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...