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Pat Burrell and his hot wife are headed to Tampa

2009-01-06T00:03:54Z

Excellent signing by the Rays. Two years at $8 million per for a 32-year-old who's averaged 31 homers over the past four years and appeared in a career-high 157 games last year? Sounds like a bargain to me, especially considering he made nearly twice that last season. The Rays proved last year that solid starting pitching, a great bullpen and plus defense can get you pretty far, so by coupling Burrell with Haverhill's own Carlos Pena in the middle of the lineup, the offense might be able to catch up to those other areas in terms of overall efficiency. Certainly doesn't hurt to add a guy that should be a virtual lock to hit 30 long balls in each of the next two years. It also helps that Burrell decided to go to an AL team, where he'll be able to split time at DH and the outfield, if the Rays so decide.

With both the Rays and Yanks getting exponentially stronger at their biggest need areas, the Sox would be wise to make some sort of move soon, even if it's just locking up Tek or settling on a fourth outfielder. I'd still love to see Baldelli in a Sox uniform, but after the news that his original disorder may have been misdiagnosed, his price tag may exceed what the Sox are willing to pay. Here's hoping they do something soon as the bullpen still needs some work, another arm in the rotation would be nice, Josh Bard is currently our starting catch, and the team desparately needs a super-utility type in the OF to cover the inevitable J.D. Drew injury.

Aaron Ward: Less tough than your average hockey player

2009-01-05T02:26:24Z

According to Bruins coach Claude Julien, the reason Aaron Ward was unable to return to action in yesterday's 4-2 loss to the Sabres was because he was suffering from a charley horse sustained in the second period. He'll apparently be re-evaluated in the next few days and it's unsure how much time he'll miss with this "injury."

Far be it from me to criticize a professional athlete as they likely deal with more physical pain on a daily basis than any of us, but couldn't they have at least spruced up the phrasing a bit and say he suffered a contusion, or pulled a muscle, or something? Anything's better than saying the dude got a charley horse and just couldn't carry on.

I mean if I've never missed a blog post because of a wet willie or a titty twister, there's no way Ward should be missing time with a charley horse. End of story.

The Picks - Postseason Week 1

2009-01-01T21:30:30Z

Falcons (-2.5) vs. Cardinals
Of all the opening round matchups coming up this week, this one's got the best storylines by far. Can offensive ROY Matt Ryan continue his torrid pace and advance the Falcons to the next round? Will Anquan Boldin rebound after missing the last couple of weeks and complete that devestating 1-2 punch (along with Larry Fitzgerald)? Will Matt Leinart finally be sober after his no doubt extensive New Year's celebrations? In the end, I like the well-balanced Falcons attack - after following up last year's solid number with another great season, Roddy white is easily a top tier WR, and Michael Turner should be able to do damage against an Arizona D allowing 4.0 yards per carry and over 110 per game on the ground.

Falcons -2.5

Colts vs. Chargers (even)
This one will baffle betters, myself included, until we actually have a result. Both defense are extremely vulnerable this year, and both offenses are high-powered and potent enough to rack up points on anybody. I see this one coming down to the running backs: LT ended the season on a high note with a trio of TDs against Denver, but 2008 was easily his most disappointing season in recent memory. Sproles is a more-than-capable backup, but LT will be leaned on until (if) he proves he's ineffective. On the other sideline, Joseph Addai has battled injuries all season, but like Tomlinson, he looked sharp in the season finale, connecting on a 55-yard TD catch with Manning. Ultimately, I don't trust either of them with the game on the line at this time, and you have to give the QB edge to Peyton, who's been here before and should be comfortable in the big game.

Colts (even)

Ravens (-3.5) vs. Dolphins
The grudge match for Patriots fans. Rather than try to reason this one out from both sides, allow me to explain the ways the Ravens are better than the Dolphins. Defense: Ray Lewis and Ed Reed... 'nuff said. (Actually, not enough said... Baltimore is second in the league against the pass and third against the run. All that's left is for the Ravens to learn the Wildcat plays the 'Fins might throw at them and they're set.) Offensive line: The Ravens are averaging 148.5 running yards per game, good for fourth in the league. Speaking of which... Skill position players: the three-headed monster of McGahee, McClain and Rice is infinitely more impressive than Ronnie and Ricky could hope to be. As far as receivers go, I like the reliable tandem of Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason more than Camarillo and Ginn, and tight end is a wash when Heap is healthy (although Fasano has been very impressive this year). The only spot where the Dolphins are likely better than the Ravens is quarterback; the veteran Pennington has experience on his side, and it wouldn' t be the first time a rookie quarterback got flustered in a big game if Flacco struggles. However, Baltimore can still pull it out if Flacco doesn't live up to the lofty expectations he surpassed in the regular season.

Ravens -3.5

Eagles (-3) vs. Vikings
This one will be fun to watch because of the guys in the backfield: AP and Westbrook. Both teams boast excellent defenses - Eagles: pass (182.1 YPG, 3rd), run (92.2 YPG, 4th) / Vikings: pass (215.6 YPG, 18th), run (76.9 YPG, 4th) - but Philly should be able to stack up against the run as the Minny attack is very one-dimensional (i.e. hand the ball to All Day and let him run the hell out of it). If AP is able to bust off a couple long ones, I think the Vikings have a shot. However, I think the Eagles are too well-rounded to lose here. That is, ouf course, as long as McNabb doesn't get sick or tired or something. I hate going with all favorites as there's always one or two surprise upsets in every round, but whatever, it's not like I'm betting actual money or anything. Oh, wait a second...

Eagles -3

Sports' Spitting Images - Kevin Cash and Michael Pena

2009-01-02T05:51:16Z

After a week off from SSI's (happy holidays by the way), we're back and better than ever. As opposed to the reader-suggested SSI's we've been rolling with lately, I thought this one up all on my own (aren't you proud, Ma?!) and I think it's pretty darn good. You be the judge.

You're looking at former Sox backup backstop Kevin Cash and actor Michael Pena. Cash pulled a Johnny Damon and skipped town to go play for the Yankees, although the loss of Wakefield's now ex-battery-mate is a little easier to stomach than Damon's defection was. (On a loosely related note, do you remember those "Johnny Demon" t-shirts everyone came out with after he left? How weak were those things?) Cash could only muster a minor league deal from a team that's throwing around millions like it's going out of style, so I say good riddance if he wasn't willing to come back to the Sox for the same offer (although it's entirely likely the Sox didn't even want him back).

Pena starred opposite Marky Mark Wahlberg in a shitty movie I saw recently called Shooter. If you haven't seen it, don't bother; if you have seen it and were actually able to sit through the entire thing, I share in your misery. Wahlberg has this disgusting, patchy goatee at the beginning of the film that he thankfully ditches about 20 or so minutes in, and Danny Glover has the most ridiculous lisp I've ever been forced to listen to. Not to mention it appears that our beloved Roger Murtaugh (yeah, that's a Lethal Weapon reference for your asses, you're welcome) decided to get braces in the ever-popular, growing "My life is more than halfway over but it's never too late to straighten that smile!" trend.

Bottom line of this post: Shooter sucked, but at least Kate Mara and Rhona Mitra made it a bit more palatable. For that, I'll forgive Pena and Wahlberg (not Glover... the lisp really was unbearable) and give them a shot to impress me in the future. But they should know that they're skating on thin ice, unlike the Bruins, who moved into first place in the entire NHL with a win against Pittsburgh last night... (See what I did there?)

How dare you question Jack Edwards' sexuality!

2009-01-01T20:35:40Z

Watching the Bruins from work at the moment and happened to hear NESN play-by-play extraordinaire Jacke Edwards refer to Savard as "Johnny On-the-spot," which reminded me of something I've been meaning to post for a couple days now. But more on that in a bit. Now, I'm usually a big fan of Edwards for several reasons. First, he's as knowledgeable about the sport and the athletes he covers as any broadcaster you'll watch. Think that's not a big deal? Just try listening to Kathryn Tappen stumble through semi-difficult first and last names of all the Ruskies in the League during intermissions and you'll see just how important it is.

Second and most importantly, the dude clearly loves what he does, almost to a fault. His excitement and passion for the sport is rarely contained and I think that greatly improves the quality of the broadcast. I've never accepted the widely-held belief that you have to eschew your fandom when you become a member of the established sports media to be truly successful, and it seems to me that Edwards exemplifies that principle more than most.

However, as we exist to bring such things to light and analyze/scrutinize/every-other-ize them, I simply could not let this one pass. I'll let you decide for yourselves, but this just seems a bit too goofy to me. Yeah, it's cute. And it's witty, clever and well-composed, but come on. If you drew a line on the ice, Edwards would be thirty feet beyond it with this performance. Love ya, Jack, but leave the Christmas tunes to Sinatra. (Thanks to Hub Hockey for the vid.)

Defensive Rookie of the Year honor goes to Mayo

2008-12-31T22:14:50Z

You didn't think a little thing like New Year's Eve would keep me from posting today, did you? Anyway, before all the celebrations and what not get underway, I just wanted to draw up a quick post on Patriots rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo and his winning of the Defensive Rookie of the Year award today.

Hard to argue that Mayo receiving the honor is anything but deserved; facing tremendous odds both as the 10th overall pick this past year and the youthfull addition to the LB corps the Pats so desperately needed, he exceeded even the highest of expectations. Although he didn't record a single sack, Mayo led the team with 128 tackles (10th in the league), including 100 solos (tied for fifth overall). Mayo was a near-unanimous selection with only one dick-rider of the 50 writers and broadcasters not casting their vote for him. Who did that one jabroni vote for, you ask? The Bengals' Keith Rivers. As in the Keith Rivers the Pats decided not to draft over Mayo, and the Keith Rivers who appeared in less than half of all possible games this season (7). Guess not everyone takes the honor of having the vote as seriously as they should, as Evan Grant proved during the whole Pedroia MVP voting bullshit.

As any good Belichick product would in such a situation, Mayo said all the right things when asked about receiving the honor:

Yeah, winning the award was one of my goals coming to the season, one of my personal goals. But the team goals - those came first. We fell short and won 11 games. My main goal was to make it to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. Now we have to look ahead to doing it next year, but it’s definitely an honor to get this award.

Brady-less Pats finish 11-5, still miss playoffs

2008-12-30T00:08:37Z

Hard to be disappointed with the way the season ended up given the fact that I had basically written this team off after Brady went down during Game 1. It just sucks that the Pats did everything they had to to make it in and it came down to the newly unemployed Eric Mangini (or should I say, CAN-gini ha ha ha), the soon-to-be unemployed Brett Favre, and the rest of the J-E-T-S blowing the game against the 'Fins. No one was actually expecting the Jags to put up a fight against the Ravens, but the Jets really should have won that game. Ahhh, what could have been and what should have been.

Oh yeah, and as if that wasn't tough enough to deal with, NBCSports.com just came out with a report saying that Brady is "well behind" his recovery from knee surgery and that another operation may be necessary, meaning his 2009 season could be in doubt. Peter King says the Pats are sending mixed signals to increase Cassel's trade value (in the event that they extend him or place the franchise tag on him), but either way, the fact that such information is being pumped out there is not a great sign.

In the end, as Bill Belichick said earlier today on 'EEI, we can always look forward to next season when the Pats will hopefully still be playing at this time of year (a loose paraphrasing, of course). Anyway, on to some highlights from yesterday's game:

Running backs finish strong - Faced with gusts of upwards of 60 MPH, both teams were understandably focused on the run. With one of the most highly touted young backs in the game in Marshawn Lynch riding the pine, the combined effort of Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan dominated the Buffalo defense to the tune of 149 total yards and the game's lone touchdown. Morris' truck-stick hit on Donte Whitner was a thing of beauty. Another excellent showing from the duo. Morris is under contract for next year, and hopefully the Pats can find a way of keeping Jordan around, as well.
No Seymour not such a bad thing - Jarvis Green was unbelievable, playing what was likely the game of his career. 3 solo tackles and 2 sacks, including the pivotal strip-sack in the third quarter. Just a fantastic performance when the team needed it most.
Cassel can fill in for Hanson any time - The dude earned himself a ton of money this year and if you want to get cute, you could even say he has the added versatility of being able to drop in a quick kick every once in a while. I don't like the idea of signing him as a backup long-term if it's going to cost upwards of $8 million per year, but it's not a bad idea to franchise him and let things with Brady play out as they may. At this point, he's an excellent insurance policy that the Pats most certainly can afford.
Maybe Meriweather can replace Harrison - Rodney's chances of returning are minimal, so it was particularly good to see Brandon Meriweather put together one of the best games of his young career. Five solo tackles, good for third on the team, most of which of the incredibly hard hitting variety. Good stuff.
Randy being Randy - Moss clearly didn't have the same rapport with Cassel that he has with Brady, but are any of you actually feeling bad that we have Randy Moss under contract for the next 2 years? Didn't think so...
Time for the rest of the NFL to raid the Patriots' closet - Next on the list of soon-to-be ex-Patriots personnel are Scott Pioli and Josh McDaniels, both of whom are reportedly being heavily pursued for the GM and head coach positions of the Browns. Can't blame them for wanting to go out and make names for themselves away from the Patriots dynasty... as long as BB's still around, Patriots nation is safe.

Penny, Bard set to join Red Sox

2008-12-29T15:17:18Z

Late last evening (slash early this morning...), the Sox announced that they'll be welcoming a pair of new faces into the clubhouse: free agents Brad Penny and Josh Bard.

Both will be here on one year deals, with Penny's starting at $5 million and possibly worth a total of $8 million, and Bard's of the non-guaranteed, $1.6 million dollar variety.

Not exactly along the lines of the huge money being tossed around by the Yankees, but Theo's never been one to overreact hastily to moves made by other teams (thankfully) and over-commit money and years to guys that don't deserve it. The Sox picked up a couple of decent to good free agents at need positions and did it on the cheap, relatively speaking.

Looking at each move individually, the Penny signing will easily end up being the better of the two signings. The former Dodger and two-time All-Star put on a clinic on how to implode as a starting pitcher last season, going 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA over his first 7 starts, only to finish the year with a 6-9 record, 6.27 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and a meager 51 Ks in just 94.2 innings pitched. Discouraging numbers indeed, but after finishing the season on the 60-day DL and with his rehab on his sore right shoulder expected to be successful, he should be at worst a serviceable fourth starter (with Wake currently penciled in to the five spot). I also like this move because it allows Masterson to stay in the 'pen and Buchholz to get a bit more time in the minor league ranks. Those of you hoping for a return to 2006-07 form might be a bit disappointed, but at 30 years old, Penny should still have a lot to offer. I stop short of calling this "low risk, high reward" because $5 to $8 mil would hardly classify as "low risk," but this will clearly be the more impactful of the moves, so it should be woth it in the end. Plus, he's probably still boys with Beckett and Lowell from their Florida days, so that's kind of cool I guess.

The Bard signing might not even end up panning out, but it offers them a little more flexibility as they can now actually slot someone into the catcher slot on the MLB roster if the unthinkable happens and Tek jets (remember, Kevin Cash left for New York, New York after being non-tendered by the Sox at the end of the season...). Everyone throwing out the idea that Bard is here as a long term solution and that the Sox will now let Tek walk can put those fears to rest right now: Bard is little more than an insurance policy, as we learned when he was with the club for all of 7 games in 2006. He hit .202 with 1 homer and 16 RBI in 178 plate appearances with the Padres. In two seasons prior with San Diego, he hit .338 (2006) and .285 (2007) in 93 and 118 games, respectively. Unfortunately for the Sox, he can't catch the knuckleball (10 passed balles in 06), minimizing his value. This move alone won't help get the Sox to where they want to go, but they needed at least one body at the position at this point and they got it. No qualms with this move, unless they faily to make a subsequent move to find their 4 or so game per week starter (likely Tek).

The Picks - Week 17

2008-12-27T03:26:24Z

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays goes out to all three (maybe four) of our loyal readers in this final regular season edition of The Picks for the 2008-09 season. We'll be on here picking the playoff games (didn't think our job stopped following Week 17, did you?) as they come along. Enjoy.

Bucs -12.5 / Lions +10.5 / Cowboys +1 / Giants +7 / Texans -2.5 / Saints +2.5 / Falcons -14 / Chiefs +3 / Ravens -12.5 / Titans -3 / Steelers -11 / Dolphins +3 / Patriots -6 / Cardinals -6 / 49ers -3 / Chargers -8

Celtics make history, championship repeat imminent

2008-12-23T22:56:56Z

(KG's clearly pumped about his 18 points and 2 blocks)

Celtics' to-do list for tonight's game against the 76ers:

Destroy the (barely) third best team in the division by 19 points (110-91): CHECK
Establish a new franchise-best win streak at 19 games: CHECK
Set a new league-wide record for best start to a season at 27-2: CHECK
Have six players, including two guys off the bench, reach double digits in points: CHECK
Get Rondo to continue his torrid pace (18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals): CHECK
Continue to challenge the 72-10 1995-96 Bulls for the best record in league history (the C's are now on pace to go 76-6): CHECK
Repeat as champs and bring home banner No. 18: To be determined...

6 out of 7 ain't too shabby...