Wow, a lot has changed in the last 24 hours. Last we knew, Manny Ramirez was contemplating a two year $45 million offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the only team bidding for his services. Not only that but this offer has been on the table since mid November. As the market has dried up and teams are searching for bargain basement prices for proven stars, Manny's stance hasn't changed. He's still looking for a four or five year deal at $25 million at year. Yeah, I knew he was crazy when he played in Boston but apparently he's moved on to completely insane, too.
Overnight, the Dodgers began wising up, offered Manny a one year deal for $25 million and gave him a 48 hour deadline to accept or reject the offer. He took about 8.6 seconds to reject the offer. Gotta love Manny. While the rest of America is in the worst economic slump since the Great Depression and players like Jason Varitek, Jon Garland, Andy Pettite and others are taking huge paycuts, Manny is sticking by his original contract demand of at least four years. Meanwhile, guys like Adam Dunn, Kenn Griffey Jr. and Bobby Abreu can't even get minor league deals and an invitation to spring training.
But the beauty of it all is that this sets Manny up to be totally screwed in the next few weeks. The only team that appears to be remotely interested is only making a one year offer. The other team that has shown marginal interest are the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have no one else to hit on their team and Manny would surely loaf after about three games in the Bay Area.
A few weeks ago I sort of lazily predicted that Manny would end up with the Kansas City Royals for around nine million next year. Right now, that doesn't seem so crazy.
According to the Boston Globe, Jason Varitek finally agreed to sign with the Red Sox today for one year and an option for the second year. Like there was ever any doubt. Where else would a 37 year old catcher coming off of a year in which he hit .220 go? I wrote last week how dumb Varitek and snake agent Scott Boras were for turning down arbitration where he would have likely made around $11 million next year alone. If Varitek plays out both years for the Sox and makes the full value of the contract, he'll basically be making the same amount in two years that he would have made in just one year had he accepted arbitration.
Do I love this move? Not really. I would have liked to have seen the Sox cut ties with him and go out and sign a younger guy for less money. I have no doubt that Varitek contributed to the Red Sox winning two World Series title this decade but let's face it: aging catchers don't get better and last year was probably the beginning of the end for Varitek. So what are we in for this year? Is he going to be worse than last year, especially now that he's basically playing for less money? I'm not a betting man but even I'd put a little money on him being worse next year.
I also hate the argument that says that the pitching staff would suffer if we didn't have Varitek. Did anyone ever think that maybe they'd be better with someone else calling games? Maybe Daisuke Matsuzaka wouldn't walk so many people with someone else calling the shots or maybe Josh Beckett would be more consistent. But those arguments are never mentioned, only that the pitching staff would fall apart without Varitek. So the Captain is back for at least another year and while I'm glad that he's back, I'll be the first one to boo him if he can't get his average above the Mendoza line next year.
Oh, and do you think that Boras should be making any commission off of this deal, knowing that Varitek should have accepted arbitration and be making $11 million?
There's been a lot going on in the baseball world the last few weeks that has me jacked and pumped for the start of spring training. Yeah, there have been a ton of free agent signings recently but I'm more interested in what hasn't happened than in what has happened. Here's a snapshot of what's gone down lately:
The Red Sox held a private meeting with free agent catcher Jason Varitek in Atlanta a few days ago, without his agent, Scott Boras. The Red Sox have soured on Boras this offseason because of the Mark Teixeira dealing and now are trying to work on a deal with Varitek that doesn't involve Boras. Here's the thing- Boras told Varitek to decline arbitration, where the captain would have made $10-11 million next year and also stayed with the Sox. By declining arbitration, Varitek screwed himself. There is no other market for an aging catcher who can't do anything but call a decent game. I wouldn't mind seeing Varitek come back but the deal has to be $3-4 million for a year with incentives. Remember, this is a guy who hit .222 last year and can't even catch the knuckball.
And speaking of Boras, in addition to screwing Varitek, he has also screwed Manny Ramirez, not that there's anything wrong with that. Since Ramirez already had a contract with the Red Sox when Ramirez hired Boras, the slimy agent wasn't earning any commission on his contract. So Boras did the only thing he knows how to do- he got Ramirez to shoot his way out of town and then lit up the weak National League West the last half of the year in an attempt to get a five year, $125 deal. Since Boras helped Teixeira land in New York, they dropped out of the running for Ramirez, essentially leaving the so called greatest right handed hitter of our time without a team less than a month from spring training. Had Teixeira signed with the Red Sox, the Yankees almost certainly would have gone hard after Ramirez. Now the only team that has shown any interest in him are the Dodgers, where the two year, $45 million offer may or may not be on the table. And let's not forget that Ramirez was already slated to make $40 million over the next two years had he not shot his way out of Boston. It would give me imense pleasure to see Ramirez sign on with some team that has no shot of making the post season for less than what he would have made in Boston. You think he was a headache before this debacle? Wait until he's playing in Kansas City for $9 million a year.
And speaking of things that couldn't happen to a nicer guy, there are now reports that the once glorified Pedro Martinez is in contract talks with none other than the Pittsburgh Pirates. So Petey has gone from winning the World Series in 2004 with the Red Sox and pretty much having the keys to the city to signing a lucrative $53 million deal with the New York Mets where he posted a record of 32-23 over four years to now having to negotiate with the Pirates who want to pay him $5 million to pitch for their crappy team. This is almost too good to be true. Stay tuned for more Pedro the Pirate talk!
One last baseball note that I wanted to hit on, as well. After two years of pretty much dismal play, one in Atlanta and one in Los Angeles, the Dodgers recently released their so called slugger Andruw Jones, even though they still owe him more than $22 million. While the Dodgers are at fault for singing him to this ridiculous contract, I wish that Major League Baseball were more like the NFL in this regard. There are few guaranteed contracts in football and it works to the league's advantage not to have overpriced players playing at a low level, allowing teams to bring in other players to stay under the salary cap. Their system isn't perfect either but it sure beats having to pay players like Mike Hampton, Carl Pavano and Darren Dreifort untold millions when they can't even get on the field.
After a busy week signing roll players, the Red Sox also reached a deal with first baseman Kevin Youkilis on a 4 year, $41 million contract. Wait, is that right? It's only $41 million? Really? That seems like a bargain for a guy who batted .312, had 29 home runs, 115 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .569 and an OPS of .958.
Let's compare that to the 8 year, $180 deal that Mark Teixeira signed with the Yankees a few weeks agao. Last year, Teixeira batted .308, had 33 home runs, 121 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .552 and an OPS of .962. So essentially, Teixeira and Youkilis are the same player if you base it on numbers. Yet Youkilis just signed a deal for half the years and half the money. And the deal got done in one day, as opposed to the soap opera that Teixeira created.
Let's not forget that Youkilis also set the record for most consecutive errorless games (238) and chances (2,002) for a first basemen last year and had a .996 fielding percentage.
But you know what I like the most about this contract- Youk wants to play here. There was never any other thought. This was one of those bizarre circumstances where it's really not about the money. Youk even says it in the clip below- what good is an extra million a year going to do for him? It's about playing in front of die hard Red Sox fans screaming your name and going nuts when you come up to bat or make a nice play in the field. It's not about what uniform your wife thinks you'd look good in. It's about winning championships and Youk's already got two.
Last week, I wrote a little about what it means for the Yankees to have seemingly won the winter. Well, I'm here today to tell you that I'm not so sure that the Yankees have even won the winter. I mean, did the Red Sox sneak up and win this offseason while the Yankees were too busy writing checks? Only time will tell but the combined price tag for all of the players the Red Sox have signed in the last week is about what the Yankees are going to pay Mark Teixeira next year.
The biggest news is that the Red Sox have signed consumate professional and post season star John Smoltz. For all of the failures of the Braves teams of the 1990s, Smoltz was among the lone bright stars compiling one of the best won loss records of all time. I know he'll be 42 next year and is coming off of shoulder surgery but I like this signing.
Another signing that I like is Brad Penny. When healthy he's been among the best in all of baseball. He came to Boston for relatively cheap money and if he can give us 12-15 wins I'd be happy.
Next up for the Red Sox is New England native Rocco Baldelli. I like this signing for no other reason than they gave him number 5, Nomar's old number. Baldelli will fit perfectly as an extra outfielder and his speed will be a huge bonus to the team next year.
Another signing that I'm jacked and pumped about is the addition of Takashi Saito. Here's another guy who has flourished in Los Angeles the last few years relatively unnoticed around MLB. He'll replace Mike Timlin and will be the key link between the starters and Hideki Okajima. One other reason I like this signing is that I think he'll add another level of comfort for fellow countrymen Daisuke Matsuzaka and Okajima.
The last guy I'm going to take a look at is Mark Kotsay. He was a key contributor down the stretch last year, as well as in the playoffs. He can play the corner infield positions as well as all three outfield spots. Between Mike Lowell's unkown status and JD Drew being a complete wuss, I wouldn't mind see Kotsay get 400 at bats next year. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if he were starting by the end of the year.
The thing that I like about all of these signings is that they all wanted to come to Boston and I believe that they all had offers for more money elsewhere but they chose to play here. Contrast that with CC Sabathia's hesitation to sign in New York and Teixeira waiting it out until the last minute before having his wife decide where he should play. The guys that the Yankees have signed this offseason are going to New York for the money. The guys that Red Sox signed this offseason are coming to Boston to win championships.
Well, the Baseball Hall of Fame finally wised up and elected Jim Ed Rice to the Hall of Fame on his 15th and final try. I think that Rice is one of those players who actually benefit from the steroids era because it appears that none of those players will make it, even those with better lifetime numbers than Rice. Hello, Mark McGuire. For a solid decade, Rice was the most feared hitter in all of baseball and played a nearly flawless left field. He ended his 16 year career with 2,452 hits, 382 home runs and a .298 lifetime average.
While he was never a media darling (and I have my own story), it's important to remember that he should be judged for his performance on the field and not off the field, where he is to this day one of the most unapproached people in all of baseball. At least he's as consistent off the field as he was on it.
Well, it seems as though Mother Nature is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. She just doesn't want to see the Philadelphia Phillies or the Tampa Bay Rays win the World Series, knocking the Red Sox out of their rightful spot as the best team in baseball.
And kudos to the Red Sox for knowing that this World Series was going to be an absolute mess. Between the horrible officiating (which MLB has apologized for, twice), delayed start times, record low television numbers and the abysmal playing conditions, the Sox must have seen this one coming and let the Rays beat them in game 7. It's the only rational explanation of why the Sox lost that game. And is Barack Obama really that powerful that he can push back the start of a baseball game just so his half hour commercial can air tonight? Apparently he is.
Anyway, to all the Rays and Phillies fans out there, have fun watching the three inning game tonight or whenever Mother Nature decides to let play resume.
Well, this isn't going quite as well as I would have hoped for at this point in the series. I'll admit, I was wrong about my prediction of Sox in six. In fact, I even revised my prediction to Sox in five after seeing T shirts announcing that the Rays took down Red Sox nation before the series even began. Boy was I wrong about that one.
But I wasn't wrong about who's going to win this series, just the number of games it will take. I guess we'll have to settle for Sox in seven. And really, the only disappointing thing is that Jon Lester won't be able to pitch game one of the World Series after pitching game seven of the ALCS.
The scary thing about what's taking place is that I don't see the Rays going anywhere in the foreseeable future. This doesn't appear to be a fluky year for them like some teams have had in recent years. They have a lot of young, talented players who are under contract for very little money, as well as a decent pitching staff to go along with it- at least their pitching looks good when you have players like JD Drew swinging at pitches two feet off the plate.
Anyway, if the Rays weren't completely demolishing my favorite baseball team, I might actually like this team, especially their manager, Joe Madden. He looks amazingly like the character in the movie Falling Down right down to the glasses. It's sort of uncanny the way that Michael Douglas' character in the movie goes berserck and the Rays are going berserck on the Sox. I might actually have to add that one to my Netflix list:
Here are just a few quick thoughts on the Boston Massacre that's taken place over the last three games while wondering if the Red Sox have the Rays right where they want them:
The only reason you need to know about the Sox losing three straight to the Rays is that their starting pitching has given up 17 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings for an ERA of 12.08. And they did it all while giving up eight homers and 28 baserunners. That's a pretty amazing feat for less than 13 innings of work. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought that was Matt Clement's pitching line for the last year he was with Boston.
Another major factor has been hitting: Jacoby Ellsbury is 0 for the series, and the Red Sox are 0 for the leadoff spot. David Ortiz broke out of an 0-14 slump by hitting a triple last night. . . when the score was 11-1. Is Little Papi even capable of hitting it the opposite way to avoid the ridiculous shift they put on him? After the game, Ortiz was quoted as saying that "we need to stop their defense." He was clearly getting loaded up on the Jack Daniels a little early when he made that comment because I have no clue what that means. Here's an idea, though: how about not throwing the ball right down the middle of the plate so that mediocre players can hit it over the Mass Pike 500 feet away.
And if this does turn out to be the end of their run to the World Series, Jason Varitek is finishing his Red Sox career in an 0 for 195 streak. That last stat might actually be accurate considering that I don't even remember the last time he got a hit. I don't care how well he handles the pitching staff, it's time time for him to move on in the offseason.
And speaking of moving on, even if the Red Sox reach the World Series, last night had to be Tim Wakefield's last start in a Red Sox uniform. At 42, I just don't see bringing him back for another start, let alone another year. This is a guy who has been a terrific starting pitcher for a long time for the Red Sox but his career postseason record of 5-6 with a 6.75 ERA just isn't good enough anymore.
And speaking of moving on (part deux), there was a reason that Mike Timlin was left off of the first round playoff roster. It's because the guy is old and hasn't been able to get anyone out the entire year. He's another player that has serviced this team well over the year's but it's time for him to move on, as well. And when I say move on, I mean retire.
And just in case this situation looks very familiar, it should. Let's revisit some recent history:
You know one of the only things I remember about all of those history classes I took growing up? It's that history is bound to repeat itself. So I'm revising my pick once again. Sox in seven even though I have no confidence that Big Papi could be a starting DH on a softball team at this point in the year, let alone the starting DH in the ALCS.
I didn't even bother doing a first round playoff preview because it seemed like such a waste of time. Not only are the Angels approaching the Cubs in terms of playoff meltdowns but the Red Sox eliminating the Angels from the playoffs is just like the leaves changing colors- it happens every year. After falling behind 0-2, did you really think that the Angels were going to win three straight against the defending World Series Champions, two of which were in Boston? Yeah, didn't think so.
I will say this about the clinching game last night: if featured two of the dumbest managerial moves I've seen since the days of Grady Little. First, Terry Francona pulls Jon Lester after seven phenomenal innings only to see his bullpen cough up two runs to tie it at two heading into the ninth. I know that Lester had thrown over 100 pitches but he was lights out. Unless his arm was falling off, I'd have liked to see him at least go out for the eight. If he gives up a hit or two then pull him but to bring in Hideki Heart Attack Okajima in that game is insane.
Not to be outdone, Mike Scoscia has the go ahead run on third base in the ninth inning with one out, the batter has a 2-0 count and Manny DelCarmen can't find the strike zone. What does the Angels manager do- calls the suicide squeeze. In a tie game. Of the divisional playoffs. In a game you have to win. With a batter who hit .111 for the series. We all know that Erik Aybar missed the bunt and Jason Varitek made a great play to tag out the runner heading back to third. When you make calls like that, you deserve to lose.
The fact that the Red Sox pulled off another ninth inning playoff series clinching win would have been an amazing feat had it not become almost assumed against a team like the Angels.
But enough of the Angels. Bring on the Devil Rays. Oh, yeah, it's just the Rays. So bring on the Rays. Or should we be calling them the Tampa Bay Cinderella Rays because they've come out of no where to win the AL East title this year. Before I start ripping on the Rays, I will say this- they play in the hardest division in all of baseball and they never faded this year, like so many people said they would, myself included. So I have to give them a lot of credit for moving out of the cellar in the AL East and making things interesting. And honestly, beating the Yankees in the playoffs was getting a bit old. So welcome to the show, Tampa Bay.
Having said all that, I'd be kidding myself if I wasn't a bit concerned about this series because I actually think it might go six games. That's how good I think the Rays are but the fact remains that no team with a purple mascot is beating the Red Sox.
Let's break down some numbers from the regular season, which tend to mean absolutely nothing come October. For the year, the Rays and Red Sox met 18 times with the Rays coming out on top with ten wins. Looking at the numbers a little more closely and I think you'll see that those wins look more like an abberation than a trend.
In the 18 games that these two teams played, Tampa Bay hit .233. The Red Sox hit .253. Tampa Bay scored 67 runs, which is an average of 3.72 a game. The Red Sox scored 87 runs for an average of 4.83. And yes, I think the .83 might be a factor in this series. For the year, Tampa's offensive numbers are in the middle of the pack, coming in 13th in hitting with a .260 average and ninth in OBP with .774. Meanwhile, the Red Sox continue to be one of the best hitting teams in all of baseball with a .280 average (second best) and an .845 OBP (also second best).
Now that we know that the Red Sox have the better offensive numbers, let's break down the pitching. If you're a Rays fan, you may want to skip this section. For the 18 games, Tampa's ERA was 4.44 to the Sox' 3.35. You all know that I'm no math genius but the Sox' ERA is more than a run better than Tampa's. And over the same games, the Red Sox pitching staff struck out 156 Rays, while Tampa's staff only struck out 121 Sox batters. Pitching is going to be key in this series and the Red Sox have the clear edge.
I'd also like to take a look at Lester just a bit closer, if you'll allow me a moment. In his last 22 2/3 postseason innings, Lester hasn't given up an earned run. In 20 innings agains the Rays this year, Lester only gave up two runs. As it looks right now, Lester will be working game two and game six. That's not good news for the Rays.
I know that Tampa Bay has the home field advantage but how much is that really going to factor in this series when 75 percent of the fans who live in Tampa root for the Red Sox? The Rays did go 57-24 at home this year, which is an amazing number and tops in all of baseball, but they're under .500 on the road.
Let's also keep in mind that the Red Sox now have the best closer in all of postseason play of the teams remaining. For his career, Jonathan Papelbon has never allowed a run in 19 2/3 innings in his postseason career, which is only one-third of an inning short of the major league record held by Joe Niekro.
At some point during this series, we're going to hear the clock striking midnight and the glass slipper is coming off of Cinderella and the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays will transform back into the AAA club they've been for the last decade.
In case you're just hearing the news, New York Mets manager Willie Randolph was fired at 3 am this morning. Here's the story from ESPN. Has a manager ever lost control of a team faster than Randolph (besides Joe Kerrigan and Grady Little, that is)? His stock has fallen so far in the past year that I couldn't even find any good video clips to pay tribute to him.
So instead, here's the footage from this past weekend's game where the Mets and Texas Rangers were rained out and several Rangers stormed the field to play slip n' slide on the tarp. This type of thing should happen at every rain out. In fact, it should be in the player contracts. Although, I don't understand why it was the visiting Rangers players doing this as opposed to the hometown Mets. Kudos to the Mets fans for sticking around long enough to cheer on the Rangers. Way to support the local team. That type of stuff would never happen in Boston. Or are we officially called the City of Champions now?
So the talk of the town around here (even bigger than the Elliot #9 Spitzer prostitution story and Mumbles Menino being the 109th highest paid City of Boston employee) is that Josh Beckett has a crippling back injury that may force him into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In fact, Beckett may only live another month or two because of this rare, newfound terminal condition.
Actually, that's not quite true but based on the coverage of Beckett's 'injury,' you'd think the guy was some kind of number one ace for the defending World Series Champions. Oh, yeah, he is the number one ace for the defending World Series Champions!
I have to admit that I'm not quite sure what's going on here. Is Beckett really injured? He may very well be but I'm not buying it. I just think he's way smahtah than everyone else and has found a way out of going to the season opening series in Japan. And who can blame him? Beckett is the backbone of this team right now and is by far the best pitcher that they have. Do you honestly think that Beckett wants to get on a plane and sit for close to 20 hours straight, pitch against the Oakland A's in Japan and then make the return 20 hour flight home? I'm guessing no.
And he's gotta be looking at Daisuke Matsuzaka and thinking that he got his wife pregnant just so he wouldn't have to go home to Japan so there really must not be much to see there. I've go to believe that Beckett's just looking for a way out of this series and I'm fine with it. Heck, he could have just come out and said that he thinks this is a stupid idea and doesn't want to do it and I would have been totally cool with that, too. Heck, they could have given him an incentive clause in his contract for not going and I would still think he's the best pitcher in the American League.
I wouldn't even be surprised if at some point down the road we find out that Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are behind this 'injury' business. Somehow, they're already setting up their pitching staff so that Beckett can dominate the Billy Crystal and the Yankees the first time we play them this year.
Look, Coco Crap has tried this stunt all spring training by coming up with one ailment after another and no one's been fooled by his injuries. And besides, Coco's gotta go so he can be the stewardess on the plane- there's no other explanation why Coco's still on this team. I wonder if they've told Coco that they only got him a one way ticket.
I think the only thing that's surprising about this 'injury' is that Manny Being Manny didn't think of it first, although I have to believe that Manny probably thinks Japan is the 51st State of the Union.
Let me start by saying that I have no clue how a team that is only ten years old can possibly need a new stadium, especially a team whose best year was winning 70 games. But for all of the Red Sox fans who find it cheaper to fly to Tampa Bay, pay for a hotel and tickets to see the Red Sox play the Devil Rays in Tampa than Boston, there is good news: the Devil Rays are building a state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof made of weatherproof fabric that will be pulled along cables suspended on a central mast structure that sticks straight out of the ground. The bad news is that the architect who desinged the ballpark was smoking crack, drinking vodka and shooting up when he drew up the plans.
Somehow the architect has also convinced team ownership, MLB officials, local governing bodies and even the Florida Governor himself that this is a good idea. Umm, did they see the design for this thing yet? I guess they were going for the yatch look with the way that the roof is going to be retractable. Having that nice white metal pole sticking out of the ground as the mast also looks like it will make a nice addition to the downtown skyline. I mean, really, who doesn't like a nice big white pole sticking a few hundred feet out of the ground. And when the roof is open, it looks kind of like the Leaning Tower of Tampa Bay. That could end up being a huge attraction for the large Italian population in Tampa Bay.
The new stadium will hold approximately 34,000 people, which is just about the number of Red Sox fans who travel from Boston to the stadium when the Sox are in town. And at a price tag of only $450 million it seems like a bargain compared to the new stadiums that the Yankees and Mets are building, which are both expected to top one billion apiece. Somehow the Devil Rays think they can have this thing open for the 2012 season, which is only four years away. Ownership also thinks that the facility will require no new taxes or the reallocation of existing taxes. Good luck with that one.
Here's some more bad news about the stadium: to protect the majestic views of downtown Tampa Bay and the waterfront, it won't be a true retractable roof. Instead, the roof will act more like an umbrella, allowing for an open-air stadium fell with climate control techniques that will lower temperatures in the stadium by 8-10 degrees. So when it's close to 100 degrees outside, it will be a cool, comfortable 92 inside. Do the Devil Rays really think it's a good idea to have all of those old people sitting around in 90 degree heat for three hours? I guess if you're smoking crack, drinking vodka and shooting up, this plan sounds like a great idea.
Well, the Red Sox made their way to Washington, D.C. yesterday to pay a visit to W as the 2007 World Series Champions (I love writing that) for the second time in two years (I love writing that, too). For those of you who have been stuck on a deserted island after your Oceanic Airlines plane crash and haven't heard the news, the Red Sox did a serious beat down on the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series in 2004.
Here's some of what transpired during W's comments to the Red Sox at the White House:
∙ "So Tim Wakefield’s batterymate is Doug Mirabelli. Mine is the vice president."
I had no clue that Dick Cheney was still alive. And he was there at the ceremony, no less. How often are the president and vice president in the same place at the same time? And there's even photograph evidence to prove it, just like Roger Clemens being at Jose Canseco's party! All I can think is that it must have been a really slow day for two of the (supposedly) most powerful men in the world to have time for a little fun with the World Series Champions.
∙ "Red Sox Nation extends beyond the South Lawn, extends beyond New England - it obviously goes to the Caribbean and even the Far East. So we welcome Japan’s Daisuke here to the South Lawn. His press corps is bigger than mine. And we both have trouble answering questions in English."
I love when the president rags on himself. I think it's even funnier because it's so true. And because Daisuke had no clue what W was talking about. All he heard was 'blah blah blah Daisuke blah blah blah blah."
∙ "I’m sorry Manny Ramirez isn’t here. I guess his grandmother died again. Just kidding. Tell Manny I didn’t mean it. But I do want to quote him. He said, 'When you don’t feel good, and you still get hits, that’s when you know you’re a bad man.' I don’t know what that means. But if bad man means good hitter, he’s a really bad man, because he was clutch in the World Series and clutch in the playoffs."
I think it's hilarious that W is bashing Ramirez for his grandmother dying again and the fact that he has no clue what Ramirez is talking about in his famous 'bad man' quote. Don't worry, George, no one else has a clue what Manny's thinking, either. As it turns out, Ramirez didn't attend yesterday's ceremony. Just out of curiosity, what was he doing instead? The photo above of Manny was taken yesterday while his team mates were at the White House. Mark my words, this will be the first of many Manny Being Manny moments of the year.
∙ "And how about Jonathan Papelbon? The guy pitches almost as well as he dances. And I appreciate the dress code. Thanks for wearing pants. Good job, and congratulations."
W obviously didn't write this speech because it was actually funny. I do have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in Papelbon's sober behavior yesterday. I expected Papelbon to do some type of drunken Irish jig on the front steps of the White House as President Bush looked on in horror before deciding to join in the festivities, similar to how Ty Law got Bob Kraft to dance at one of the Super Bowl parades a few years ago (I hate the Giants).
∙ "And so the ownership gets a lot of credit, the front office gets credit, and so does a really fine manager in Terry Francona. Laura and I had the honor of having Mike Lowell and Mrs. Francona and Terry for dinner earlier this month, earlier this year. And what I was impressed about was the values of this guy, and the fact that he honors his family as the first and foremost thing in his life. And I think the ownership made a good deal in signing him to a new contract."
Nice to see the president recognize the little people but I do have to wonder, doesn't the President of the United States of America have more pressing things to do than honor a sports team for winning a championship or even hosting players and managers for dinner? This story is all over the news and yet, I wonder how injured soldiers feel lying in a hospital bed or how families who have lost a son, daughter, father, mother, husband or wife in one of the many wars we're fighting around the globe feel. I hope that they're recognized in some way by the president for their sacrifices because those are the true heroes, the true champions and the one's that we should honor every day.
If you missed the ceremony, here's some of what transpired:
The Red Sox have finally taken care of manager Terry Francona by signing him to a three year contract extension in the neighborhood of $12 million. The contract also has club options for 2012 and 2013, which would make Francona the second longest serving manager in Sox history if he gets those extra years. The only Red Sox manager with a longer tenure was Joe Cronin, who held the job from 1935-47, just a few short years before my time.
With the new deal, Francona is now closer to new Dodger manager Joe Torre as baseball's highest-paid manager. Torre signed a $13 million, three-year deal this offseason after spending the previous 12 seasons as manager of the New York Yonkees. Just as a side note, I don't see Torre excelling in La-La Land. Actually, I'm sort of looking forward to the Dodgers having an awful year.
In addition to a multi-year, mulit-million dollar extension, Francona also received something else during the negotiations- a touching love e-mail from general manager Theo Epstein.
"It was just personal about what we've been through since the very beginning. It meant a lot to me. He means a lot to me." Umm, I thought there was no crying in baseball. Seriously, pull yourself together there, Terry. And please try to remember that this is the same Theo that walked away from you and the organization two years ago to go hang out with Pearl Jam in Brazil.
I do give Francona a ton of credit for the job he's done. He's led the Red Sox to two (yes, two!) World Series Championships and has done an incredible job of handling the Boston media and the players. Not to mention that he has to deal with the annual Manny Being Manny episode. In fact, I think it's written in the new contract.
For his Red Sox career, Francona has a .579 regular-season winning percentage (375-273), which is the second-best in club history among managers with at least 350 games. His .710 winning percentage (22-9) in postseason games is the best in major league history among managers with at least 20 games and he has the most World Series wins (eight) without a loss. Did I mention that the Red Sox have won two World Series Championships with him as manager? Yes, two!
In my opinion, Francona shouldn't have to buy another drink or another meal in Boston for the rest of his life. So if you see him around town, take care of his tab for him because he's only make four million a year.
Well, I woke up this morning to hear that the Red Sox have signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. My first thought was to go out and stock up my food pantry before he arrives in Boston and cleans out entire grocery stores in a single visit. At first, I was a little surprised because the last I heard, Colon was going to sign with the White Sox but apparently he likes red better. And who can blame him for not wanting to be coached by Ozzie Guillen. That guy is just plain nuts. If nothing else, this signing gives 300 pound men all over America a glimmer of hope that their dreams of pitching in the big leagues can come true.
I wasn't sure if this was a good move but then I found out that it's not going to cost the Red Sox much. In fact, if he doesn't make the roster, the Sox owe him nothing. If Colon does make the roster, it will be for a minimum salary with performance bonuses built in. And I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that the Red Sox didn't include any type of weight clauses in this contract like they did for Curt Schilling. This may be the only time in history when I would believe a baseball player if he held out for more money because he had a family to feed. For a guy that has had a rough couple of years with injuries, he sure hasn't done much to stay in shape, unless eating cookies and donuts is his idea of a good workout.
From what I can tell, the White Sox, Cardinals and Astros were also interested in Colon. It was also rumored that Colon was close to an agreement with the Mets earlier this winter but they backed off out of concern for the condition of his pitching arm. Apparently the Mets only like young left handed studs who are in shape and throw 200 plus innings a year while totally dominating their division.
For the record, El Guapo Part Deux pretty much stunk last year with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California because of injuries, going 6-8 with a 6.34 ERA, which was the worst of his career. During his 11-year career, Colon is 146-95 with a 4.10 ERA. He's won 20-games twice in his career, as well as the Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Angels. So let's hope we're getting the Colon of 2005 and not the Colon of 2007. Somehow, I doubt it, though.
If I owned a grocery store near Fenway Park, I'd start stocking up on food now. From a financial standpoint, my only concern if I were the Red Sox would be if Colon does make the roster, it will probably cost them more to feed him than it will cost to pay him to pitch. Anyway, welcome to Boston, Bartolo.
A lot of people are talking about the video of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick getting punked by teammate Brett Myers. Myers went out of his way to pull off the prank, going so far as to bring in the manager to break the trade news to Kendrick and several members of the media who asked questions about the trade, which was to a Japanese team for a pitcher named Takeru Kobayashi. Yes, that's the same Kobayashi that has won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest six times. I feel sick just thinking about that guy chowing down whole hot dogs.
Anyway, Kendrick certainly doesn't seem like the brightest bulb in the socket because he doesn't recognize the name Kobayashi or even realize that American teams aren't allowed to trade players to Japan. For that matter, he was never once concerned that his agent never called to tell him about the trade. So he sort of had it coming.
Here's the video in case you've had your head buried in the sand and haven't seen it yet:
Anyway, after watching the video a few times (works been kind of slow), I realized that the joke is actually on the Phillies because Kendrick looks jacked and pumped to be getting traded. Yeah, he'll be getting a big raise but I think he also realizes that he's getting out of that dump called Philadelphia and Japan can't be any worse. He's even wondering if they have good food in Japan. So, congratulations, Philly, you've got yourself a pitcher who would rather play for Japan than your team.
As a side note to Myers, he's a total loser and that's being way too nice. The Phillies came to Boston two years ago and Myers was walking down Boylston Street with his wife when he decided to start punching her and dragging her by the hair. So I have no clue why Myers would want to draw any type of attention to himself with a stunt like this. I just wish that when people mentioned the fact that Myers is a real club house clown that they'd also mention the fact that he beats his wife. Here's one of the hundreds of articles that was written at the time: Visiting Player Hit Wife
It turns out that researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have scientifically determined what every Boston Red Sox fan has known for years: Derek Jeter sucks.
The announcement was made during a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is in Boston (gee, there's a surprise).
To determine the rankings, researchers looked at every ball put in play from 2002 through 2005 with the ability to field fly balls accounting for 33 percent of the score, while line drives made up 25 percent of the score, and ground balls making up the remaining 42 percent of the score.
I've got to be totally honest here, I have no clue what those percentages mean in determining the fact that Derek Jeter sucks and place no validity in this study, especially considering that it was announced in Boston. However, anything that makes Derek Jeter look bad is newsworthy to me.
Based on the numbers, Clint Barmes of the Colorado Rockies was the best fielding shortstop in the game over that time period, with Stray-Rod coming in second and Jeter finishing dead last.
But you know what really sucks about this study? I would totally take Jeter over Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo any day of the week and twice on days we're playing a double header. I hate the Yankees.
It's taken me a few days to digest the testimony of Roger Clemens on Capitol Hill earlier this week and I'm still not quite sure what really took place. Do we know any more than we did when the Mitchell Report was released? Yes, we know more details but we're not really much closer to the truth or a resolution. This appears to be a classic case of he said, she said. And yes, I'm referring to Roger Clemens as a she. In my opinion, he can't take enough public humiliation and I believe that he has no one to blame but himself. As I stated in my article on Rodney HGHarrison earlier in the week, Clemens could have just admitted his use, paid the penalty, apologized and tried to move on. Now he just looks like he's completely ruining his entire reputation, the reputation of his wife, former friends and even his mother and former nanny. Although, I'm really, really confused about the party at Jose Canseco's house, the testimony of the nanny, and how that plays into this whole thing. I will say that parties at Canseco's house sound like lots of fun, though.
During the hearing, Clemens was constantly caught up in his own words (or lies, as I like to say), twisted logic and a timeline that rewrites our numerical system. And this was all before Andy Pettitte's testimony was brought up. And before I even knew that Andy's wife's name was Laura- that was some pretty damaging testimony from her. In his defense, all Clemens said was that Pettitte "misheard" and "misremembered" the story. And Clemens didn't even stray near Laura Petitite's testimony that Andy told her of the conversations at that time and the stories haven't changed.
I'm a New Englander, born and raised, which means that I was born with the 'I hate the Yankees' gene, which I hope to pass on to my children and grandchildren. Having said that, I could see myself going out and buying an Andy Pettitte jersey so that I can celebrate the man who helped bring down Clemens. It just seems appropriate.
Here are more of my thoughts on Clemens and the hearing. And believe me, I want nothing more than to never hear the name Roger Clemens again.
∙ The basic argument that Clemens wants us to believe is that when Brian McNamee said he injected Andy Pettitte with HGH, he was telling the truth. When McNamee says he injected Chuck Knoblauch with HGH, that was also true. Clemens now admits that McNamee also injected Debbie Clemens, as well as a dozen or so other people in his inner circle. But somehow we're not supposed to believe McNamme when he says that Clemens used steroids and HGH, as well. To me, this is some of the most damaging evidence against Clemens becuase he never addressed why he thought McNamee was telling the truth about Pettitte, Knoblauch, and others but lying about him. Better yet, Clemens never addressed why Pettitte would lie at all.
∙ A lot of people are saying that McNamee also took a beating in the hearing but I'm not buying it. Time after time, Clemens was caught in a web of his own lies. By comparison, McNamee was only called out on his prior lies, not the issues pertinent to this case. Yeah, McNamee seems like a relative of scum of the earth but you know what? His story hasn't changed. How many times has Clemens' story changed since the Mitchell Report came out?
∙ The strongest opponent of McNamee turned out to be Representative Dan Burton of Indiana who said to McNamee, "This is really disgusting. I don't know what to believe. I know what I don't believe and that's you." Those seem like awfully strong words coming from a guy who got his girlfriend pregnant and doesn't see his son for years at a time. I guess that's not too bad, except that Burton was married when he got his girlfriend pregnant. Nothing good can ever come of having a wife and a girlfriend.
∙ Can we come up with a new nickname for Clemens? The Rocket just doesn't cut it any more. How about The Syringe? Or Balloon Head? Donkey's behind works good, too.
∙ Boy, it seems like a long time ago that I was a young, impressionable kid who saw Roger Clemens pitch and wanted to be just like him. So much so that I even went out and bought Zest soap that he was the spokesperson for. Do you remember the tag line? "You're not fully clean unless you're Zestfully clean." Perhaps Roger could use some Zest! I would, however, like my money back:
∙ People watching around the world have to be laughing at American government. We have a military presence in more countries than I can count, all in the name of Democracy. And this is what we're spending taxpayer's money doing? Yeah, they probably wouldn't want to look into how Exxon just released figures showing the largest quarterly profit EVER, for any company. And coming up with a plan to help fix the health care crisis in this country just seems like a waste of time. Crumbling school systems? Nah, but boy, we sure gotta get to the bottom of this Roger Clemens thing.
∙ What's the deal with Congressman Stephen Lynch completely misrepresenting the grand state of Masschusetts? He was given ten minutes to confront both Clemens and McNamee and then spent nine minutes asking his question. However, Lynch did bring up some important information that was never explained by Clemens or expanded upon by anyone else, namely that you have a leading physician saying that, based on Clemens' MRIs from his days in Toronto, he would conclude that the mass on his buttocks was caused by repeated injections of steroids.
∙ Did you see North Carolina Representative Virginia Fox at the end of the hearing? Yup, that was her holding Roger Clemens' arm and hugging Debbie Clemens after the hearing. Do my taxes go towards her salary?
So there are some of the highlights (or lowlights) of the testimony. And you know what? It hasn't brought us any closer to the truth, other than everyone saw the real Roger Clemens. Yeah, you know the one I'm talking about. The selfless one who asked out of countless games, the grandstanding teammate who always played by different rules, the head hunter, the fuzzy mathematician who thinks Toronto is closer to Texas than Boston is, the guy who unretired several times to fleece teams out of millions of dollars, the total and complete liar who seems to be the one "misremembering" the facts of his own sordid tale. During his career, it was all about Roger, his stats, the Cy Young, the records, the World Series rings. And in the end, it's still all about Roger, even if he has to drag his mother's name and his wife's name through the mud to futher aid his sketchy trail of lies.
Luckily, it looks like Clemens might get what he deserves and that's a shot to be left out of the Hall of Fame. And nothing would tick him off more than knowing that all those years that he played by his own rules are now catching up to him. Along with a Federal Grand Jury Indictment.
And while Roger may not have been very up front during the hearing, he was able to speak the truth later in the week:
By now we've all read the 409 page Mitchell Report on the wide spread use of steroids in MLB. While I think that the report was basically a complete waste of time and money, it is good to have all of the names that have been linked to steroids and HGH in one document. There really wasn't anyone on the list that surprised me except Nook Logan because I didn't think Nook was an actual first name. Unless Bud Selig is actually going to do something about the people listed in the report, then this will turn out to be a major waste of time. Look, we're never going to know the extent of drug use, past and present, but if you're not going to punish those who you now know for certain used steroids and other illegal substances, what kind of message is that sending? These substances aren't just banned in baseball, either. In almost all cases, they're illegal to possess unless prescribed by a physician. Selig has been notoriously slow to respond to any type of major issue relating to the sport that he supposedly oversees and I wouldn't expect him to start acting like he cares now.
Here are just a few of my thoughts on the Mitchell Report:
A lot of people were surprised that Roger Clemens was named. Umm, have you checked his stats? He was a .500 pitcher the last few years that he was in Boston and then suddenly wins 5 more Cy Young Awards? He was the oldest player in the American League at the age of 37 . . . in 2000. We're supposed to believe that he's like a fine wine and has only gotten better with age?
I do have to admit that Dan Duquette must be feeling some type of vindication by having Clemens' name in the report. It was Duquette who stated that Clemens was in the "twighlight of his career" before signing with Toronto. He's made about $140 million since then and now it appears that Duquette may have been right and the only thing that rejuvinated his career was a little juice. Everyone always talks about how different Barry Bonds looks from his rookie year up until now. Well, take a look at Clemens. I think the only thing that surprised me about naming Clemens in the Mitchell report is that he apparently likes it in the butt.
And don't give me this bologna that he was a Hall of Fame player before he started using illegal drugs. First of all, how do we know for certain when he started using drugs? The answer is we don't so a players entire career is in question. I can sort of understand how a marginal player would use drugs to their advantage to go from AAA to the majors to make a living. Would you rather be bagging groceries or living the high life if you use steroids? I think most people would take their chances with the juice if it came to it. But people like Bonds and Clemens were always considered great players. Their insistence on using steroids and other illegal drugs only makes their cases worse because, for them, it was all about making more money and securing the next multi million dollar contract.
To my knowledge, Rondell White was never really a good player. I looked up his stats and was mildly surprised by his numbers and the fact that he still plays. Who knew? In his career, White has a lifetime .284 average with 198 HRs and 768 RBIs. In the late 1990s, White was actually pretty good (wonder why) and in 1997 batted .270 while hitting 28 homers and driving in 82 runs. He was never close to any of those power numbers before or after 1997. His career actually isn't bad for someone so stupid that on the check he used to buy his steroids he wrote in the memo line "bought something."
Then we have the ever classless Paul LoDuca. His teamates hate him wherever he goes, he had an affair with a 19 year old last year and now we have confirmation that he's just plain stupid, as well. With his $3,200 check to purchase HGH, Lo Duca included a nice thank you note written on Dodger Stadium stationery. Call me if you need anything? Is Lo Duca serious? Yeah, how about writing another $3,200 check for more HGH? That is one big exclamation point for one big idiot.
The thing that amazes me the most about the report is how utterly stupid most of the players were to write checks to these guys. I would at least think that they'd pay in cash or get a buddy to buy the stuff for them. And that's part of the problem with the whole drug use in baseball- the players feel invinsible because they've gotten away with it for so long, even though there is now indisputable evidence of certain players being directly involved in the scandal. And who knows how many players are actually smart enough to pay cash or cover their tracks. That comment is aimed at Mark McGwire, who's not mentioned in the report, but was quite obviously using something. He may be smarter than originally thought after his "I'm not here to talk about the past" comment in front of Congress.
And yet, it appears that there will be no punishment handed out. Mitchell said that he doesn't want to focus on the list of names but wants to work towards eradicating drugs from Major League Baseball. Good luck with that one. As long as MLB continues to let known drug abusers play the national past time then they have no one to blame for the problem but themselves. And by themselves I mean Bud Selig, speaking of idiots.
In the end, the two year report didn't really reveal too much that we didn't already know. Some people were hoping that the report would be more revealing, myself included, and make recommendations for swift, harsh penalties. It doesn't look like it will happen. However, this is not the end of this issue by far. The 409 page report only names a few sources who were willing (subpoenaed) to talk to Mitchell. There are hundreds of current and former players, as well as club house attendants and trainers that will hopefully be coming forward in the years to come that will be outing many, many more players.
We're still another two weeks from Christmas and nearly two months away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training but I wanted to chime in on some of the free agent signings and trades that have been happening around major league baseball.
I'll start off with the Hometown Nine and their signing of Curt Schilling (1 year at somewhere between $8-12 million), Mike Lowell (3 years at $37) and Mike Timlin (1 year at $3 million). I think that the signing of Schilling is a great move because he's a proven veteran. I also don't think there's the pressure on him to be a number one or two starter anymore, especially if we can land Johan Santana. I am also looking forward to the constant monitoring of his weight as he tries to increase the value of the contract by being periodically weighed. Although, I have to admit that the Schilling family photo kind of creeps me out for some reason, especially the kid with bare feet and the fact the Schilling looks a bit like a girl. I think that the Mike Lowell signing was a great move. Lowell will be 34 by the start of the season and is a huge presence in the clubhouse. The fact that Theo Epstein got this deal done for only $37 million is amazing. While I'ved like Timlin in the past, I think it's time to start expoloring other options besides 41 year old relievers (he'll be 42 in march) with a recent history of injuries. Timlin has been great for the Sox and, while I think it's time to move on, he's only making $3 million. I'm not even sure how he can feed his family for that amount but he'll have to make due.
I'm not sure what the deal is with the Yankees this offseason. After the Sox won the World Series in 2004, they made difficult decisions to get rid of some of their most beloved starters, including Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, and then a year later they let John Damon go to the Yankees. Now it seems like the Yankees can't make the same hard decisions that the Sox have made in recent years. Case in point: they're spending $97 million on Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Jorge Posada, who is 36, signed for 4 years at $52 million while Rivera signed for 3 years at $45 million. He just turned 38. That seems like a ton of money to spend on two aging veterans who play key positions, have a ton of mileage on them and may not age gracefully. But never fear, they also signed LaTroy Hawkins as insurance for 1 year at $3.75 million. Yeah, I don't see that working out too good. I'm also skeptical of Joe Girardi as their new manager. Yeah, the guy had a phenomenal year managing in Florida but it was his only experience and that team was very young and easily influenced. The Yanks are an aging team that isn't going to be influenced by a former player coming in and trying to shake things up. I could easily picture LaTroy Hawkins and Joe Girardi hanging out on a beach unemployed in another year.
Speaking of not working out too good, the Dodgers appear to have made a big splash so far this offseason by snagging Joe Torre and Andrew Jones. Jones got a two year deal for $36.2 million that could turn out to be a bargain for the Dodgers if he rebounds from a terrible 2007 season. I think that Torre is taking a huge risk by not staying with the Yankees or retiring. He really doesn't have much to gain by going to LA but if he fails there, people will say that he only succeeded in New York because of the payroll and the ability to buy any player.
Torii Hunter going to the Los Angeles Angels for five years at $90 million seems like a pretty good deal but he's 32 and has been injury prone. This does make the Angels a better team and should also give Vlad Guerrero the protection he's never had.
Billerica's own Tom Glavine going back to the Braves for one year at $8 million had been expected but I don't think it really shifts the division either way right now. The Braves don't look like a playoff contender and, unless the Mets get more young pitching, they may not be able to recover from last year's demise. Although if Pedro is healthy all year, they may not need much more talent to contend.
There have also been a lot of head scratching signings that I don't even know how to comprehend. The first is the signing of Eric Gagne to a one year $10 million contract from the low-budget Brewers. I think someone had too much beer when they offered this contract because Gagne was horrible in a Sox uniform last year. Although, maybe that's what it takes for him to succeed- playing in a place where no one is paying attention. Either way, I will forever loathe Gagne for the anguish he caused at the end of last year. I feel sick writing about him.
I'm also not sure what the Chicago White Sox were thinking giving Scott Linebrink a four year $19 million contract. The guy is a 31 year old reliever who had a 3.71 ERA in the National League last year and it was in the NL West. I don't see this ending well for him or the ChiSox.
Speaking of not ending well, are the KC Royals insane? They just gave Jose Guillen a three year contract for $36 million. Did they realize he's on steroids before they signed this deal? Did Guillen realize he's going to baseball purgatory by signing with the Royals or was this his punishment for the steroid use?
Then there's the NL champion Colorado Rockies going out and signing Aaron Cook for three years at $30 million. I don't ever remember him pitching in the World Series but apparently he lost game four. Last year alone, Cook was 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 25 starts. For his career, Cook, 28, is 36-35 with a 4.47 ERA in six major league seasons with the Rockies. Look, anything under a 6 ERA in Colorado is good but are they serious with the $10 million annual salary for a .500 pitcher?
But the insanity doesn't stop there. Not to be outdone, the Chicago Cubs just signed Kosuke Fukudome to a four year $48 million contract. First of all, why would you sign a guy with the last name of Fukudome? You're just asking for trouble when you do stupid stuff like that. I also just found out that the guy is supposedly 30 years old (umm, does he look 30 or closer to 40 in the picture) and just had right elbow surgery in August. I looked up his numbers expecting him to be a big power hitter or something but for his nine year Japanese baseball career he is a lifetime .305 hitter and has 192 homers. And you expect him to come light it up in the majors after having elbow surgery. That gets you $12 million annually? The only good thing for Fukudome is that he'll be playing int he NL Central where an 82 win season might win the division.
As for the one big trade that has taken place, the Detroit Tigers certainly look like an improved group on paper but I'm not sure I'm buying into Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis coming in and being stars in the American League. In fact, I don't even think Dontrelle Willis is that good. He was 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA last year with the Marlins. He gave up 87 walks and 29 homers. How high is that number going to be in the AL? Miguel Cabrera is a good offensive pickup but I think he'll have a hard time adjusting to AL pitching. He hit .320 with 34 homers and 119 RBIs last year. Those are great numbers but I wonder if that's as high as they'll go now that he's in the AL. I also noticed his playing weight was listed as 210 but I think it's actually about 310 right now. I think that the move ultimately makes the Tigers a better team but we'll have to see if it gets them back to the World Series.
So there's a brief recap of some of the bigger moves in baseball so far this offseason. There are still a ton of free agents out there and the hot stove trade rumors change every day so I'll check back in when things heat up again.
Lots of people, mostly me, myself and I, have been saying that I should start a blog about sports.
So, here is my blog. If you like it, leave me a comment. If you don't like it, leave me a comment. Either way, I don't really care. And if you're offended by anything on this blog then stop reading.
And please note that while this is a Boston sports blog, there will be no entries about the Boston Bruins or hockey. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, they don't exist. I'd talk about the world championship wife-carrying contest before I'd talk about hockey.
Wow, a lot has changed in the last 24 hours. Last we knew, Manny Ramirez was contemplating a two year $45 million offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the only team bidding for his services. Not only that but this offer has been on the table since mid November. As the market has dried up and teams are searching for bargain basement prices for proven stars, Manny's stance hasn't changed. He's still looking for a four or five year deal at $25 million at year. Yeah, I knew he was crazy when he played in Boston but apparently he's moved on to completely insane, too.
