Papi For MVP, Pats Schedule

Good morning. Sorry for taking the weekend off, I was very busy between coaching football and work. Before I get into today's topics I just want to mention the great performances by Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield on Saturday and Sunday in New York. Schill gave us all hope for October and Wake lost a heartbreaking 1-0 complete game to Randy Johnson. The Sox accomplished their goal of taking at least one game in the Bronx, keeping the Yanks 3-games back heading into last night. As for last night, David Ortiz may have won his first American League MVP by belting two home runs (No. 39 & 40) -- including the game winner in the eleventh inning -- to give the Red Sox a 6-5 win in Toronto last night. This game should have been much easier but Terry Francona sent Bronson Arroyo back into the game in the seventh inning even though he was at 100 pitches after throwing six scoreless innings. Arroyo lost control, filling the bases, and the Blue Jays tied the game off of Keith Foulke (who looked good) and Mike Timlin (who allowed a three run home run to Vernon Wells). Jon Papelbon pitched the ninth, tenth and eleventh to earn his first big league win. But there would have been no win without Big Papi. Ortiz always seems to come up with the big shot when the Sox need it most. Forget that he is primarily a DH and focus on the fact that he has carried the Sox through three different Manny Ramirez slumps to put Boston in first place in the A.L. East. A quick peek at Ortizzle's numbers (.295, 40, 126, .989 OPS) give the voters more reasons than not to give the Red Sox their first MVP since Mo Vaughn in 1995. The Red Sox take on the Jays again tonight in Toronto with Matt Clement (13-4, 4.17) facing off with Scott Downs (2-3, 4.19). The game starts at 7:07 p.m. on NESN and WEEI. Now for a look at what the Patriots will be facing the next few weeks. Following an opening night 30-20 win over the Oakland Raiders, the defending Super Bowl champions will travel to Carolina to play the Panthers, the "favorite" (as Sports Illustrated likes to say) to win Super Bowl XL. After that the Pats go to Pittsburgh to play the "still bitter over the 2002 and 2005 AFC Championship Games" Steelers and then come home to play the San Diego Chargers, last year's winner of the AFC West. After the Chargers game, Belichick & Co. go on the road to Atlanta (Mike Vick) and then Denver (always a tough place to play) before a Week 7 bye. That is the most brutal schedule in the NFL. Four tough road games sandwiched around two tough home games (the Raiders are much improved from last year -- as they showed the Patriots -- and the Chargers are one of the best offensive teams in football). No other team in the NFL faces such a tough list of opponents to begin the year. At least we are talking about the Pats though -- the one team that looks forward to the challenge in front of them. The competitive drive that has brought this franchise three of the last four Super Bowls will be the force behind them in this difficult stretch in the schedule. And after the bye week, the Pats should be able to feast on the rest of their schedule (six division games versus Buffalo, Miami and New York as well as home games against the Buccaneers and Saints). Not that any game in this league is easy but other than the November 7 Monday Night home game agains the Colts, the Patriots have a relatively easy schedule down the stretch. They just need to survive the next five weeks. If they can do so with at least a 4-2 record (and I won't be surprised if they go 5-1 or 6-0), the Patriots will be staring down a 12-4, 13-3 or 14-2 season. And if they get through a season like this with a great record, expect to be watching the Pats playing for a third consecutive Super Bowl title in Detroit next February.