Lots Of Medical Questions

Combine all the recent low-risk high-reward signings with the key injured players from last year and the 2009 Boston Red Sox may be better served setting up a M.A.S.H. Unit when Spring Training begins next month in Fort Meyers, FL. Needless to say, the Red Sox Team Doctors have their work cut out for them this year. Arguably Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Takashi Saito, and John Smoltz all had better years in 2007. However, if the Medical staff can help return these guys even to their 2006 form, the Sox could be vying for another World Series title in 2009...but that is a big "IF".

Brad Penny (Shoulder)
2008: W-L 6-9 ERA 6.28 - 2006: W-L 16-9 ERA 4.33

John Smoltz (Shoulder)
2008: W-L 3-2 ERA 2.57 - 2006: W-L 16-9 ERA 3.49

Josh Beckett (Oblique)
2008: W-L 12-10 4.03 ERA - 2006: W-L 16-11 5.01 ERA

Takashi Saito (Elbow)
2008: 18 Saves 2.49 ERA - 2006: 24 Saves 2.07 ERA

Mike Lowell (Hip)
2008: 17 HR 73 RBI .274 Avg. - 2006: 20 HR 80 RBI .284 Avg.

Rocco Baldelli (Mitochondrial Disorder)
2008: 4 HR 13 RBI .263 Avg. - 2006: 16 HR 57 RBI .302 Avg.

David Ortiz (Wrist)
2008: 23 HR 89 RBI .264 Avg. - 2006: 54 HR 137 RBI .287 Avg.

Julio Lugo (Quadricep)
2008: 1 HR 22 RBI .268 Avg. - 2006: 12 HR 39 RBI .268 Avg.

Jason Varitek (Head)
2008: 13 HR 43 RBI .220 Avg. - 2006: 12 HR 55 RBI .238 Avg.

So You Think You Had A Bad Week?!?

It wasn't all bad as Tyrese Rice and the Boston College Basketball team did manage to upset the undefeated and #1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and in Chapel Hill no less. However, for the other Hub Sports teams, the rest of the week was as gloomy as the January weather in Boston.

BOSTON CELTICS:

After beginning the season 27-2, the Celts lose their next 6 out of 8 games. Even though the Garnett, Pierce, and Allen played well early on and Rajon Rondo improved greatly from last year, it's apparent that they miss James Posey. Last year it was Posey, as much as Garnett, who set the tone for the Celtics. He was the leader of a bench unit that would routinely beat the first unit in practice and often pull out games when the starters weren't on their games. As this year progresses, teams are learning how to defend Rondo, taking advantage of the weak Celts' bench, and subsequently wearing down the 'Big 3'.

BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

Not only does Boston College lose their first Bowl game after winning 8 in a row, but they lose to a (6-6) Vanderbilt football team which hadn't won a Bowl game in 53 years. To add insult to injury, second year BC Head Coach Jeff Jagodzinski is then caught soliciting NFL teams for interview requests after promising his boss (and friend), Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo, that he would stay at BC for the length of his contract. Coach Jags then interviews with the New York Jets even though he has little or no chance of landing the job and is subsequently fired by the DeFilippo. To make matters worse, this is all happening at the height of recruiting season.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:

It wasn't enough that the Pats didn't make the playoffs when the Jets failed to beat Miami, but then the Jets fire Bill Belichick's former protege and now nemesis, Eric Mangini, only to see the Cleveland Browns hire him within the week. To make matters worse; the Pats could lose Scott Pioli and Josh McDaniels as both are still interviewing with other teams, former Pat Asante Samuel makes another pick-6 in the playoffs for the Eagles, and early reports say Matt Cassel will be offered the franchise tag which means that Tom Brady is having setbacks with his knee.

BOSTON RED SOX:

Mark Teixiera is officialy announced as a member of the arch rival New York Yankees and Bostonians finally learn the bitter truth that contrary to all the reports, the Red Sox were never his or his wife's first choice. After losing out on Teixiera, the Sox front office seems shell-shocked and with less than 5 weeks until Spring Training they are still struggling to find a starting Catcher, a fourth Outfielder, and support for David Ortiz in the line-up. Plus, their new division rival, Tampa Bay, manages to solidify their already potent line-up by signing free agent slugger Pat Burrell for pennies on the dollar.

BOSTON BRUINS:

After beginning the year with a remarkable 29-5 record and a recent 10 game winning streak, the team loses 2 straight games as the injuries and fatigue begin to mount. Milan Lucic and Aaron Ward can't shake their nagging injuries, Marco Sturm is scheduled for knee surgery, and Patrice Bergeron may be out the rest of the year with another concussion.

Transfer of Utilities?

My West coast moles tell me that the Red Sox have contacted free agent infielder and former Arizona State standout Willie Bloomquist. According to the Boston Herald's Sean McAdam, the Sox aren't planning on bringing back Alex Cora which leaves the the loser of the starting shortstop position battle between Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo to be the utility infielder going into the season. However, if the Sox are still pursuing another middle infielder like Bloomquist, then Lugo or Lowrie may be part of a bigger trade that's brewing for either a hitting shortstop like Michael Young and Hanley Ramirez -or- a young catcher like Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Sox Spending little with Penny & Green

So the Yankees sign Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett, and C.C. Sabathia for $423 million. The frugal Tampa Bay Rays spend over $16 million to solidify their potent line-up with Pat Burrell and the Red Sox pick-up an injured Brad Penny and Utility Infielder Nick Green for less than $6 million!

Woohoo! Who's next Theo...Willie Bloomquist ?!?

New Year Wishes For Boston Sports!

10.) Eric Mangini not getting another head coaching job in the NFL

9.) The Boston Bruins playing the Montreal Canadiens in the next NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park

8.) Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge picking-up a valuable bench player before the playoffs begin

7.) The Boston Red Sox securing another big bat to support David Ortiz in the line-up

6.) The New York Yankees not making the playoffs with Mark Teixeira

5.) Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, and Josh Beckett all returning to their 2007 form

4.) The Boston Red Sox winning another World Series

3.) The Boston Celtics winning back-to-back NBA Championships

2.) The Boston Bruins winning their first Stanley Cup in over 35 years

1.) Tom Brady returning 100% healthy for the 2009 NFL season

Notes from the Coast: Patriots' Post-mortem

It was a courageous season that ended with a miraculous 11-5 record. However, when you lose the MVP of the NFL, your starting RB, as well as many other key players to injury, and then have to rely on a New York team to get into the playoffs, it shouldn't be a surprise that the 2008 Patriots will not be playing into 2009. Here are some thoughts on a very grueling and somewhat disappointing season.

• Bill Belichick won't win the Coach of the Year Award (see Miami Coach Tony Sparano instead) but after winning all year with a bunch of scrap-heap players, some rookies, a retiree, and a QB that hadn't started a game since High School, Belichick has probably done his best coaching this year.
• Big props to 39 year old future Hall of Famer Junior Seau for getting off his surfboard in San Diego and coming out of retirement to rejoin the Pats when they needed him. In previous years the incentive was to finally win a SuperBowl but this year it appears Junior simply wanted to help out a coach and organization he has grown to respect.
• Player I want back next year: Rodney Harrison--With a young Secondary, the Pats could use his leadership and guile for another year. I just hope he has something left in the tank after all his recent injuries.
• Player I don't want back next year: Lawrence Maroney--He has one more year left on his rookie contract but with all the nagging injuries and a bunch of unfulfilled potential, I think it's time time the Pats labeled this draft pick a "bust".
• I do think Scott Pioli may accept the Head of Football Operations job Cleveland, as long as, Eric Magini is not chosen by the Browns' Owner as the new Head Coach.
• My guess is that after seeing what happened to Eric Mangini in New York recently that Pats' Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels may wait a little longer before accepting a head coaching job in the NFL.
• Had Charlie Weiss gotten the axe from Notre Dame, there may have been a chance that he and Romeo Crennel would have considered returning to the place of their greatest success as Coordinators under Bill Belichick in New England.
• Some are reporting (and dreading) that Tom Brady is behind schedule in rehabbing his injured knee and may need another surgery which would keep him out of the 2009 season. However, we will all know the truth come March 1st when the Patriots will be forced to slap their franchise tag on back-up QB Matt Cassel for a possible insurance policy in case Brady's knee is not progressing.
• Talk about unfair, next year will be the third year in a row that the Patriots will have to play Peyton Manning and the mighty Colts -- at Indianapolis!
• Again unfair, the Chargers made the NFL play-offs with an 8-8 record and the Patriots at 11-5 do not. Yet, because the Chargers have a worse record, they could draft as many as 8 spots ahead of the Pats in the 2009 NFL Draft next April.

Notes from the Coast: Hot Stove Thoughts

Now that it has officially dipped below 60 degrees on the west coast and the Baseball Winter meetings are less than 2 weeks away, this is probably as good a time as any to stoke-up The Ol' Hot Stove and examine the latest offseason baseball rumors.

• No doubt that Mark Teixeira is a perfect fit for the Red Sox but there are several teams interested in the 28 year old First Baseman. Fortunately for the Sox, Teixeira has not re-signed with the Angels yet and truly wants to play close to his home in Maryland. Even better, it seems Teixeira may also want to play for a contender which would then eliminate both his hometown teams the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.
• That said, Red Sox fans should pray that C.C. Sabathia accepts the Yankees' offer of $140 million over 6 years because then that would greatly reduce the chances of the Yanks making a strong offer to Mark Teixeira. Unfortunately, the Yanks' offer has been on the table for over a week, so it looks like Sabathia may pass and take a lesser contract to play on the west coast.
• Even though Red Sox owner John Henry is a big fan, I can't believe the Sox are truly interested in free agent Pitcher A.J. Burnett. If anything, Sox GM Theo Epstein is probably trying to drive up the price for the Yankees. Word is that the Yankees are committed to acquiring 2 of the top 3 free agent pitchers on the market, so upping the ante will again make it tough for New York to make a strong bid for Teixeira.
• Now a free agent, former Sox Pitcher Derek Lowe desires a return to Boston. However, with Scott Boras as his agent, I wouldn't expect Lowe to accept a hometown discount which would make his chances of returning to Fenway as a 4th starter highly unlikely.
• Even if the Sox trade Pitchers Clay Bucholz and/or Michael Bowden to Texas for young Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, I wouldn't expect them to move Justin Masterson into the starting rotation. With Mike Timlin gone and Manny Delcarmen somewhat inconsistent, Masterson is too valuable in the bullpen. Instead I would expect the Sox to pick-up a veteran pitcher again like Paul Byrd and Bartolo Colon or maybe trade Julio Lugo to the Detroit Tigers for Dontrelle Willis in order to fill the 4th starter role on the pitching staff.
• It looks like Japanese Pitcher Junichi Tazawa will be signing with the Red Sox. The 22 yr old right handed pitcher's fastball has been reported anywhere between 90-97 m.p.h but he still needs a lot of seasoning so his signing shouldn't affect or impact any Sox front office decisions this season.
• There have been many speculative reports about the amount of suitors and contract offers for Red Sox Catcher Jason Varitek. Even if the Sox aren't offering Varitek the kind of money and years he and Boras want, I still expect him to finish his career with the Sox. Now that his divorce is final, I expect Varitek to have a better year at the plate which would mesh well with an incentive laden contract. Plus, Varitek's expertise at calling a game and his handling of both young and foreign pitchers would be invaluable training for a young catcher should the Sox acquire one.

Cassel & Pats, Kings of Miami!

Little DP Wins Big MVP Award

B's Beat-up Canadiens!

Bruins log first win against Montreal in 13 games with an exclamation point. Milan Lucic gets revenge on the Les Habs' Mike Komisarek from last year's playoffs.

Notes from the Coast: Back from the Dead Post

It took 22 years, 4 GMs, 3 Presidents of Basketball operations and unfortunately 2 untimely deaths, but the Boston Celtics finally hoisted banner #17 to the rafters the other night. It was a very touching ceremony that involved former Celtic greats passing the trophy/championship baton to a weeping Paul Pierce. And the whole thing only took 15 minutes!

• Could Bill Belichick be having his best coaching year in 2008? Tom Brady, Lawrence Maroney, and Rodney Harrison are all out for the season yet the Patriots stand at 5-2 while the Colts and Chargers are only 3-4 and 3-5 respectively. At this point in the season the Pats amazingly have a better record than over-hyped 'Brett & the Jets' team down Route 95, as well as, the highly-touted and Superbowl favored Dallas Cowboys.
• Thank goodness the Phillies won the World Series! Miracle year or not, there was no way a team like Tampa which has only been in the league 10 years, barely gets any fans, and whose top player only makes $6M deserved to win it all.
• Don't look now but the Boston Bruins are a young and talented team. After back-to-back shut outs by Goalie Tim Thomas the B's are also 5-2 on the young season and just 1 point out of first place. Unfortunately, Thomas is 34 yrs old and as the elder statesman of the Bruins, he'll be hard-pressed to keep up this pace throughout the long season.
• "Industry sources believe the Yankees will make a serious push for Manny Ramirez to play right field next year." That industry source is simply agent Scott Boras trying to drive up the price and/or years for Manny's next contract which puts Dodger's GM Ned Colletti lose-lose situation because the bidding will probably start at 4 yrs $25M.
• Celtic Banner factoid; The word "NBA" is stenciled over a white basketball background if the Celts clinched their championship title at home and over green if it was done on the road.

Ode to Charissa Thompson

This diddy was not created by this blog but you can can consider the message endorsed by BSB (although Erin Andrews will always be #1). Anyway, here's a little something to carry you over until the next posting...

More funny videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com