and then complaining about how one fan base sees him makes him look like a phony. Maybe he picked up tips on managing his image from A-Rod. Who knows.
http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2010/08/last_rites.html

I wish Damon well, hope that he gets a contract somewhere other than with the Yankees, stops whining about how the Red Sox fan base and management hurt and disrespected him and enjoys the rest of his career. If I ever get the chance to meet him, I'll thank him for 2004 and would love to have him autograph a picture of his grand slam. In the meantime, I'm hoping guys like Nava and Kalish can help the Red Sox get to the postseason.

Go, Sox!

Leading Up To Game 7

I've been having running mails back and forth with a good buddy and huge Lakers fan. For some reason, I wanted to post my pre-game thoughts. Yeah, I'm insane. Anyway, here goes.

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I hate to sound like a pessimist or front-runner, but the only way I see the Celtics winning is if both Gasol and Odom have bad games. Short of that, I expect the Lakers to win going away tonight. I'm still hopeful and trying to stay positive, but the Game 6 blowout with Perkins going down feels like a punch to the gut and I'm waiting for the uppercut to the chin.

Let's hope for a good game and that the focus after the game is on the players of the winning team. If the Lakers win, congrats to them and the Celtics have every right to hold their heads up. A lot of people expected them to lose in the first round, including myself. If the Celtics win, congrats to them for running the D-Wade, LeBron, Dwight Howard, Kobe gauntlet and the Lakers have every right to hold their heads up. I hope there's minimal talk about either team or its players being labelled chokers, not showing up, not being able to win the big one, etc.

Biggest question for the Lakers: How will Bynum's knee hold up? If he can play effectively, that's a huge plus for the Lakers, especially with Perkins out. None of the Celtics bigs can match his athleticism. Even if he can't jump, he can outrebound any big the Celtics put on him. If he can play reasonably effectively, that makes things much easier for Gasol.

Biggest key for the Lakers: A big game from Gasol. If Gasol can score at least reasonably effectively and put Wallace and/or Garnett in foul trouble, this might be a blowout for the Lakers. A smart game from Artest on both ends of the floor would also go a long way toward helping the Lakers repeat.

X-factor 1 for the Lakers: Lamar Odom. If Bynum can't play effectively, it's up to Odom to help the Lakers take advantage of Perkins' absence. If Bynum can play, an even mildly effective Odom could still cause major headaches for the Celtics from a match-up perspective. I'd at least try putting Fisher, Kobe, Odom, Gasol and Bynum on the floor at the same time and force the Celtics to either play Davis, Wallace and Garnett at the same time or put Pierce on Odom. Going big like that seems like a no brainer to me. If the Celtics go big, they have to sit Rondo, Pierce or Allen. That's one less scorer unless they sit Rondo. If they sit Rondo, the Celtics can't run in transition as effectively and there's more work for Pierce or Allen bringing up the ball, especially if Fisher and/or Kobe pressure the ball. Plus, no matter what the Lakers decide, the Celtics can't use Tony Allen on Kobe unless they're willing to make things tougher on their other offensive players.

X-factor 2 for the Lakers: Kobe. I see Kobe as the second X-factor since he may see an absolutely dominating performance in a Game 7 against the Celtics as a way to cement his legacy. Simply winning should be enough for him but it may not be. The smart play is to try see if the Lakers can use the matchups to their advantage, racking up points and/or fouls, and having having the offense revolve around Kobe a little less. I may be way off base but I think there's at least a decent chance that he'll try to do more than he needs to. Then again, he's Kobe Bryant, and if he's on then that might work just as well for the Lakers as exploiting matchups.

Biggest question for Celtics: How will they defend the Lakers bigs? If they can't do a decent job against the Lakers bigs, they're looking at a less than jovial flight home.

Biggest keys for the Celtics: A big game from either Pierce or Ray Allen and a smarter game from Rondo. The Celtics need one of their scorers to step up and they need Rondo to do a much better job running the offense. He made too many lazy and/or ill-advised passes on drives and attempted too many wild shots on drives, trying to get enough English on the ball to use the glass from bad angles.

X-factor 1 for the Celtics: Rasheed Wallace. This is exactly the type of situation they signed him for, looking for him to help out when they need him in a big game. Can he play solid defense, rebound and help a little on offense for thirty five minutes?

X-factor 2 for the Celtics: Scalabrine. And yes, I'm completely serious. I don't think the Celtics can expect to go with just Garnett, Wallace and Davis as their bigs. Shelden Williams was absolutely atrocious in Game 6. I have more faith in Scalabrine than Williams. He's not as athletic as any of the Lakers bigs and couldn't shut any one of them down if they're on their game, but he plays smarter defense than he's usually given credit for and might be effective for a small stretch here or there, especially if Kobe's in hero mode. Scalabrine must be beyond rusty, but he also has more offensive upside than Williams if he can knock down a three. Frightening thought, Scalabrine being a potential X-factor for the Celtics.

Deja Vu All Over Again?

Wow.

A lot of the Sox fans out here in Seattle took over the Owl & Thistle last night for Game 6. We couldn't get the back room at our usual haunt (Spitfire) and the owner of the Owl & Thistle is a Sox fan, so it was the best available fallback option. It was a better backup option than TBS'. We turned on TBS expecting to see the pregame, only to find Bloopers and Practical Jokes, followed by the Steve Harvey Show. I had to call my Dad to make sure we were on the right channel. Then Mom called to keep me up to date with Crisp reaching and then getting picked off. Thankfully, a few people had their internet-enabled cell phones pointing at the mlb.com web site so we knew about Upton's home run before the TBS broadcast resumed.

My biggest hope for the game was to see Beckett channel Pedro back in Game 5 of the '99 ALDS, to just gut and guile it out without his best stuff. I figured if he could just keep the Rays at bay for five innings or so...maybe we could force a Game 7. I smiled as the TBS announcers made a comment about Pedro's performance in that playoff game later in the inning.

What the hell is going on with the TBS announcers, by the way? I know they're not technically Rays announcers, but it sure seems like it. Even the on screen graphics seem a bit slanted. When the Rays have a runner on first, we're treated to tidbits about the number of stolen bases by the Rays or that player. When the Red Sox have a runner on first, the graphics point out how many double plays the batter has hit into. When Beckett took the mound for the bottom of the third after Youuuuuuk's second RBI, TBS showed a graphic saying that Beckett had been given four leads so far in the playoffs and had given the lead back in the next half inning each time. I was half expecting a graphic when Francona was on camera saying that he didn't support the troops.

The only pitcher to cough up a lead last night was "Big Game" James Shields, and on the very first batter. I'm at a complete loss as to how he got his nickname. I even looked up Shields' stats, figuring that maybe he'd pitched with another team and had won a big game. Nope. He's now 0-2 in his the two biggest games of his career. Maybe someone with the Rays was a Lakers fan back in the 80's and tried to re-use James Worthy's nickname to build up Shields' confidence. That's the only possible explanation.

Speaking of someone who needed a confidence builder, how about 'Tek? I hope the Sox brass re-signs him for two years, that he gets his batting average back up over .260 and that the Sox manage to come up with a prospect to try to fill his shoes once he's ready to hang them up.

The Sox bullpen did quite the job, not giving up a hit for the next four innings. I'm still having trouble believing that Okajima got through two innings. I really expected Tito to go with Delcarmen for the seventh, especially the bottom of the Rays' lineup was due up that inning. Masterson looks great when he remembers to slow down, breathe and throw strikes. Papelbon sounds exhausted according to quotes in the Globe sports page, but the Rays' batters looked like the ones who were exhausted in the ninth.

And the Sox have forced another Game 7. Mercy.

Game 5 - Live From Imperial Lanes in Seattle

One thing you can say about the Sox - they're rarely boring.

I watched the early innings of Game 5 at an Irish pub before heading out to my bowling night. No, I hadn't given up when it was 5-0. Hell no. I got to bowling a little early, talked to the folks in charge and got them to put TBS on the monitors over a couple empty lanes. Then I bribed three teams to make sure my team was next to those monitors.

People kept coming over to check on the score. A couple of those people had Red Sox gear on. Other people near my lane asked how many of them were bandwagoners and drew some icy stares in return. Right after Paps gave up the double to make it 7-0, a bowler on one of the other teams (who had just helped finish off a pitcher of beer I'd provided as part of the lane shift) started flipping me shit about the game. "It's early yet" was all I said.

I'd love to say I *knew* the Sox would come back and win the game when it was 7-0. All I could do was hope. "If Pedroia can just knock in a run, maybe that'll start something..." "If Papi can take Balfour deep, then it's a three run game..."

After Papi's home run, I walked past the other lanes, finding the Sox fans and giving a couple quick updates. More and more people came over to check the monitors, heading back to their lanes only when it was their turn to bowl. Gimme spares were missed. Drew homered to make it a one run game. Crisp knocked in the tying run but ended the inning trying to take second. My cell phone buzzed again. Dad. We were both a little shocked, a little giddy and a little angry by Crisp's aggressiveness on the basepaths, but we figured you cut a guy a little slack for coming through with the hit there.

By the time Masterson got Pena to ground into a double play and the Sox ninth was kept alive by a bad throw by Longoria, most of the teams had finished bowling for the night. The Sox fans headed to the bar area where we watched JD Drew's game ending ground rule single. The bar area erupted. My cell phone buzzed and my Dad and I celebrated together despite the distance. I headed back to my lane, finished my string and let my thoughts drift to something I hadn't expected. Game 6.

The Texas Con Man

The Clemens / Mitchell report brouhaha fascinates me.

My initial reaction to the Mitchell report was skeptical. Although I'll admit that I enjoyed seeing a lot of Yankees players listed in the report, it also bugged me that someone affiliated with the Red Sox was in charge of the report. I didn't want the perception that specific teams were singled out while others were protected. The night before the Mitchell report came out, I remember dreading the thought of seeing Big Papi listed in the report. No one wants something like that to taint happy memories.

I believe that a good percentage of players have been using steroids and/or HGH. I'm no Mitchell report expert. I've read articles and summaries but haven't tried to wade my way through the actual report. What really surprised me was that a lot of what was in the report was such hearsay and could really affect how players were perceived. The link to Brian Roberts was the one that seemed most tenuous. Did anyone really believe that Brian Roberts (Brian Roberts?!?) had used steroids? Whoops! Apparently, he has. Roberts admitted that he'd used steroids once.

Personally, I think that players who used them should (and likely will) have a tougher time getting into the Hall of Fame. I don't care that they were competing against other players using performance enhancing drugs. Does anyone look back at Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox and say "Gambling was rampant and a lot of players probably fixed games at some point. What if we just look at their careers prior to the 1919 World Series?" The tough part can be determining where to draw the line. Do you think that the player's performance was affected by the drugs and/or did the player's decision to use the drugs affect the integrity of the game?

I have less of an issue with players that used steroids or HGH to recover from an injury. Yes, it's against the rules. Players who get caught doing this should receive an appropriate suspension. Yes, Rodney Harrison comes to mind. Andy Pettitte comes to mind, too, but we'll get back to him in a bit. I don't think that simply having used steroids and/or HGH to recover from an injury warrants keeping a player out of the Hall of Fame. It's still a gray area for me, but I don't lump "one time" offenders in with players who have been on doping schedules for years.

When Clemens' name appeared in the Mitchell report, I was surprised. Long before the Mitchell report, a good friend of mine sent me a link to an article that talked about steroid rumors and wondered why Clemens had gotten a free pass since much of the suspicion around Bonds stemmed from the dramatic improvement late in his career. The article pointed to Clemens' last four years with the Red Sox and then the resurgence with the Blue Jays and Yankees in the "twilight of his career" and wondered why Clemens' performance wasn't treated with more of a skeptical eye.

Admittedly, I have my own biases as a Red Sox fan. Most Red Sox fans' recollection of Clemens during those last four years was that he simply wasn't in shape. He perceived the Red Sox' contract offer as a slight, took the biggest offer he received in that offseason (despite repeatedly saying he could only imagine himself pitching for a team from his home state of Texas and could never pitch against the Red Sox, so he was pretty sure if he left that he'd go to Houston), worked out like a madman and was dominant once again. I'm guessing that, like most Red Sox fans, I watched him pitch in Toronto and said "This is how he should have been pitching with the Sox". In my mind, Clemens was simply back. All it took was some extra cash and extra motivation.

When Clemens first pitched against the Sox in Fenway and stared up at Duquette's seats after pitching a masterpiece, I was actually pleased for him. In his second season in Toronto, my opinion started to shift. Where had this guy been for the last few years? Of course, when he demanded a trade to the Yankees, all bets were off. Wiping his sweat onto Babe Ruth's monument at Yankee Stadium, his constant announcements about how retired/unretired he is on any given day, announcing his nth comeback over the Jumbotron from George Steinbrenner's private box, etc. all affected my opinion of him.

With all that said, I was still surprised to see Clemens not just listed on the Mitchell report, but as one of the second most frequently referenced player in the report behind Barry Bonds. The information in the report seemed a little iffy until Pettitte admitted that McNamee had injected him with HGH in 2002. Combine this startling announcement with the fact that McNamee can go to jail if he lied and the questions in my mind went from "What is McNamee's motivation to point the finger at Clemens?" to "Why would McNamee tell the truth about Pettitte's use of HGH but lie about Clemens?"

All of Clemens' bluster in the past couple weeks has only made him look more guilty. It's all so staged. Put out a press release about how upset you are and how you've hired OJ Simpson's private investigators to uncover the truth. Do an emotional nationally aired interview with your favorite reporter lobbing you softball questions. (Given how crying seemed to change New Hampshire's opinion of Hilary Clinton, maybe Roger should have chosen Barbara Walters to handle the interview so she could get him to cry.) Record conversations with your "friend" and try to get him to slip up. Play the recording to the press and make believe it helps prove your point. Get visibly upset when talking to reporters, wonder why no one gives you the benefit of the doubt given how true you've always been to your word and claim you don't care about the Hall of Fame. File a lawsuit. Stay on the offensive.

I'm really looking forward to the Senate hearings. Actually, it's not so much the hearings themselves I'm interested. It's the aftermath. I fully expect Clemens and McNamee will each tell their side of the story. He said / she said. They'll each look bad but neither will say they've lied. Which means that at least one of them is lying under oath. We know how well that's received. The Senate will release the hounds on both of them until they uncover something that proves that one of them is lying. That's no skin off McNamee's nose since he already goes to jail if he lied.

It's Clemens who is upping the stakes now, but only for himself. It's all he can do to try to salvage his image. But maybe while Congress is rescheduling hearings, Clemens should ask Bonds how much he's been enjoying the investigation that followed his denials before Congress and whether trying to salvage his image was worth it.

Catching Up On The Boston Sports Scene

The Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots are riding a collective twenty two game win streak. As Ned Martin would say, "Mercy".


The Red Sox:

I was impressed by how many people turned out for the World Series parade given the timing (twenty four hours notice for a Tuesday noon parade) and I was thrilled to be able to fly home and attend the parade with my Mom. We even stopped at Taco Bell for our free Tacos on the way home afterwards. Thanks, Jacoby!

There was a woman just in front of us in line who, after standing in line for about ten minutes, turned and asked me what a taco was. I explained the general concept to her - crunchy vs. soft, etc. My Mom and I stayed an extra couple minutes to witness this woman take a bite from her first before leaving. In case any Taco Bell executives are reading this blog (Are there actual readers?) the woman opted for the soft taco and seemed to enjoy it. It's safe to say Taco Bell now has some new loyal customers in the Boston area as a result of the marketing campaign. There was even a television crew that set up shop for a good thirty seconds to get footage of the people in line.

I love the Schilling signing, an obvious win-win for both the Red Sox and for Schilling.

I try to remember to trust in Theo, since he made the right call by not matching bad contract offers to Pedro or Damon, but I dread the thought of Cashman talking to Mike Lowell and his agent, quietly nodding his head and saying "Sounds great. In fact, we'll even give you an extra $1M per year. I won't keep you long. The offer's good for the next five minutes. Sure, I think I have a pen around here somewhere. What? Oh. Today's the 19th." I believe Lowell when he says he wants to stay with the Sox but if the Yankees guarantee a fourth year and offer more per year than the Sox (and if I were Cashman, that's exactly what I'd do) then for Lowell to re-sign with the Sox would involve leaving $15-$20M on the table. It's tough to imagine he'd turn that down. I don't believe the reports from New York where Cashman has said he assumes Lowell will re-sign with the Sox. In fact, I expect to keep checking ESPN's site on a semi-regular basis with some dread until Lowell eventually signs a contract with someone. If that surprises you, you don't understand Red Sox fans.


The Celtics:

I was able to catch the second half of the Celtics v. Nets game recently. It's fun to watch the Celtics moving the ball around. Plus it's amazing to watch Garnett's infectious intensity and passion for the game. He was one of my favorite players to watch when he was with the Timberwolves and I'm still amazed that he's playing for the Celtics.

The team is just so much more fun to watch now, and not just because they're winning. When the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference finals a few years ago, I paid attention but wasn't able to enjoy watching the team play. Jim O'Brien got the most out of that team and got them to fight hard, but watching the team on offense was generally painful with far too many isolations and ball hogging. I still have flashbacks of Antoine Walker, who was a great passer when he remembered to pass, deciding that he was going to score in a way that was obvious to everyone in the building, including the defense, eventually going one-on-four before coughing the ball up or putting up an ugly shot.

This team is a lot more fun to watch because they're taking pride in distributing the ball. I believe Paul Pierce is a great player and that winning is more important to him than points, but he's never struck me as being a vocal leader. He's more likely to lead by example. To have Garnett on the team wanting to win, constantly preaching "team", backing it up with his passion, his general approach and helping the team win makes an enormous difference. I'm excited to try to catch a game while I'm home for Christmas. In fact, I'm going to try to change my flight back to Seattle so I can get back in time to see the game in Seattle. I haven't seen a Celtics game in Seattle since the days of Dino Radja, back in that one season that the Sonics played in the fabulous Tacoma Dome.


The Patriots:

It's fun watching the Patriots these days. The Patriots' brass deserves a lot of credit for upgrading (egregious understatement) the wide receivers and rightly so, but I would have expected that it would take a while for the passing game to gel because of the complete turnover at the position. Granted, that's based on my vast experience playing Nerf football at recess, so there's a chance I'm off a bit here. However, it is nice to see that Brady is now getting credit for more than just being a quarterback who "operates well in the system". In the Patriots first Super Bowl run, Brady seemed better known for throwing screen passes and not making mistakes rather than being a "great quarterback". It's nice to see him get credit for more than just being the quarterback on a winning team.

The Patriots hate also fascinates me. Simply put, I think that football fans had already had enough of the Patriots winning before this year started. I think that we (collectively) get tired of anyone winning constantly. Toss in the Red Sox' recent success and the Celtics sudden re-entrance into the NBA elite and there are a lot of people tired of happy Boston sports fans. I was tired of watching Jordan win NBA titles and kept hoping someone else would beat the Bulls back when they were on top. Much as I appreciated Jordan, seeing him win was getting old. I wanted to see Barkley or Malone finally get a ring instead of seeing Jordan win his sixth. I'm assuming most people who aren't Patriots fans were happy to see Manning finally win a Super Bowl. The Colts were now the top dog in the AFC and the Patriots run was over.

Except that it wasn't. And not only was the Patriots run not over, they'd addressed one of their biggest weaknesses by picking up a player who has a bad image in a deal that felt like the Yankees overpaying for the most expensive free agent in a way that no other team could. Add to that the videotaping scandal and the odd way the NFL handled it by asking for more evidence after issuing the initial punishment and then destroying that evidence while being rather evasive about what they found. Add to that mix Harrison testing positive for HGH and Belichick's general pleasant nature and snappy dressing and penchant for running up the score and kicking puppies and... We have ourselves the first "villain" team since the "glory" days of Al Davis' Raiders.

Except that they're not. The Patriots could not go simply outspend small market teams like the Yankees, Knicks, New York Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, or (tough as it is to admit) Red Sox could to acquire a player Moss because of the NFL's hard salary cap. In fact, they underpaid for him since Moss restructured his contract and took a pay cut to get out of Oakland. Feel free to hate Moss if you think he wasn't playing his hardest in Oakland, but the Patriots aren't to "blame" for picking him up. Brett Favre lobbied hard for Green Bay to get Moss and if Brett Favre had his way, Moss would be a Packer right now. Had that happened, I think the Packers would be getting some "win one more for Favre before he retires" love instead of the reaction the Patriots have gotten for the signing.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the sideline camera videotaping the opposing defense's signals leaves a bad taste in my mouth because I don't want to think teams I support need to resort to shenanigans like that. But I think it's a little much to imply that the Patriots videotaping the Jets defensive signals in the first half of the first game gave them a competitive advantage in that or any other game this year. The Patriots were penalized a first round draft pick based on the actions in that game alone. The NFL asked for other material gained by videotaping after issuing that punishment and decided no additional punishment was necessary. So, according to the NFL, the Patriots did nothing outside of that game that warranted punishment.

Seeing a player on the Steelers (was it Hines Ward?) say that now that he thinks about it...it was a little odd that the Patriots seemed to know what the Steelers offense was going to do in a playoff game five years ago is silly when you consider that the Patriots were recording defensive signals. Hearing Shula say that the Patriots legacy is tainted because they were penalized for an act so serious that they're losing a first round pick is comical when you consider that Shula's Dolphins were forced to forfeit a first round draft pick by breaking NFL rules by negotiating to hire Shula while he was still under contract with the Colts. Classic.

Harrison tested positive for HGH and was suspended according to the league rules. No Patriots fan I know thinks it was OK for Harrison to take HGH, but you don't see constant backlash against the Chargers organization because of Shawn Merriman using HGH. Treat Harrison the same way all other offenders have been treated. Except, unlike Merriman, don't vote him to the Pro Bowl.

The real focus of hate for the Patriots, beyond people simply being tired of them winning, is Belichick. He's far from the only non-likable coach around. The videotaping scandal didn't help his general image, but I think the bigger issue people have with them is how the Patriots have closed out games this year. They're winning big, scoring a lot of points and may set some records along the way, but the bigger concern seems to be the Patriots running up the score when the game is already decided.

Thinking purely of the scores of the Patriots games this year, I'll been a little embarrassed, at least initially. In fact, while watching the Cowboys game, I wanted the Patriots to take a knee or settle for a field goal late in the game rather than trying to run for a touchdown. The intense hate the Patriots have gotten as a result, especially when voiced by a couple close friends, made me think about the situation more closely. I've read articles and blogs on both sides - some logical, some passionate. I wasn't surprised to read that there were a number of parallels to recent teams (including the classy Colts a couple years) that had blown out teams in stretches like the Patriots had, but without the intense hate, but that's beside the point. In my mind, the point is more Machiavellian. The more I see out of the Patriots, the more I feel I understand Belichick's motivation in those situations, and I don't mean that in the sense that his motivation is to tell the rest of the league "screw you" or to try to consistently beat the spread. Here's what I see better now in hindsight.

The Patriots have brought their backup QB into games early in the fourth quarter when the games looked well in hand. That could be a sign of respect (i.e. not further running up the score) a way to get Cassel some reps or simply a way to rest Brady. In the Miami game, the Pats defense struggled and Cassel gave up a pick returned for a touchdown and suddenly the game wasn't so much in hand with 10+ minutes to go, especially given the fact that the Patriots couldn't run the ball. Brady came back in, threw a quick touchdown and things were back "in control". I couldn't find a game log to confirm this, but I seem to remember Cassel coming back in to finish that game. I'm sure Belichick would like to get Cassel some more reps before next year's pre-season, but Cassel has proven he can get the other team back into the game in a flash, which may make Belichick think twice (or more) before inserting him into a game that early again.

The Patriots don't have the running game they had in previous years. Even before Morris got hurt, this team struggled to run the ball. In traditional running situations, the Patriots pass the ball out of necessity, not disdain. Last year the Patriots could grind out first downs late in the game by having Corey Dillon bowl people over, especially in situations where they needed a yard or two to keep the drive and the clock moving. Regardless of whether Maroney isn't that type of runner or the offensive line isn't as effective, the Patriots don't have the ability to overpower the defense and pick up the two or three yards they need. When they're faced with a third and two and they need a first down, you don't typically see them running the ball even if they're trying to close out a game.

I mentioned earlier that I was a little embarrassed to see the Patriots giving the ball to Eckel for the touchdown late in the Cowboys game. I expected the Pats to bring out the field goal unit on fourth down or just take a knee at that point to hand the ball back to the Cowboys. But now that Morris is done for the year, the Patriots are probably one running back injury away from having to rely on Eckel in a close game which is even more important when you remember that Maroney has had problems staying healthy. Maybe getting Eckel a couple touches in a safe situation is something that means he'll be more in synch with the offensive line when the Pats need him to pick up a couple yards in the red zone or on a key third down late in the game. Or maybe the Pats coaches have a better sense for what plays put Eckel in the best position to pick up those yards.

The Patriots defense is strong, but it may not be as strong as it has been in previous years. Given how Addai seemed to tear holes through the Patriots' defensive line in the first three quarters of the Colts game, I was shocked that the Colts didn't go to him more often in the fourth quarter, especially since I thought Addai's running was the biggest reason the Colts beat the Pats in the AFC title game last year. The Patriots' cornerbacks still make me nervous and I still think Asante Samuel is terribly overrated. When the Colts got the ball back after the Patriots took the lead, I had awful mental images of Manning torching the Patriots' secondary right up until he coughed up the ball to seal the game. As last year's AFC game showed, this defense can give up a big lead if they have to stay on the field for a prolonged period of time, which is more likely to happen when you can't run the ball effectively. That's especially true when the defense is missing key players like Harrison and Seymour, guys they were missing for the first six games of the year.

Prior to the Colts game, the Patriots had not had to play hard in the fourth quarter. We've all seen teams, usually at the college level, who are untested since they've played a creampuff schedule suddenly look out of sorts in their first close contest of the year. Is there a chance that the Patriots playing hard late in other games enabled them to be less winded in the fourth quarter of the Colts game when they needed a comeback?

So, you have a team with and minimal ability to pick up a first down on the ground in situations where that's what everyone expects them to do and a less-than-elite defense. Obvious solution: Throw the ball and score a lot of points.

The more I see who the Patriots are, the less of a problem I have with them throwing the ball or in getting a backup running back touches in the red zone when some might say they already have "enough points". Are there limits to this view? Of course. I don't want to see the Patriots going for an onside kick while up twenty-some-odd points like an NCAA team did recently. But if the Patriots are up seventeen with the ball at the start of the fourth quarter, I don't expect to see them effectively ensure a three and out by trying to run Maroney three straight times.

I don't blame other fans for seeing things differently, since I'm sure I would if the situations were reversed. I also don't blame other coaches for complaining, especially when coaches look for any "us against the world" motivational edge. In fact, I fully expect Belichick is using all the Patriots hate to further motivate the team.

But getting back to the whole running up the score issue... Maybe, just maybe, this is a situation where a coach who knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl (something you don't have the opportunity to do in most seasons) knows that playing hard in the fourth quarter in a game whose outcome already appears decided isn't about making a statement in that game but is more about making sure the team is prepared to win in games later in the season.

Or maybe as a Pats fan, that's just how I choose to perceive the situation.