Monthly Archives: November 2011

November 30, 2011 · 7:40 AM

Valentine It Is

So just to recap wrapping up yesterday’s post I said the following, “Bottom line, I don’t like Valentine (who’ll likely be named tomorrow since I wrote it). I think he’s smug, and really isn’t the right guy for this job.”

And wouldn’t you know I get home and there it is on ESPN.com that the Sox are set to name Bobby Valentine as the new Sox skipper. It quickly prompted my Facebook post of the following:

I had friends liking the post and commenting almost immediately. Back to my point in a moment but I had to share 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Jon Wallach’s take:

So first to my point.

The team has basically and without questions just lopped off Cherington’s legs. There’s no way Valentine has to go to Ben for anything. He answers to Uncle Larry and only Uncle Larry. Which means not only is Cherington there as Uncle Larry’s puppet he has no true authority.

So from here on out we shall refer to him as Puppet Ben. And so it is written so shall it be.

To Wallach’s point. Why on Earth did they play games for two months? Valentine wasn’t managing anywhere. He was sitting over at ESPN. It’s not like if the team wanted to get John Farrel or Joe Madden and they’re negotiating with the other club behind closed doors in secret. They should have saved all the charades of interviewing all the other guys (Sveum, Alomar, etc) and just hired Valentine when the season ended.

Bottom line on the whole thing, I’m not excited. This team is so very lost right now. Almost as if all the work that Henry’s group had done over the last decade was for not. It’s like they’ve reverted back to the pre-Henry Red Sox. The team may do alright year one with Valentine but there’s zero chance that he keeps the team playing for him/buying in for another four years after that.

Fourth place is a distinct possibility. Be ready for it. Go Diamondbacks.

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November 28, 2011 · 11:07 PM

Who Wants to Captain The Titanic?

And with that headline I’ve officially posted 1,000 times on my blog…

So a blog that was born out of the Sox winning it all in 2007 is now asking the question of who wants to manage the team. From a World Series Champion four short years ago to comparing the manager’s job to that of the captain of the Titanic.

I’m open to suggestions on getting a new source for material because it’s become more and more apparent the the folks at ESPN.com are on the payroll. Everything is spin. One day someone is the hero and then they say something wrong to someone and their the goat.

Take for instance Bobby Valentine. Lauded on the very pages of ESPN as the Sox savior. They went into great detail about how he became a stat geek and really thought of Bill James as the future of baseball. They promoted the fact that he took a Mets team with sub-par talent all the way to the World Series in 2000.

Now the same site that talked him up is chopping him down. They’re talking about the internal clubhouse issues that he had with the Mets. Talking how he would throw players under the bus to the media. No offense to the folks at ESPN but I don’t think that’s throwing anyone under the bus. One of my biggest criticisms of Francona was that he would NEVER throw a player under the bus publicly. When John Lackey is having a tantrum on the mound, I want a manager that will smack him in the back of the head as he’s leaving the mound and then call him a baby to the press.

But out of this waiting has emerged a second candidate. Gene Lamont. Gene was the manager of the year for the White Sox in 1993 (the year before the strike). He was then the manager of the Pirates from 1997-2000. His first year with the Pirates he guided them to a second place finish. The Pirates! Since then he’s been a third base coach in Boston (2001), Houston (2002-2004), Phillies AAA manager (2005), and the Tigers third base coach under Jim Leyland since then.

I’ve said all along if they could get Jim Leyland, I’d be psyched. Well, I think we can all agree that isn’t going to happen so why not a guy that’s been like his #2 the last few years.

Bottom line, I don’t like Valentine (who’ll likely be named tomorrow since I wrote it). I think he’s smug, and really isn’t the right guy for this job. An old school catcher like Lamont that’s been in the league for several decades I think is a good choice if you’re not going younger like Tony Pena or Sandy Alomar (both catchers as well).

I think that pitching is a huge issue with this team and having a former catcher at the helm is a good thing. I think it’s better than a guy that was a career utility player.

So the latest news is that the job is down to these two. Meanwhile Cherington has done nothing on the free agent or trade market. So as it stands now, the guy that gets this job certainly has his work cut out for him with no DH, right fielder, closer, and half a rotation. So yeah, as it stands, the Titanic.

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November 27, 2011 · 10:36 PM

Pats Squeak It Out

If you’ve been following the blog this NFL season you know that yesterday’s Pats/Eagles game was an easy pick for me. Because I said a while back that I would never take the Eagles for the rest of the season. The “Dream Team” screwed my picks on so many occasions, I swore, never again.

Tell them Jericho…

So back to the Patriots squeaking out a win. I’ll be brief.

I was really getting upset when they team went down 10-0 and gave up huge yardage plays to Vince Young. Yes, that Vince Young. The same Vince Young that I said to coworkers after the USC/Texas National Championship game that he wouldn’t be a good NFL quarterback. Well, he was tossing bombs like he was John Elway. Notice how I didn’t say “touchdown bombs”…

That was an interesting stat they threw out there near the end of the game. The Pats give up the most yards to opponents but the stat that really counts, points allowed, they’re ranked 10th in the league. Not too shabby. Of course only letting KC put up three on you helps that stat. And if you didn’t let Vince Young have that garbage time TD, that’s another seven in your favor. Just saying.

So what did I like in the game? Well, I liked that I didn’t see Kevin Faulk. That I saw very little Danny Woodhead. That they decided to put Wes Welker back into the offensive game plan after a week off last week. I liked that we got to see the rookie running backs. Sure it was after the game was in the bag but I was getting worried that Green-Ellis was developing Sandyvagititus tendencies as he’s pussy footing behind the line. I want the running back to take the ball and plow through the hole.

The Pats defense came out very shaky but then calmed it down. They were able to pick off Young and swing the game heavily in their favor heading into the half knowing they were receiving to start the second half.

Overall it was a pretty boring game. There were a couple great plays (Welker’s TD, Brady getting them out of their own end zone) but overall it was kind of a sleeper. Unfortunately I think that’s how the rest of the season has the potential to go.

Left on the schedule the Pats have the Colts, Redskins, Broncos, Miami, and Buffalo. The Colts haven’t played a competitive game this season, the Redskins started strong and went south quick, Miami has shown some signs of life and played the Pats tough the first time through but they’re both way different teams. Buffalo has shown their true colors as a team that starts strong and fades. That leaves the Broncos. The Broncos that apparently have God on their side with Tebow under center. He may be awful to watch but he wins and did so yesterday.

So the Bronco game really is the only blip I see on the radar down the stretch. I want to see this team win in the playoffs though. It’s been a while. 2007 was the last time the Pats won a playoff game. That was four years ago. Let’s hope the defense keeps getting better and healthier (Chung, McCourty you listening) so we’re not sitting here talking about how the #1 or #2 seeded Pats lost again.

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November 23, 2011 · 7:36 AM

NFL Week 12 Picks

Wow, it’s already Thanksgiving tomorrow. That came so quick. The year seems to have just flown by. Since I won’t be checking in tomorrow and Friday is Causeway Day, I need to give you your NFL Week 12 picks today.

And away we go…

Green Bay (-6) vs @Detroit
Thanksgiving means football in Detroit. For so many years it has been bad, it was whichever team just beating down the Lions. Vegas thinks that trend continues this year but I’m going with a stop. I’m saying the Lions prove they’re legit and pull it out.

@Dallas (-7) vs Miami
Miami, content to just be in the top 5 in the NFL draft has started to win some games. I think that stops after this week when they have to go to Dallas.

@Baltimore (-3.5) vs San Francisco
West coast coming east should tell you to take Baltimore. But the Ravens lost to AZ and Seattle as part of their NFC West schedule. I say the trend continues and they lose to the 49ers.

@Atlanta (-9.5) vs Minnesota
Likely no Adrian Peterson for the Vikings means zero chance of them winning the game. Taking the Falcons.

@Cincinnati (-7.5) vs Cleveland
I hate Cleveland. Cincinnati lost on the last play of the game to the Ravens proving they can play against the good teams. Here’s hoping they don’t play down to the bad. Taking the Bengals.

@Tennessee (-3) vs Tampa Bay
Tennessee didn’t even show up last week against the Falcons. I don’t know why people think they’ll wake up against a good Tampa defense. Taking the Bucs.

Carolina (-3.5) vs @Indianapolis
This is the week the Colts win their first game of the season. Wait, Peyton still isn’t back? Oh, just kidding then. Carolina wins.

@St. Louis vs Arizona
It’s a pick ‘em game. I’m hoping the Arizona team that beat the Ravens shows up. Taking the Cardinals.

@Jets (-8) vs Buffalo
Who are the Bills? The team that gave the Pats one of their three losses or are they the team that got smoked by Dallas and Miami the last couple weeks? I say they’re the team that got smoked by Miami and the Jets win.

Houston (-3) vs @Jacksonville
If Houston was playing anyone else (Colts excluded), they’d probably be a dog this week. That being said, they’re still going to run the ball down the opponents throats. Taking the Texans.

@Oakland (-4.5) vs Chicago
Hate that the Raiders are giving 4.5. Sure Jay Cutler is out but the Bears, have been a running machine this year. If their backup can not turn over the ball, I say the Bears win.

@Seattle (-4) vs Washington
Taking the Seahawks at home. Sure this is a crappy game, but someone has to win, right?

@Philadelphia vs New England
So we talked about which Bills team is the real deal, which Eagles team is? The one that got beat by Chicago, then lost to Arizona or the scrappy team that beat the Giants. Well, with no spread we don’t have to make that decision. Taking the Pats.

@San Diego (6.5) vs Denver
I’m not betting against Tebow. It seems every time you do, you lose.

Pittsburgh (-10) vs @Kansas City
Personally after Monday night’s game, I think the spread should be more but that’s fine. Taking Pittsburgh and the easy money.

@New Orleans (-7) vs Giants
Saints win at home against a reeling Giants team fresh off a loss to the Eagles.

I’ll check in Friday with a Happy Causeway Day post and be back with some news Monday.

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November 22, 2011 · 7:19 AM

Trouble In The Nation

I know I promised you a Patriot’s recap but given the blowout, I decided to move on to bigger and more important things like the Red Sox managerial search.

So you’re Ben Cherington, you’re new on the job. You knew going into the managerial search you had your guy in mind in Dale Sveum. Now all you had to do was sell your boss, Uncle Larry, on him as the manager. But Uncle Larry goes behind your back, talks to his close buddy and basically assures him the job all the while letting Ben go through the motions for his guy Sveum.

The Sox pay for Sveum to fly out to the GM meetings, they put him up in a hotel, then they give him a second interview with no job offer. Meanwhile, Theo says, “Thanks for getting him the the GM meetings, I’ll take it from here.” Swoops in with a contract offer the Sox didn’t even make and like that Sveum was off the market.

Speaking of Sveum, there was an excellent article by Gordon Edes chronicling his path to the Cubs bench as manager. CLICK HERE to read it.

So now your Ben Cherington, you have to be sitting there just dumbstruck. After all, you were witness to Theo getting screwed over by Uncle Larry at every turn. Did you somehow think that it would be different when you were handed the reigns? Think again. This is Lucchino’s team for better or worse and John Henry has all but said he’s not involved in the day-to-day and that it’s Larry’s baby.

So we find out that Bobby Valentine is Uncle Larry’s close friend and choice to manage the team. He’s all but got the job. Heck, he’s ready to move his stuff into his office and call a pres conference. But Uncle Larry’s spin machine brain starts racing. If I announce Bobby Valentine as the manager of the Sox while Ben is in the DR, it’s going to look like I did this behind his back.

So we get a little article “anonymously” leaked to the spin puppies at ESPN saying that any talks with Bobby V would have to wait until Cherington was in this country. Oh, yeah, I’m buying right into that.

So yesterday they had their obligatory interview with Cherington in the mix. That’s followed by the spin puppies at ESPN telling us what a great manager Valentine is and that he took the Mets with a bunch of no name players to the World Series. Also that he won championships in Japan etc.

Look, stop it.

We’re not as dumb as you think we are Uncle Larry. Stop treating us like it. We know you’re the anonymous source pretty much ten times out of ten. If you want to say something to the press, man up and attach your name to it. If Valntine if your guy, come out and say that. Don’t undermine Cherington who’s had a chance to do nothing on the job yet. Just say, I’m Ben’s boss, I made the call, this is who I wanted. You’re the president, it’s your call over his if you want it to be.

The official announcement is expected in a few days. Expect a press conference where Cherington is sitting there smiling and expect a quote to the likes of “Bobby was always our guy, we just didn’t think he was interested/we could get him.” Those words will come from Cherington’s mouth to try and save face. Too late. Like my buddy Shaun said yesterday, if your an agent why on Earth are you going to deal with Cherngton now. You know Uncle Larry is the boss and if Cherington isn’t giving you what you want, you can just get it from Uncle Larry.

So trouble in Red Sox Nation? You betcha. And that trouble will continue to exist until John Henry’s corpse decides to sever ties with Lucchino who is an absolute cancer to this organization.

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