Random Thoughts (August 27, 2008)

A preview of the Patriots, the AFC East and the entire NFL will be out by this time next week... Nice move by the Red Sox today to acquire switch-hitting outfielder Mark Kotsay from the Braves. Kotsay is a good hitter who plays all three outfield positions. With J.D. Drew on the disabled list with back problems, Kotsay provides valuable insurance... We lived through 7 1/2 seasons, a batting title, four playoff appearances, three trips to the A.L.C.S. and two World Series championships with Manny Being Manny. There was more good than bad. After seeing him ground into a weak double play to squash a bases loaded opportunity in the bottom of the seventh last night, I'm not sure that after two MVP's, four playoff appearances, and one A.L.C.S. over the past 4 1/2 years that Yankee fans can be too happy with A-Rod Being A-Rod... I'm not saying that the Celtics can not repeat as NBA champions in 2008-09 but their roster today is worse, on paper, than the squad that trampled the Lakers back in June... Enjoy Paul Byrd tonight...

Random Thoughts (August 20, 2008)

Red Sox Nation, it may be time to reach for the panic button. Josh Beckett will miss his next start on Friday due to numbness in his pitching hand. He will start next Tuesday night against the Yankees in New York. According to Dr. Robert Shalvoy of University Orthopedics in Providence (who has not treated ot examined Beckett), the numbness in the pitching hand could lead to something much more serious than a missed start. In Dr. Shalvoy's opinion, Beckett's symptoms should earn him at least a six week break and they could possibly be signs that would put Beckett in need of the dreaded Tommy John ligament surgery. Now obviously the Red Sox are not going to treat the health of their ace lightly. Beckett will see as many doctors as necessary in the next few days to determine both his short-term and long-term health. If Beckett needs to go under the knife, he will. If he only needs a few days off, then that is what he will receive. Still, as the Red Sox fight for a playoff spot, any word that Josh Beckett may be seriously injured is definitely worth mentioning. Keep your eyes and ears open in this situation... Daisuke Matsuzaka improved to 15-2 with a 2.77 ERA on the season after going five innings in the Red Sox 7-2 win over the Orioles last night. Matsuzaka was his usual frustrating/brilliant self. He struck out six while walking five and once again survived a bases loaded jam. In the bottom of the fourth, Matsuzaka faced a one-out bases loaded situation and got Melvin Mora (.283/20/91) to strike out and then induced Aubrey Huff (.302/27/87) to popout to third base. The man might not be economical with the pitches (105 in 5 IP) and he walks too many guys and he makes sure the bullpen will earn its money on the night he takes the bump but the guy finds a way to get the job done... I don't care what the umpires say about the call, B.J. Upton should not have been called out last night. No way did he attempt to advance to second base... I get the feeling that with or (probably) without Tom Brady, the Patriots offense will look impressive in their Friday night preseason game against the Eagles... The new Madden '09 is good but there isn't too much difference in this edition from last year's on PS2... Get well soon Yaz... Enjoy Clay Buchholz tonight...

Random Thoughts (August 19, 2008)

It so hard to compare who is the greatest player in a sport. Sure, Babe Ruth crushed 714 home runs and was a dominant pitcher before turning into the "Sultan of Swat" but he never played against African-American players. Was he better than Willie Mays? Worse than Joe DiMaggio? The same as Hank Aaron? Comparable to Alex Rodriguez? We can not say and that is the fun part. We can compare stats, we can compare eras but we can not make a decision. This goes far beyond baseball. The greatest football player? Hockey player? Bill Russell or Michael Jordan in basketball? You still have to ask about the futures of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. However, there is one sport in which we know who is the greatest athlete. That would be swimming. There is no better swimmer than Michael Phelps. Phelps turned the Olympics into his own personal marketing campaign. Imagine a young Shaquille O'Neal showing up at your local playground and running a few games against the local high school competition. Phelps was more dominant than that. Any company would kill to have Phelps push their product. He crushed the Beijing Games. Eight gold medals in eight events. He set the world record in seven of the eight events, hitting only the Olympic record in the 100m Butterfly. And in the 100m Butterfly, he failed to break his own world record (he owns more than 25 of them). Phelps now has 16 total medals in his Olympic career, 14 gold and 2 bronze. With the 2012 London Games a strong possibility, followed by the chance to compete in America should Chicago be granted the 2016 Games, Phelps could end up with over 20 gold medals and maybe as many as 30 total medals. In addition to his Olympic dominance, Phelps has 17 career gold medals at the World Championships. Arguments about who is better are always fun but in the sport of swimming, the argument has been put to rest for the time being... Come on, even the biggest Tampa Bay Rays fan would have trouble keeping a straight face if they tried to say that they pedicted the Rays would lead the Red Sox by 4.5 games and the Yankees by 10 games in the A.L. East on August 19... Cliff Lee of the Indians and Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays are the leading contenders for the A.L. Cy Young Award right now but with another solid outing tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka can make this a three-horse race... I'm not so worried that Tom Brady hasn't taken a single preseason snap in the two Patriot losses. Brady is practicing and looking great by all accounts. The snaps in the games are going to the three young quarterbacks -- Matt Cassel, Matt Gutierrez and Kevin O'Connell -- trying to backup Brady. I am much more worried that Matt Light and Stephen Neal are not even practicing yet. Without those two protecting Brady, we might be seeing a lot more of Cassel/Gutierrez/O'Connell than we want to in the regular season... Enjoy Jed Lowrie tonight...

Random Thoughts (August 14, 2008)

The economy sucks, gas prices have "dropped" to around $3.70 for regular unleaded in the Boston area and money is tight for the majority of people but if you have even $5 to spare, think about donating it to the Jimmy Fund through midnight tomorrow during the 7th annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon hosted by Boston's top sports talk radio station. There is no better cause to give what you can to, everyone is touched by cancer. Visit WEEI's new website, call 877-738-1234 or stop by Fenway Park to make a donation... Even the biggest Manny Ramirez basher wouldn't give Jason Bay all the credit but it has to be said that in the 13 games since the blockbuster trade on July 31, the Red Sox are 10-3... Kevin Youkilis is a legitimate A.L. MVP candidate. He produces at the plate (.320 BA, 22 HR, 83 RBI, 32 2B, .387 OBP, 1.060 OPS heading into Thursday nights game), he hits in the clutch (game winning home run during Tuesday's dramatic 19-17 win) and is a Gold Glove first baseman who also plays third base as well as anybody. The A.L. has no dominant player walking away with the award. Josh Hamilton is a great story for the Rangers and has driven in 112 runs but Texas is miles away from contention. Carlos Quentin of the White Sox has hit 32 home runs but he is not as complete a player or hitter as Youkilis. If Youk keeps up the hitting and defense -- which will be mostly at third base with Mike Lowell on the disabled list -- and the Red Sox keep winning, Youk may capture the MVP before his more celebrated teammate, David Ortiz, who has been close three times in recent years... Theo Epstein's track record in signing big money free agents is shaky (Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement, Julio Lugo) but under his watch, the Red Sox have drafted and developed an incredible amount of major league talent. Jed Lowrie, filling in at shortstop for the injured Lugo, has joined Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Manny Delcarmen, Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson as players drafted during the Epstein years who have made contributions in Boston... I am very interested in the Patriots signing of veteran safety John Lynch. Lynch will be brought in to add depth to the secondary and linebacking corps on passing downs. In spite of the Pats Super Bowl drought being three years old, veterans still want to come to New England, knowing it is there best bet to win a championship. As we learned last year, there are no guarantees in the NFL, even the greatest team ever assembled can lose on any given Sunday. But come on, John Lynch isn't coming to Foxboro because he thinks his children will like the schools or because his wife likes the shops at the new Patriot Place, he's coming because he wants to party like a legend after winning Super Bowl XLIII... Enjoy Paul Byrd tomorrow night...

Random Thoughts (August 11, 2008)

As much as I want the Red Sox to make the playoffs, I would hate to see them advance into the postseason at the expense of the injuries sustained by Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays. Longoria and Crawford are both on the disabled list with hand injuries. The Rays ascent to first place in the A.L. East, the division controlled by the cash fueled Yankees and Red Sox since 1998, is one of the best stories in baseball. Coming at a time when the big money clubs like the Yanks and BoSox have made winning in towns like Tampa Bay almost impossible and also in the era of performance enhancing drugs ruining the legacies of all-time greats Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the young Rays have been a fantastic story to follow. Don't get me wrong, I want the Red Sox to surpass the Rays and take the A.L. East but I want it to happen with the Rays at full speed... Aaron Rodgers makes his debut as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers tonight in their first preseason game. After putting up with all the Brett Favre chaos for the last month, I hope Rodgers has a great start tonight, leading into a Pro Bowl season. That will be a better story than Favre getting his brains beat in with the Jets this year... It's time for the Josh Beckett of 2008 to start looking like the Josh Beckett of 2007... All of the stat heads say that the numbers point to a decline in the performance of Daisuke Matsuzaka but if the Dice-Man improves on his 13-2 record and 2.90 ERA, it will be hard to ignore him when the votes for the A.L. Cy Young are counted... Enjoy Beckett tonight...

Random Thoughts (August 8, 2007)

Not much gained or lost for the Patriots from last night's 16-15 preseason loss to the Ravens other than the fact that the offense struggled behind the leadership of quarterbacks Matt Cassel, Matt Gutierrez and Kevin O'Connell. Tom Brady was in uniform but never left the sideline. Behind supposed number two quarterback Cassel (1-for-4, 11 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) the offense was non-existent. Gutierrez (10-for-16, 76 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) was much better than Cassel and even O'Connell, the rookie from San Diego State, showed some promise (6-for-13, 57 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT). Granted it was only the first preseason game but the Patriots need to see more production out of Cassel. If he can not handle the primary backup duties behind Brady, the Pats need to find a veteran -- Chad Pennington -- to handle the number two job while Gutierrez and O'Connell develop... LaMont Jordan, signed by the Pats as a free agent earlier in camp, rushed for 76 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Jordan will provide insurance for Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris in the backfield and could take a job from either third-down specialist Kevin Faulk (doubtful) or reserve fullback Kyle Eckel (more likely)... I like that the Red Sox claimed San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles on waivers yesterday. Giles, who used his no-trade cluase to block a potential deal today, would have provided some costly insurance in the Red Sox lineup for David Ortiz (wrist) and Mike Lowell (hip) while providing depth in the outfield. More importantly, by claiming Giles, the Red Sox blocked the A.L. East leading Rays, who really need a right fielder, from making a move for Giles... Now that the Los Angeles Clippers have added three point guards this summer (Baron Davis, Jason Hart, Jason Williams), I would like to see the Celtics take a chance on Shaun Livingston. Livingston is a talented floor leader who suffered a serious knee injury two seasons ago but is young enough for the C's to take a chance that he can play. At the least, Livingston would be a cheap way to find competition for Gabe Pruitt in the fall and he could be a classic, low-risk/high-reward player. I would rather see Danny Ainge gamble on Livingston than Darius Miles... Go see Step Brothers. You will not regret it... Big series for the Red Sox this weekend. Taking 2-of-3 from the White Sox on the South Side would help keep the pressure on the Rays while giving them some cushion in the A.L. Wild Card race... Ian Thomsen reported last week that Greek basketball club Olympiakos may offer as much as $30-million (tax free) dollars to LeBron James when his contract runs out with Cleveland after the 2010 season. Now Kobe Bryant, talking at the Olympics, says he would listen to offers from teams in Italy, where he spent the majority of his childhood when his father Joe was finishing his career, if the dollars got into the $50-million per season range. This should not come as a major surprise. With the value of the Euro rising each day and the global marketing plans led by NBA commissioner David Stern, having a superstar leaving America to play in Greece or Italy is not a shocking development. The talent level in the top European leagues is not the same as in the NBA but it is at least equal to that of Division 1 college basketball and it improves each year (take a closer look at the European teams in the Olympics if you doubt that last statement). If LeBron leaves for Grece or Kobe goes to Italy, the day will finally come when Stern's dream of having a European division in the NBA will come true. A division made up of teams in London, Paris, Rome, Athens and Moscow would be a great thing for professional basketball, which already is the only true global game... Enjoy Jacoby Ellsbury tonight...

Random Thoughts (August 7, 2008)

The Patriots open their preseason schedule tonight at Gillette Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens. The first preseason game is not the night to expect much from the likes of Tom Brady and Randy Moss but there are a few things I will be looking to see. Among them:

• How is the progress of first round pick Jerod Mayo coming along?
• Are any of the young backup quarterbacks capable of playing at all should, God forbid, Brady get hurt?
• The play of the reconstructed secondary. For all the talk about Mayo, he gets to play next to veterans Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas so his mistakes can be covered up to a small extent. If cornerbacks Fernando Bryant, Jason Webster and Terrence Wheatley suffer, they will be exploited.
• The development of receiver Chad Jackson. Year 3 will be the last chance for Chad if he doesn't begin to produce.

It might be pretty much meaningless but at least the NFL is back...

Sticking with the NFL, Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick last night.

This is great. After the tearful retirement (which Packer coach Mike McCarthy tried to talk him out of in March), Favre decided he wanted back in with Green Bay. To the credit of the Packers, they told him they were moving on with Aaron Rodgers. Favre has held the team hostage with his "comeback" and finally, after hearing from McCarthy that his only chance in Green Bay was to compete for his old job and that the team would not trade him, as he wished, to division rival Minnesota, Favre accepted the move to the Jets.

I am looking forward to the Patriots defense beating Favre into submission two times this year...

After six games, it seems like this Jason Bay can play. So he's no Manny (.600 BA/3 HR/7 RBI/1.736 OPS with the Dodgers), which no one actually expected him to be, but he is playing very good defense and is swinging a very good bat (.423/1/6/1.192). When the bright lights of October begin to shine, Bay will still have to prove himself but so far, so very good...

The Celtics open the 2008-09 season at the Garden on October 28 in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Enjoy the banner raising and ring ceremony LeBron, you won't be having your own any time soon in Ohio...

There is no enjoyment at all in listening to Joe Castiglione and Dale Arnold call Red Sox games on the radio. They almost equal Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo as the worst announcing team in Boston. It is so sad that the worst two crews are calling the most amount of games...

When Jacoby Ellsbury hurt his wrist making a diving catch earlier in the season, I had no idea that it would hurt his production as much as it has. I hate making excuses for injuries but it's impossible to ignore the trouble Ellsbury is having with the wrist when he struggles to hit fastballs left over the heart of the plate.

He has swung the bat great the last two nights so maybe things are about to turn for the better...

Lost in the Jets acquisition of Favre is the future of Chad Pennington. The veteran QB is likely to be released today. Rumors have him landing in Minnesota as insurance for Tavaris Jackson.

I know it's doubtful but I would love to see the Pats swoop in and land Pennington. It would give the Pats a proven veteran to serve as Brady's backup and it would add more intrigue to the New England-New York rivalry...

Enjoy LaMont Jordan tonight...