StFU Makes a Comeback

Speaking of handing out awards, I have an award of my own that I'd like to dole out. And since it's been a few months since I've done so, the recipient had to be special.

Today's "Shut the Fuck Up" goes to baseball legend Pete Rose. That's right, everyone's favorite hard nose playin', gamblin' son of a gun gets a StFU for his comments made yesterday regarding the Mitchell Report.

Charlie Hustle was quoted as saying that players who are using HGH, steroids or any other performance enhancing drug are "making a mockery of the sport." Huh? What was that?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not encouraging players to enhance themselves to gain a competitive edge, but I'm not crying foul on the street corner either pretending to be holier than thou. If a player wants to shrink their nuts to get an extra 15 dingers a year, shoot it up then I guess.

He also said that "I never thought anybody would make me look like a choirboy." Right. Because knowingly betting against your own team while managing it isn't in any way as bad as using chemicals to "cheat" or a conflict of interest in any way.

Rose has never been above blowing his own horn to prove how he deserves to be in Cooperstown, and I suppose it was only a matter of time before he used this scandal to do the same thing he's been doing for over 18 years now.

Do I care if he gets into the Hall of Fame? I'm not sure. I do think it's sort of tragically funny that the home run king (Barry Bonds) and all-time leading hitter (Rose) may not get in to Cooperstown. He also stated that if these players who were on the report get into the Hall of Fame that "I've got a shot somewhere."

This is the cherry on top for me. When asked how much better he would be if steroids were as readily available in his day as they were in the last decade or so, Rose promptly replied that "I would have got 5,000 hits."

Nice one dumbass. You decry the use of 'roids now, but you're basically admitting if they would have been around in the 70's you would have shot the stuff up just as quickly as McGwire and Palmeiro.

My advice, stay in Vegas and sign your balls and keep your opinions out of the media. So here you go Pete Rose, you deserve it, now Shut the Fuck Up.

Awards, Wrapping Up Mitchell

Another award was handed out today for a Red Sox player. It’s no Cy Young, but reliever Hideki Okajima won MLB.com’s “This Year in Sports” Set-Up Pitcher of the Year. Considering the low expectations for Okajima coming out of spring training, it's not a bad deal.

Normally, this would be pretty cool, but it’s voted on by fans. Don’t take that wrong, it’s just that Sox pitchers dominated with Josh Beckett (best starter) Jonathan Papelbon (best closer) and Clay Buchholz (top performance) largely because the wide reach of the Sox fanbase. But congrats on a great year to Okajima. We’ll have to see if he can perform with expectation in’08. Nice minivan by the way.

With nothing really moving in any direction this off season, (or anymore "awards" to talk about) or the Santana trade talks moving forward there isn’t too much to write about when it comes to the Sox.

No major current players on the Sox current roster were implicated in the Mitchell Report, which is not too surprising considering the ties between the Sox and Mitchell himself.

I found the report to mostly laughable, if you didn’t think players took steroids or HGH in the past 10-15 years you need your eyes adjusted. The players listed were only on said list because trainers or clubhouse lackeys were forced to rat them out. I can’t say I blame them, when you have a former United States Senator breathing down your neck. You’d probably tell him you wear women’s panties if you were in that same position and if he pressured you enough.

Speaking of not placing blame, like many I don’t blame the players entirely for the scandal and situation at hand. Of course a certain amount of blame needs to be placed on the players themselves. However, when faced with a decision between personal accountability and putting food on the table, you can see why players who shouldn’t have been playing in the bigs in the first place stuck a needle in their arm to bolster their bank account by playing a few years for premium dough.

If this were a problem that baseball was serious about curbing, it would have been done without the aid of an independent study group, without the outcry of a public who didn’t mind 10 years ago and without the help of the United States Congress. So basically what I'm saying is that baseball whiffed on correcting it and players were mostly caught in the mania of trying to keep up with each other while we all sat in the stands and cheered for more home runs.

Personally, I don't need a score of 11-8 or even 7-5 every night to be satisfied with the game. Some of the most entertaining games I watched this year were decided by an outcome that resulted in both teams combining for less than 5 runs total. But since most people are lovin' the longball, it's hard for players to just say no. So thank you, dumbass fan, for spawning players like Sammy Sosa and Gary Sheffield. That's fucking great.

Does Anybody Really Care?

According to reports all over the media, tomorrow will be M-Day, so to speak. At least it's the day when performance enhancing drug investigator George Mitchell will release his "independent" and "impartial" report.

Do I want to know who is on the list? Sure, I guess. But I'm not the type of guy that cares what athletes do when they aren't on the field. Maybe female sports fans will like this more since the fairer sex seems to be what keeps publications like People, In Style and Us Weekly in business.

I'm sure there are going to be names on there. Probably some guys you've even heard of, but not that many. I don't think it's going to be as big as some are making it out to be. Watch it turn out to have 85% minor league players and players that have retired in the last two years.

I wonder how many Red Sox will be on there since Mitchell is a part of the Sox board of trustees or something like that. He's maintained that he hasn't been paid by the Sox since then, but what is he going to go back to when he's done with his investigation? I'm fairly certain you won't see too many Sox on the list.

The chasm between the players union and baseball's owners and probably didn't help matters at all. Mitchell didn't even have any subpoena power during the last year and a half. So I'm also guessing that what he found doesn't even really go that deep.

It all comes down to this. How much do you, the fan, really care if players are juicing or not? Am I personally going to stop watching baseball, or writing about it? Probably not. Am I going to stop going out to Kauffman Stadium to watch the Royals or plan trips to Boston to see the Sox? Definitely not. Am I going to lose some respect for the game? Who knows? Depends on what comes out. I'm not going to lie, my interest in the sport waivered for a couple years after the strike in 1994, but I didn't stop watching completely.

If you care that players are cheating, don't watch. If you don't really care that much, then this report probably matters about as much to you as how many kids Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are adopting from third world countries.

Saying all that, I know I'll sit down and read whatever they put out online about the report itself because I'm a dork like that. I'd like to have a conversation with my buddies about this and know more than they do because I'm an asshole like that.

In any event, this is just another thing to write about during a slow spot in the middle of the week in the baseball world. For now, this is all it means to me at the moment.

Just Who Do You Think You Are??

I know Star Wars is mostly stupid, but the picture is sort of funny, I guess. You'll see why in a minute.

With Santana talks cooling off this week, a new story seems to be dominating a lot of Red Sox fan sites and news aggregates.

Rookie centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury signed autographs at the Emerald Square Mall in the Boston metro area this past Saturday. Now, this wouldn't be that big of news except for the fact that he's charging $125 per autograph. That's not all, if you've got a shirt or jersey, that'll cost you an extra $25 bucks.

I've paid for Joe Montana's signature on a football helmet. It wasn't cheap. It's on a $600 authentic NFL San Francisco 49ers helmet. Then I dropped an additional $300 just to have Joe Cool put his John Hancock (I said cock) on it. I may have been young and retarded with too much money to burn, but I might do it again given the chance. It's a pretty fucking cool sight. But $150 for Ellsbury to sign a t-shirt? Get fucked.

Now, you might say that it's because Scott Boras just became his agent. I'd say you're right. According to Sox starter Curt Schilling, who refuses to sign at events that charge for his autograph, the asking price for autographs is set by the agent since they make a small percentage of the take.

Look, the guy is a phenom in the making, but paying a 23-year old kid who has played 33 games in the bigs for his sig? That's just flat out gay. A survey was set up on Boston.com to see if the general public who happen to be Sox fans would pay for his autograph. Guess how many people said they would? 7%. 7%! Red Sox fans are some of the most loyal in all of baseball and less than one in ten people would pay for Ellsbury's name on a hat.

If Scott Boras fell off a cliff and died tonight, I don't think I'd even care tomorrow. Or the next day.

Nice Name

In other news, I'm waiting on the edge of my seat to see if Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is planning on playing baseball stateside. Mainly because I'd love to cheer for him because his name looks like Fuk u dome to me.


Go Fuck you dome!!!

Anyway, he has some offers from other Japanese ballclubs like the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, Japan's answer to the New York Yankees. They play in a dome that is modeled after the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Mike Tyson lost his championship to Buster Douglas there. Those Japs have a long way to go with their stadiums. Along with their team logos.

Meetings Over

With the winter meetings now in the books, Johan Santana is still a Twin and the Sox still have the same starting rotation as they did last week at this time. I, for one, am sort of happy. I really, really do not like the trade for Santana. I don't think we need him and we don't need to spend the money on him. Just because you can, doesn't always mean you should.

In all honesty, I'm sort of tired about posting about Santana so I'm going to stop right now. If something real happens, for example if both teams agree to the trade and the Sox ask the commissioners office for the 72 hour window to negotiate on a contract extension with Santana, then I'll put something up. Till then, I'll post about the bore that will be the Sox offseason outside of the Santana talks.

Veteran set-up man and reliever Mike Timlin was resigned to a one year agreement. It's probably all he'll be getting from now on since he is in the 40+ club with starter Curt Schilling. But since no one has really been able to figure out his stuff, especially in the post season, he remains a stalwart in the Sox bullpen. The Sox will pay Timlin $3 million for the 2008 season.

Trade deadline pick-up Eric Gagne declined the Sox option for salary arbitration. Happy trails Eric, it was a nice thought bringing you in, but you can collect your World Series ring and close for some other team. I'd rather we kept Kason Gabbard I guess. The move was meant to solidify the Sox already dominant bullpen, but the 2003 Cy Young award winner never adjusted. The Sox still have the right to sign him to a contract, but I'd tend to believe they'll just turn him loose.

For the first time in awhile, the Sox didn't pick up anyone in the Rule 5 Draft. The Sox did lose two pitchers however. The San Francisco Giants picked up lefty starter Jose Capellan and the Philadelphia Phillies picked up Lincoln Holdzkom. The Sox picked up Capellan in the amateur draft in 2003 and he never panned out quite like the Sox had hoped. Holdzkom had a decent year for Double-A Portland but even better for Triple-A Pawtucket, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 12 appearances. At least they went to NL teams.

If you have been living under a rock this week you missed the trade between the Detroit Tigers and the Florida Marlins. The Marlins shipped Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers and the Marlins got six minor league players in return. The Motor City Kitties are going for broke gutting the farm on this one, but will be one of the favorites to win the Series in 2008. The lineup scares me, and if need be they could always bring Willis in to DH. They'll be damn good and probably the best if not the second best lineup next to the Yankees.

Speaking of the bombers, I know A-Rod is going back to the Yanks as a third baseman, but my pet peeve of the year had to be people forgetting that he's a shortstop, plain and simple. Here's proof of that and his and Derek Jeter's mutual man-love for each other. At least before things got chilly.

Blowin' In the Wind?

Update

Here is some extra credit reading. Something that I'll even admit that I've overlooked.

Is it only a matter of time before there is a press conference with Johan Santana putting a Sox jersey on over his suit? As of this morning, the Twins had requested to see the Red Sox medical records on Jon Lester, showing that progress had been made in trade talks for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the story of Jon Lester. It’s incredible. A guy gets cancer, beats it and comes back the next year to pitch a winner in the game clinching contest of the World Series. It could be made into a movie I suppose. But moving him to Minnesota for Johan plus giving up Coco Crisp and two minor leaguers is almost a no brainer, right?

I’ve maintained for the past two weeks since Boston threw their hat into the ring that they were in it to drive up Santana's worth so the Yankees would bite and pay way too much for him. Now with Hank Steinbrenner putting a time limit (last night) on talks with Santana, it looks like the Sox are left standing with a golden ticket. Looks like Steiny didn’t want to see the degradation of the Yankees good name play out in public and have Sox GM Theo Epstein play them for a fool. Probably a good move for the Yanks. Could this be a win-win then?

I’m still not 100% on all of this. I was always a bigger fan of picking up Dan Heron from the Oakland A’s and having Josh Beckett, Heron, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield be the starting five. Maybe throw in a little Clay Buchholz from time to time to give the aging Wake or Schil a break. Now it seams the Sox are convinced and will only be satisfied with Santana and that they are serious about picking him up.

I’m not saying it’s done until it’s done. After getting burned by the whole A-Rod debacle in 2003 I’m cautiously reserving judgment on this potential trade. The two minor league players in question would be shortstop Jed Lowrie and “a gem in the farm system” pitcher Justin Masterson. Lowrie could give the Twins some added depth in the middle of their infield, which is needed, and having more prospects at pitcher the better, right?

So, to trade or not to trade? It it’s for Lester, Crisp and the minor league guys I’d say go for it. I’d rather keep Ellsbury, crazy as that sounds. I think keeping Crisp and picking up Santana puts the team at more of a disadvantage than jettisoning Lester and Crisp and keeping some speed on the team. The Sox needed it this year because of sub-par seasons out of an aging Manny and the oft-injured Big Papi.

Just a thought, and I'm sure it's down the list of possible concerns, but... Since Ellsbury dumped his previous agent and signed with one Scott Boras, could this be a sticking point for the Twins? I'm sure putting up with the super agent who demands a truckload of money for his clients could be more than the Twins may want to deal with down the road. Like I said, just a thought.

All I can say is that I wish they’d just get it over with. I’m not in good shape early this week after the past week when it came to my college football team (Nebraska) deciding their fate in picking a new head coach. So, let’s hurry up and get this done or move on to something else.

Ortiz Recovering and Other Stuff

The talk of the town is without question the idea of Johan Santana coming to Boston in lieu of a trade. So what else is going on?



Recovery Underway

David Ortiz is currently recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier in November. Hopefully it shouldn't slow him down when it comes to training for the 2008 season come January.
Ortiz has said to reporters and to the Sox that he won't be hindered by the surgery and recovery time and should be good to go in February and March come spring training time.

Lester Wins Joe Conigliaro Award

Starting pitcher Jon Lester won the Joe Conigliaro Award in Boston Wednesday. The award is handed out on a yearly basis for the player who most exemplifies the ability to “overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.”

As you probably know, Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006. Lester went through chemotherapy and a long process of rehabilitation to make it back to Boston in time for the end of the season.

The Joe C award was started 1990 and is the namesake of the Red Sox player who was hit in the eye with a pitch. He missed the entire 1968 season and came back in ’69 and ’70 to hit a total of 56 home runs.

Six Man Rotation?

It’s a theory that’s been posed a few times in the last several years. What if a team with a big bank account could somehow form a six man rotation? The Sox and pitching coach John Farrell are now tinkering around with the idea.

The idea is to have pitchers rested when moving into September and possibly October. Dice-K wore down as the season came to an end, Tim Wakefield missed basically all of the playoffs, Curt Schilling was out for most of the summer and who knows how Lester will pitch over an entire season.

The Sox implied this spin on their rotation when the schedule allowed them to put a sixth man into the rotation (usually Julian Tavarez) late in 2007. The Sox may feature this more prominently in ’08 by the sounds of it.

Santana Talk

So I suppose I'd be a fool if I didn't at least mention something about the Santana thing. I was thinking yesterday's report of the Sox making a formal offer for Santana might put more pressure on the Yankees to come up with something better to offer the Twins. As of Friday afternoon the Yankees are balking if the offer is a bluff.

So if the Yankees take the bait what should the Sox do? Reports are hazy, but possibly putting together a trade for Oakland A's All-Star Dan Haren wouldn't be out of the question. Compared to Santana it would be a better value for the Sox since he's only set to be paid over the next three years $16 million with an option for 2010 or less than $9 million the Sox would have to pay Santana in 2009 alone.

There is more pressure for the Yankees to sell the farm and take Santana than there is for the Sox to pillage the minors and give up prospects. It's a sucker deal too. Crisp and Lester plus two minor leaguers for Santana? That would certainly be a steal for GM Theo Epstein. If it falls in his lap I'd expect him to take it, but I would hope Twins GM Bill Smith would want a little more for a player the entire organization relies on not only on the field, but as the basis for their marketing campaign. With a new downtown ballpark opening soon the Twins would be remiss to let Santana go for the Sox initial offer.

For the Birds

I'm going to post this quick before I have to do some more boring work related business, but I wanted to mention that the speculation is still running wild on the Johan Santana trade. I've been reading just about every site under the sun just to keep up on this. Why? Because I'm at work, that's why.

According to a report I read on TwinCities.com writer Charley Walters is talking to the wildlife up in Minnesota. This is according to one of his feathered friends...

A little birdie says the Boston Red Sox have become the favorite in the Johan Santana trade sweepstakes.

The Twins would receive four players for the Twins' two-time Cy Young Award winner, including center fielder Coco Crisp, 28.

Others would be shortstop prospect Jed Lowry, 23; left-handed pitcher Jon Lester, 23; and right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson, 22.

Before a deal could be made, the Red Sox would have to have time to negotiate a contract extension with Santana, 28, who can become a free agent after next season and could have a market value as high as $150 million over six years.

Lowry did not play in the major leagues this year but is considered ready and is a good-fielding shortstop who also can hit. Lowry had a slugging percentage of .500 at Class AA and Class AAA this year.

Lester made a comeback from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a year ago and is said to be cancer-free.

Masterson, 6 feet 6, 245 pounds, had 59 strikeouts in 58 innings at Class AA Portland.

Looks fairly promising, right? I don't know, I've always been suspicious of reports like this. Who knows what the hell could happen between now and when the ink is dry on Santana's new contract for his new ballclub, that's if a trade even goes through.

The contract would be huge. $150 million over six years boils down to $25 mil a year for the mathematicians in the house. At the moment Manny Ramirez is the highest paid player on the roster at $17,016,381 per. It's still not Yankees money, but it keeps getting closer and closer.

And like I've said, you'd be an idiot to not want Santana on your team, but do the Sox really need Santana on their team? I'm still saying no. Not even with only having to give up Crisp (who's basically gone anyway), Jon Lester and two minor leaguers.

It's Not Baseball, It's....

Packers, the Musical!

Today, in order to commemorate two events I could really care less about, the Packers playing against the Cowboys and Broadway reopening, I decided to put the two together. It’s the Game Of The Century II and it’s on the NFL Network. Way to go. To the 378 people that will be watching outside of Texas Stadium I’m sure you’re in for a treat. As for the rest of us? Make your travel reservations now, this is sure to be a hit!

Think of this as the NFL meets West Side Story, or something.

Hugh Jackman as Brett Favre

Fresh off his cancellation of musical/lame television drama about a fictional Las Vegas in Viva Laughlin, Jackman and his five-o’clock shadow are primed to debut in the lead of the singing version of John Madden’s not-so-secret homo-erotic fantasy. This is sure to drive the former Raider coach over the edge and straight onto a float as grand marshal in a gay pride parade.

Nathan Lane as Mike McCarthy

McCarthy is boring, always wears a drab green jacket and is not fabulous. Lane should be able to reverse all of these qualities on stage.

Don Cheadle as Donald Driver

Cheadle is from Kansas City, Missouri. Driver is from Houston, Texas. Cheadle made a movie about genocide in Africa. Driver has 38 career touchdowns. What are the similarities? They share the same Christian name, look kinda the similar and have wonderful singing voices.

Djimon Hounsou as Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila

These guys don’t have as many shared qualities as Don Cheadle and Donald Driver, however they both have names I can’t pronounce, so this is the ultimate qualifier in this equation. Also, I've heard one plays futbol and the other plays football. Oh, and they drive the white women crazy.

Kenan Thompson as Ryan Pickett

Don’t know who Ryan Pickett is? That’s ok. He’s a big, African-American football player for the Packers who’s probably not very funny on Saturday night live. The difference? One is a football player for the Packers.

Andrew Bryniarski as AJ Hawk

Do you know how hard it is to find an actor with that stupid haircut? I really had to dig for this one. I’ve seen Bryniarski in some interviews and he seems borderline nuts. You’d have to be nuts to cut (or not) your hair like it’s 1992 and marry Brady Quinn’s crazy ass sister.

Bill Bellamy as Charles Woodson

Back to the “Any Given Sunday” well, I know, but I needed a Charles Woodson. Uncanny. They could be brothers. Wait...

James Van Der Beek as Tony Romo

Big chin? Check. Irresistible smile? Check. Special place in my heart and America’s heart? Big check.

Will Smith as Terrell Owens

Of course these two don’t look too similar, but it’s more about the award winning egos that each of these men encompass and how they are never short on words to remind you of how awesome they are, even if Owens had a sub par final year in Philly or Smith staring in Wild Wild West. They.still.won’t.stop.fucking.talking.

Morris Chestnut as Roy Williams

I don’t know much about Morris Chestnut other than the fact that his career at USC came to a screeching halt before it got started because Doughboy is a God damn hothead. At least Tre Styles made it college and finally made it with Brandi. What?? That was a movie? Shit.

Anthony Hopkins as Wade Phillips

Hopkins can play any role in the world, he’s from England for God’s sake, they invented acting. Hopkins will take on his greatest role since Hannibal Lecter. Why? Because he’ll need to emulate Phillips’ ability to act like he’s coaching and taking all the credit for his team’s success. Hopkins will have to gain a considerable amount of weight, but he's one of those committed actor types. Phillips is seen here describing the size of the sub he ate before this press conference. Hopkins is shown eating his Oscar Award. He chews solid gold. Solid fucking gold folks.

Burt Reynolds as Jerry Jones

Shave the moustache and you’ve got a formerly wrinkly, now botoxed up old southerner who only makes people happy when he’s doing a good job. Sorry Burt, had to do it.

P.S. I hate you Jerry

Carrie Underwood as Carrie Underwood

Is Romo still dating Underwood? I'll have to consult my wife about this one. Oh well, what guy knows these things anyway? All I know is that if I can stick her on Broadway for a 28-year run of this musical than I’ll finally be rid of her because, well, I don’t like Underwood or pay attention to musicals. I just come up with awesome premises for them.

The Saga Continues

With the focus off of resigning priorities in Mike Lowell and Curt Schilling and after picking up options on Julian Tavarez and Tim Wakefield, the Sox are basically left waiting for something to do. Yesterday, I wrote that a trade for Minnesota Twins hurler Johan Santana to the Boston Red Sox isn’t very likely. I might be wrong, but I may still be right.

Reports have surfaced that the Sox are dipping their toes in the push for Venezuela’s favorite son. Here are the stats on Santana to this point in his career. He’s a career 3.22 ERA left-hander who can strike out righties and lefties. His record is currently 93-44 and has 1,381 K’s.

Aside from this past year, he’s been ranked number one or two in strikeouts and ERA in each of the previous seasons. Dig a little deeper to more important stats and you’re looking at a pitcher with a career WHIP of 1.094, a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.79, and he’s striking out 9.5 batters every start.

No doubt he’s career numbers are ridiculous. He’s clearly one of the best if not the best starting pitcher in all of baseball. For most Minnesota fans, the ones that don’t kid themselves, they knew given the Twins history of holding on to blue chip talent that Santana’s days under the dome were numbered. So now the arms race (no pun for God’s sake) is on to try and acquire him in a trade this offseason before you have to sell the farm when he’s a free agent.

I know there are other teams in the mix for Santana, clearly I’m not concerned if Santana goes to the Dodgers or Mets. I’m more interested in the prospect of him following Torii Hunter to the Angels or even worse, the possibility of him moving to the Yankees.

Let’s focus on what matters most, and that would be the race between the Yankees and Sox. Let me premise this by saying that the Sox may just be talking to get the Yanks to go overboard on their offer to the Twins. I wouldn’t put it past them, who would?

First, here is what the Twins seem to be looking for. Obviously they’re in the centerfielder market. The Yankees will bring Melky Cabrera and the Sox have either Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury. A starting pitcher or two will be needed also. New York has Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Boston would counter with the no-hitter throwing Clay Buchholz and “Mr. Feelgood Story” Jon Lester. The problem is both teams have players to this point listed as untouchable in Chamberlain for the Yanks and Ellsbury for the Sox.

This tips the balance in the Yankees favor since Cabrera has more upside at the plate than Crisp. Holding out hope that sending Ellsbury into Twins pinstripes in exchange for Crisp returning to his past glory while he was in Cleveland is a stretch. There’s a reason Francona benched Crisp during the playoffs in favor of Ellsbury.

The Yankees are going to be more willing to part with Cabrera to have Santana counter postseason god and Yankee killer Josh Beckett. The Twins have shown more than mild interest in Crisp, however not for a deal of this magnitude. The Sox would have to give up more than just Lester/Buchholz and Crisp.

My guess is that the Sox would have to throw in Lester on top of Buchholz and Crisp. The least likely to go would be Buchholz especially after his no-hitter against Baltimore in September. Hopefully it wasn’t a fluke and was a sign of things to come, or else looking back in a few years it could be seen as huge mistake on Boston’s part.

One other factor that seems most important to me is Santana’s personal interest. He has a full no-trade clause and would more than likely exercise that if any team doesn’t give him exactly what he wants. He’ll more than likely return to form in 2008 and then will demand a king’s ransom when he files for free agency if no trade is made this year. Oh yeah, his personal interest. Reportedly it’s with the Yankees.

After the two teams that I’m most concerned about other players include the Mets, whose chances are dwindling because of their top prospects losing value and interest from other teams. Straight up trade of Santana for Jose Reyes? Anyone? Anyone in Minneapolis?

The Dodgers are loaded with plenty of young viable talent, however the organization itself is a cesspool loaded with front office idiocracy and has been for quite some time. I wouldn’t expect the Dodgers to luck themselves into a trade and land Santana.

Plus, from some of his rants while still with the Twins as they fell apart before the All-Star break, he wants to move to a winner, not an underachieving National League team. Even though with his ability, he could rule the NL along the lines of a tyrant like Hugo Chavez rules his homeland.

I’m giving the most likely scenario to the Yankees, because after all, they have more players and money to offer the Twins and Santana. Having him in the division would make things a little more difficult for the Sox to supplant the Yanks as the top team in the East. Despite the addition of Santana making the Yankees a division and playoff favorite again, let me impart a little information on you.

Santana is the Alex Rodriguez of playoff pitchers. Phenomenal regular season success, marginal post season success. Santana has won one game starting after the regular season is in the books with a 7.94 ERA in his first three postseason starts. He’s given up 35 hits and 15 earned in 34 innings pitched with 32 strikeouts and 10 walks.

Compare this to Beckett and you’re looking at the Sox ace throwing a 1.73 ERA with six wins and two losses, 14 earned runs in 72.2 innings which is less runs in twice as many innings as Santana. He’s also struck out 82 with only 14 walks. And Beckett has two World Series rings, Santana has none. Beckett has been to the dance, and there's no accounting for experience in most cases.

We all know that between the Sox and Yankees in the past few years the postseason is where it counts. A-Rod has come up short while players like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Ellsbury have made names for themselves and come up huge.

You want to give me a choice between having our young talent and having Josh Beckett versus Johan Santana with a depleted lineup and weaker all-around pitching? I’ll take Beckett over Santana because of the postseason factor and because Santana will actually make the Yankees weaker.

Any team would be dumb to not want Santana, but it’s all about what you have to give up with a trade. So go ahead New York, take Santana. Give up some players that could anchor your team in the future. Really, I’d rather you have him given the current circumstances. Better you than us. You still haven’t learned, have you? Patching up your team is no substitute for building a winner the correct way.

Oh, before I forget. Here’s a picture of Kevin Youkilis from a couple weeks ago after shaving off his Van Dyke for charity. It was doing a good job covering up his Bill Cowher-esque chin.

Oye Como Va?

I’m pretty good, and so are the Sox and their pitching staff. So, are the Sox in the Santana Sweep stakes? Don’t bet on it. A trade for two-time Cy Young winner and Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana would mean giving up some offensive firepower, one or two starting pitchers, prospects or a combination of the three.

To this point from what I’ve heard and read the Sox front office is unwilling to part with what they have going, aside from jettisoning Coco Crisp. Coming off a World Series victory and winning the Series two times in four years doesn’t usually constitute making a splash (like they did after the 2006 collapse) in the free agent market, let alone making a landmark trade. It would be for Santana sure, but how much better do you need to make the starting rotation? It’s hard not to think about how historic a Santana, Josh Beckett, Dice-K and Curt Schilling rotation would be, however unlikely.

Too many other teams out there have more to offer the Twins in regards to what their ball clubs needs are. The Yankees are getting the ball rolling and as of last night. The candid Hank Steinbrenner of the Yankees was willing to give up the dirt on preliminary proceedings taking place, a far cry from the days when his Dad was running the show. The Bombers would more than likely be willing to give up a Robinson Cano or a Melky Cabrera than the Sox would be willing to part ways with Dustin Pedroia or Jacoby Ellsbury.

I might make this trade for my Xbox 360 Red Sox to pick up Santana, but outside of that I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Sox even being mentioned as a serious contender for him. The Sox have their rotation set and bullpen stocked and probably won’t be looking beyond their existing major players. If the Sox pick up any more pitching this off-season it will be only to bolster the pen.

Another reason would be the amount of money that Santana will demand on his trade. He’s got a couple of aces up his sleeve with his no-trade clause and only one year remaining on his existing deal with the Twins. If he were in the middle of a multi-year deal, more leverage would be placed on the side of the team or teams courting him. The Sox have a crazy payroll, but I’m not sure if they’d be willing to step into Yankee territory in order to secure him. The Sox still have a perception and image to maintain in a world that only includes the Red Sox and Yankees to many of their fans, and they love having a better team with spending less to get there.

Say Goodbye...Probably

Just because my college football in team is in disarray doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about the Red Sox. It would be easy to ignore however, at least this week. The biggest news for Sox fans is if Jim Rice will make it in to Cooperstown or not.

What to do with Coco Crisp? He’ll be a talking point for Sox brass come December 3^rd when owners meetings get underway in Nashville, Tennessee. Holding onto Crisp is seemingly not a priority, especially with the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury. Watch for Crisp to most likely head to another team so the Sox can stock up on depth in the bullpen, catcher or some prospects.

Mike Timlin is still yet to be resigned by the team. The 42 year old vet has been simply great for the Sox in his last five seasons in Boston. I’m not sure how much interest any other team in the league would have in him.

With all the starters from the ’07 World Series squad locked up I’m hoping that some attention gets turned to Sox Captain Jason Veritek. He’s not the best catcher in baseball, but he’s the best catcher in baseball that could play for the Sox. He’s a Scott Boras client, so I doubt he’ll sign until he files for free agency at the end of next year.

General manager Theo Epstein is said to be working hard on an extension for manager Terry Francona. Once he’s sealed up, it will further solidify Boston’s front office as far as good decision making goes. How dumb do you think the Phillies organization feels for letting this guy go?

The Sox will also play the Dodgers in an exhibition game in the LA Coliseum.

Stayin' Put

I’ll be able to go to Boston next year and see Mike Lowell in a Red Sox uniform. I’ll be the first to admit, I bit pretty hard this weekend on the rumor mill regarding Lowell being a first base candidate for the Yankees. I’ll also be the first to say how happy I am that I was wrong for doing so.

The Sox and Lowell agreed to a three-year, $37.5 million deal a couple hours ago. The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angels Dodgers reportedly were offering four-year deals, but Lowell wisely took one less year and opted to stay in Boston where he’s loved, and where he’s a winner.

This offseason has seen the Sox retain their big two free agents in Lowell and Curt Schilling plus picking up options on ageless wonder Tim Wakefield and hatch man/face Julian Tavarez. Every clubhouse needs a cheerleader I suppose.

Now A-Rod will definitely not be coming to Boston.

1. Because he wants to stay a Yankee where he can make gobs of money and get lots of attention. Oh, did you think he was going somewhere else?

2. Because everyone under the sun is also under the notion that A-Rod has always played third base (he’s actually a much better short stop and played that position while in Seattle and Texas, remember??) his entire career and now that Lowell is resigned, there is no need to pursue A-Rod.

So, things are all good in Boston. And considering the Patriots are playing in a league above the NFL, I’m sure Bostonians are getting another championship sometime in February. I watched them drill the Bills last night, good God, it’s not ever fair. I’m not a fan, but it is cool to watch Belichick stick it to the league after the whole “SpyGate” ordeal. I don’t condone cheating, but you know they weren’t the only team doing it, they were just the only team that got caught.

Anyway, I’m off my NFL soapbox now…

Dr. Free Agent Love

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mike Lowell Ordeal

Wouldn’t you know it? Guess who is hard at work trying to give Mike Lowell his four year deal that he and his agent Seth Levinson are after? That’s right, the New York Yankees. And yes, that is Lowell to the left there. While this conjures up Johnny Damon-like sentiments, it’s nothing to lose any sleep over. That’s right, I said it.

If Mike Lowell is picked up by the Yanks, it will not be the end of the world for the Boston Red Sox. Finding a 3^rd base replacement with Lowell-like fielding ability and replacing 120 RBI’s from within the lineup will be a challenge. But it won’t be the end of the world.

Lowell was originally drafted by the Yankees in 1995 and played within their system until being shipped to Florida. So it’s not like there aren’t any ties to the Bronx for Lowell.

I’d also understand why Lowell would want to opt for the extra year and the extra $10 mil. This is a guy who has been under-appreciated his whole career. He didn’t earn the moniker of “Throw-In Lowell” for nothing. Does it sound like I've already let the idea of Mike Lowell retiring a Red Sock go? If you get too attached to players you're a douche. Baseball especially. It's mostly business, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Especially when you are competing in a high stakes arms race with New York. Sorry kid, life is a series of disappointments, buy a fucking helmet.

I also know Boston has a predilection to not paying aging talent (Lowell is 34) and allowing them to go to ball clubs that will pay a guy $10-12 million for him when he’s 38. Sure, Lowell had a great season this past year, it will probably be his best ever.

That’s the point right there, and what GM Theo Epstein seems to be banking on. We got him, and we used him for what will probably be his best season in his career. Let someone else overpay him while he declines. Batting behind David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez may also be a major contributor to his success in Boston. It’s easier to make these kinds of rationalizations now that my World Series hangover is subsiding.

Then again, happening across a player like Lowell in a trade for someone else that was your real target doesn’t happen very often. Remember what I said about him doing well behind one of the best 3-4 combos in baseball? He’s the guy who came up big when one of the two wasn’t hitting so well, or injured. I'm not 100% comfortable with all of this.

Bottom line is that Boston will figure out a way to work around Lowell going to another team. They did it with Damon when everyone in Red Sox Nation was crying foul on the Yanks. After putting together another championship season I’m more inclined to side with where Epstein is going. Since the current regime entered the picture it's been Boston 2, New York 0 for World Series titles. I don't think losing Lowell to the Yanks will sway it that much. How well is Damon doing now, by the way?

Sure it would suck if Lowell left, and it would really suck ass if he went to the Yankees. But the Sox front office has learned something over the past five years they’ve been in New England. Building a team around solid pitching and a rock solid bullpen is how you win consistently, not hanging on to aging veterans in the lineup. And until the culture in baseball changes the Sox look like they are in good shape for a long time to come.

Whitey's Revenge

Here at KC Bean Boy, I'm trying to be as up to date as possible from now on. Sure, I've failed to write about Dustin Pedroia earning AL Rookie of the Year honors and Kevin Youkilis winning his first Gold Glove. These are things I had been calling for for some time and do not make that much of an impact on me.

What does make an impact is when I wanted to get on ESPN tonight to research some stats for my college football page and couldn't because this asshole had to go and get indicted. OJ, now Barry! Get ready...3...2...1...racism! I know I can't wait.

Are we really all still hung up on this? Does Barry Bonds having the all-time home run record really bring a tear of sorrow to our eye? Get over it. Tell your kids a different bedtime story. The sanctity of the game isn't something I've been concerned with since 1994. You shouldn't care either. So he wanted to hit a bunch of home runs and make his balls small because he has an inferiority complex to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Hey, if I were Bonds and had to take a backseat to those fuckholes I'd be able to live with some bacne (BACK-nee).

It is funny to me (and almost ironic, but not really) that the people that defend him in San Fran pay $1000 a ticket or nothing at all because it's given to them and paid for by their corporate account to watch him in person, then go back to punching their Blackberry's or talking on their cell phones during the rest of the lineup, and then resume watching the game when he's up again. Most of these people who watch games at SBC or AT&T or whatever they're calling their ballpark these days wouldn't know a split-finger fastball from a split finger in their ass.

And give Mike Lowell his four year deal already. I'm tired of sitting around refreshing the transactions page on ESPN, if I could get to it right now that is.

Oh, I also found out today that Madden 08 comes in an Espanol edition...

Schilling Back, Lowell On the Way

The offseason and free agent market are heating up. So far since I last posted the Sox have managed to sign Curt Schilling to a one year deal worth $8 million with incentives for performance. Schilling claimed to have turned down some more lucrative offers from other teams to stay in Boston. Can’t say I blame the guy, I don’t think I’d want to leave either after this past season. And he gets his own weight clauses in his contract. As you can see from the picture next to or above this paragraph, it’ll come in handy.

I love the fact that he sort of stuck it to Joe Torre for leaving the Yankees because the $5 million they offered him wasn’t enough in a roundabout way. Schilling had stated this past week that he’s made over $100 million playing baseball and he and his kids and his kids’ kids are set, so why should he be going after money at this point in his career. It would have been cooler if he said, "fuck you Joe Torre, have fun not making the playoffs out in LA!" He wants to play for the team that has the best shot to win a championship so he’s sticking with Boston. I’m personally not ready to christen the Sox as a shoe in for the ’08 Series, but I wouldn’t bet against them either.

This week while the GM’s of the league are in Florida, World Series MVP Mike Lowell was supposedly offered a contract for 3 years and an undisclosed, and probably significant, amount of money. Hopefully he’ll take, Boston wants him back and he’s been quoted many, many times as saying he’d love to stay in Boston. When you’re on top of the sports world in New England, it’s easy money. Hopefully it can stay that way. Of course you know the story, Lowell was an afterthought in the Josh Beckett trade, now he’s a Boston folk hero. Of course, not too many people saw Damon packing his bags for the Bronx after the ’05 season either. When a player files for free agency anything can happen I guess.

Jacoby Ellsbury seems ready for the big time. In a way, he’s already there turning in one of the best World Series performances by a rookie in recent history. Losing Coco Crisp will mean giving up some the speed that helped Boston become the team they were this season, but it’s a small price to pay to keep a player like Ellsbury on a course of development that will pay huge dividends in the future. Crisp was more or less a bridge to get from the departure of Damon to get to Ellsbury after he was drafted in 2005 after a more than respectable career in Corvallis, Oregon for the Beavers of Oregon State.

In what could be an interesting turn of events, the New York Yankees have made their interest public in Florida Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera. For once, the Marlins are not letting one of their players slip through undetected. Cabrera, as you may know, was part of the price tag for Josh Beckett. If he were to replace Alex Rodriguez on bag number three for the Yankees it would make for a mildly interesting storyline. I say mild because I’d take Beckett and Lowell in a trade for Cabrera again and again. At least after this year.

Once again, signing A-Rod would be a huge mistake for the Sox. Just thought I’d throw that out there again. I’d also like to throw out the fact that 99.9% of the media is reporting Rodriguez to be a 3B replacement for whichever team he signs with. This just in…A-Rod is better as a short stop! I’m sort of sick of turning on ESPN and hearing the talking heads talk about “who would you rather have? Lowell or A-Rod?” Both, you fucktard! I’m not saying it’s going to happen, or that I’d even want it to happen. I’m just saying that you don’t need to give up Lowell to get A-Rod. Jesus, ESPN sucks.

Before I Forget

Don't you forget to go and get your free World Series taco today at Taco Bell between 2pm and 5pm. Be sure to thank Jacoby Ellsbury before you consume it.

Also, and very off topic; what the fuck is wrong with people in Wisconsin?

Don't Let Him Go

It’s tempting to go after A-Rod, but don’t let this guy go to do it. He may not be the MVP in the rest of the baseball world, but he is an MVP where it counts.

It’s been less than 48 hours since Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras announced A-Rod will opt out of his contract and test free agency this off season. The world has been left to ponder the absurd timing of announcing his opt out, where he will end up playing ball in ’08 and the general obnoxiousness of Boras.

Some Boston fans are squawking about the timing of it all and how it stole the thunder away from the Sox running away with the World Series. Most notably, ESPN “Analyst” and non-closeted Red Sox fan Peter Gammons almost cried on the air yesterday with my least favorite human being in the world, Colin Cowherd. Yes, it’s amazing that at this time last year Boston starter Jon Lester was undergoing chemotherapy and pitched a gem of a game to clinch the second championship in four years for the Sox, but come on. I hate the Yankees and I didn’t really care while I was watching the game and guess what? I don’t really care today either. I was too worried about if Francona was going to use an overworked Okajima in the 7^th or 8^th.

Everything that A-Rod does or does not do is going to be big news because people in general are stupid and they love their tabloid news. It’s just how it is these days. People would rather read about Britney Spears than humanitarian efforts in Outer Mongolia. And yes, A-Rod is to baseball what Britney is to the entertainment world. If you consider what she does to be entertainment I guess. The only people that this was breaking news to were people with the attention spans of tadpoles. If you watched any baseball this year you knew it wasn't going to work out between A-Rod and Yankees brass.

There have been talks of the Sox possibly pursuing A-Rod. This would be a monumental blunder. Especially if they let World Series MVP Mike Lowell go to free up money to bag him. A-Rod in a Sox uniform? The very thought makes me queasy. I think Epstein and company will take a pass after being embarrassed by A-Rod and Boras in 2003-04. It was almost as embarrassing as Wade Boggs winning a World Series with the Yankees. So, here are some words for the Red Sox front office to live by. I think it was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air who once said “if it ain’t broke, then don’t try and fix it.”

Moving away from the crazy ass world of A-Rod and the fallout in the Bronx, Boston will have a victory parade today to honor the 2007 champions. It’s definitely not guaranteed, but since most people that live in Boston are generally assholes, I’m sure there will be some sort of disruption between Lansdowne Street and City Hall. The night of the victory when police tried to break up people celebrating in the street, some party goers threw beer bottles at them. Classy. As much as I love this team and the area they play in, the people kind of suck. Despite that fact, I'll be paying too much for tickets and a hotel room for my wife and I next summer to see them play in Fenway.

The Sox got their due by easily winning the last seven games of their championship run, and I was generally surprised that SportsCenter didn’t focus on it too much. They have to over hype other future matters. Joe Girardi is yet to say yes to the Yanks, Kobe is pushing for a trade and the greatest football game ever played this weekend between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots is on!! I’m tired of that game already, and they haven't even stepped foot on the field. This is how I feel about the Super Bowl usually, except it's still October.

One other thing regarding the Pats. I’m not a fan of their team in any respect, but if you think they ran the score up (they did) and disrespected the game of football by doing so you’re a douche bag. A big one. I think everyone made too big a deal of the videotaping scandal and it's cool Belichick is basically saying "fuck you" to the rest of the NFL. But consider this, maybe the Redskins should have played better? Did you ever think of that? When you suck you suck, and if you can’t compete don’t ask the other team to play the mercy game with you. Just try not sucking as much next time. How about that? Or maybe the next time your mom tucks you into bed at night you can ask her "why is the world so unfair?" If this question transcends from football to baseball this week, you probably live in Denver.