Holy Jet Lag, Batman!

We made it home safely yesterday after taking a red-eye flight to New York and then to Boston. I've never been so jet lagged in my life. Between the heat and humidity (and a hotel without air conditioning) and not getting any sleep overnight yesterday my body doesn't know which way is up. Hopefully by Friday or Saturday I will have recovered.

Comic-Con was fun; we can say we did it and we survived. Just as I suspected, I definitely rank pretty low on the geek scale at Comic-Con. I saw more costumes that I didn't recognize than ones I actually did.



*** Possible "Lost" Season 3 spoilers below. Read at your own risk. Skip to the next set of asteriks to avoid. ***





The "Lost" Q&A session was my highlight of the event. Some quick tidbits:

• Damon Lindleof said that Desmond returns in Season 3 and implied that Locke is alive and well.
• Lindleof also said that Season 3 has a twist in the middle that will blow your mind. By implication from earlier questions I gathered that the twist involves the perceived passage of time on the island.
• Kate will choose her man in the first pod of new episodes, which the producers call a sort of mini-series to start the season.
• The outside world (Penny et al.) will continue to play in a role going forward.
• The show seems planned for about 4 seasons. I had read that J.J. Abrams planned for 7, so this was news to me. The producers hope that ABC doesn't make them drag the show on indefinitely because they don't want to tap dance; they have a planned overall story arc.

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*** END OF SPOILERS ***

The second best part of the show for me was a tie between the Lionsgate films presentation and a demonstration by Lucasarts.

Lucasarts has been working on a new Indiana Jones game and a new Star Wars game. Both utilize two amazing new technologies. The first involves the artificial intelligence of the enemy. The AI is no longer scripted, but programmed to follow behaviors. As a result, the game is never the same twice. During a demo of the Indy game the bad guys never fell or reacted the same way twice. They tried to approach Indy and were staggered or thrown realistically and uniquely when hit or tossed.

The second technology that Lucasarts demonstrated involved the behavior of materials. If memory serves me correct, the name was "Digital Molecular Modeling". DMM allows materials to bend or break realistically. The demo showed thin wood, thick wood, soft metal, stone, glass, ice, crystal, graphite, and rubber objects all behave appropriately in a Star Wars themed location. The way that wood and glass break is unique depending on where and how the materials are struck. Soft metal gradually deforms while rubber is reflexive and returns to form.

One cool part of the demo had Storm Troopers spawn while being thrown at a wooden ceiling beam. Some, but not many, were able to grab onto the wood with one or both hands to prevent from falling. At one point a Storm Trooper holding the beam with one hand grabbed a fellow Storm Trooper with his free hand. The extra weight caused him to slip from the beam as the beam itself splintered and broke under their combined weight. Even the Lucasarts guys had never seen that happen before.

A brief video of gameplay from the new Star Wars game showed the DMM coupled with the AI. It was amazing. The Storm Troopers would react uniquely to the Jedi shown in the video. When the Jedi used the Force to push the Storm Troopers off the ledge several loose items on the ledge were also pushed over and one Storm Trooper lost his helmet. Then a different Jedi character was shown Force lifting three Storm Troopers and slamming them into the ground. Several small items were also lifted and slammed with the STs. One ST even lost hold of his weapon and tried to reach for it while both he and the gun were suspended in the air. The last part of the video showed a male Jedi lift a single ST and throw him against a large outcropped structure on a wall. The ST grabbed onto the structure to prevent from falling. The Jedi than Force pulled the ST sideways, eventually ripping the entire outcropping and ST from the wall.

Sadly both games are only in development for "Next Generation" consoles at the moment. Looks like you'll need an X-Box 360 or PS3 to play.

Lionsgate previewed several horror movies and a movie called "Crank". "Crank" stars Jason Statham as a hitman who has been injected with a poison. He has only 90 minutes to find out who injected him. Somehow his adrenaline level is involved, but it was not discussed during the panel. I believe he needs to maintain a high level to prevent the poison from taking effect. It was shot in HD and looks very cool.

The other Lionsgate film I'm excited about is "Saw III". A clip was shown at the end of the presentation that was most likely too graphic to receive an "R" rating. In the clip a man who was born into a privileged life yet has spent most of his life in chains in prison is forced to remove about a dozen bull ring style piercings from his body in 90 seconds. The three-to-four inch rings are pierced through his arms, legs, back, Achilles heels, and lower lip/jaw. It was brutal watching and listening to him struggle to save his life. It was more reminiscent of the first "Saw" than the sequel.

Tobin Bell, the actor who plays Jigsaw in the "Saw" movies, sounds just like the character he plays. I had previously assumed he used a deep, throaty, scary voice for the character in the films. It turns out that is his normal voice. If you had his cell phone number, he would scare the crap out of you.

Vacation

Here's my last post before leaving for San Diego tomorrow. We're going to the annual Comic-Con for the first time. It should be a blast. I'm most excited about "Family Guy" on Friday and "Lost" and "Spiderman 3" on Saturday. It should be fun going to a place where my level of geekiness only ranks about a 2 on a 10 scale.

I'm thinking of trying to start some shi* between the Star Wars and Star Trek fans.

The Sox eked out a win against the lowly Royals last night. Mirabelli should have walked on a 3-1 pitch, but a lousy call by plate ump Jim Joyce allowed him the opportunity to hit a game-tying 3-run homer. Thanks Jim!

I saw an interesting short article on Josh Beckett today. The author of "Feeding the Monster" reiterates what we all know about Beckett by now.

I saw Rotoworld questioned Jason Varitek's ability to call a decent game this year. I found the timing sort of interesting seeing that I just praised Varitek's defensive and leadership abilities in my "Mid-Season Musings" post. It made me realize that I'm not really in a position to evaluate Varitek's overall worth and that maybe he can't call a good game. I've always read and heard good things about him and would be a little surprised if he had suddenly become significantly worse than the last few years. I personally still have to think that the health of the starting pitching (and subsequently the quality of pitching) has had a big impact on the result this year as opposed to Varitek's abilities. The article on Beckett above would certainly seem to explain his troubles.



Now for something completely different. I had the chance to play Southers Marsh Golf Club last week. The course was easily one of the best manicured courses I've ever had the chance to play. It has been voted the best golf course in Plymouth four years in-a-row. It also has been voted the best burger in Plymouth. I certainly cannot disagree on either count. I wouldn't mind playing the course again this year, hopefully closer to the cranberry harvest to see the full color of the course.


Lastly, be sure to check out "What If" on NESN at 6PM on Thursday night. NESN has used computer statistical analysis to determine the outcome of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS if Grady Little had removed Pedro. It should be a very interesting program. I've got the DVR set to record it.

Ch-ch-ch-change

I enabled email posting to my blog today.  This is my first attempt to send an email to Blogger as a post.  Keep your cyber-fingers crossed.  There's really no reason for me to do this, but in theory I could post from remote locations with only email access and not internet access.  I could also use other devices, like cellphones or PDAs, to post.

 

I also enabled the ability for readers to email posts to other people.  The link is at the bottom of each post, near the "comments" link.

 

Finally, I decided to write about life in general.  Yes, I want to write about the Sox and the Pats, but as I've said before, I don't want to rehash games.  Anyone can watch Sports Center or Sports Desk or read the Globe or the Herald.  If I can't say anything unique, or at least present it differently, I'd rather not say it.

 

On that note, I ate lunch at Ruby Tuesday's today.  As of today they have pared down their menu.  I was somewhat disappointed to discover that they only offered about a dozen types of burgers now.  Gone were many of the combinations containing bison meat.  They still offer bison, but it's a simple bacon and American cheese offering.

 

I didn't ask, but I'm hoping that Ruby T's would still make some of the old combinations.  I almost asked to have a bison burger with bacon, cheddar, and some blue cheese on top.  I settled for the smokehouse burger (beef, onion strings, BBQ sauce, cheddar, and bacon). 

 

I also think that Ruby T's needs to pay a royalty to the Rolling Stones so that motion sensors can be installed at the doors.  They would be the one-way directional sensors that detected when customers left the building.  As the customer leaves, the outdoor speaks would play the line, "Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday...".

Mid-Season Musings

Some thoughts from the last few days in sports and the Sox at the unofficial midpoint of the season...

The Sox need pitching help, both a starter and a reliever in my opinion, but given the lack of quality arms available I hope they don't mortgage the future by trading any solid prospects this year. I think the Sox pitching is good enough to make the playoffs and even win the World Series this year, but I think they would be able to bury the Yanks and Jays with some help.

I think a healthy Matt "Meltdown" Clement with his head screwed on straight could be the necessary addition to the rotation. He doesn't have to be amazing, just eat up some innings at the back of the rotation and keep games close, giving the Sox a chance to win.

Julian Tavarez has been hit or miss all year. He could be an asset down the stretch if he strings together some good outings.

Rudy Seanez is worthless. Throw him out with the garbage.

While we're talking about worthless garbage, dump Willie Harris A.S.A.P. He's the worst pinch runner I've ever seen; he's costing the Sox valuable outs and potential runs.

I think that Timlin, Delcarmen, and Papelbon are very solid. I think that Hansen is getting there, but he's still not quite a completely reliable set-up man. Part of the problem may be that Francona pushes him past 3-outs at a time, to which he's seemingly getting more comfortable with. It's the multiple inning appearances that are hurting his numbers.

Varitek should bat in the 8th spot until (hopefully) he heats up. Since Lowell has shown he can't bat 5th either, Nixon and Pena should platoon in the number five spot.

It will be nice to have Pena back (no more Willie!).

Maybe Gonzalez should bat 8th and Tek 9th for while. There's no shame in that. Tek brings a lot to the table as team captain and catcher of the staff even if he's not bringing a lot to the plate this year.


Other topics:

I hate the ESPN baseball power rankings. Whoever does them is a total suck-up and Yankee kiss-ass. I've felt this way for years and it's going to take a lot to change my mind.

How does Michelle Wie suffer from heatstroke? Didn't she grow up in hot and humid (and reportedly beautiful) Hawaii?

Barry Bonds is going to prison, Barry Bonds is going to prison! Ring the bells! Sing it with me, "Barry's going to prison!". It's only a matter of time now. It will be funny for that @$$hole to worry about his @$$hole, if you catch my drift.

I heard one of the guys on ESPN News pronounce Hanley Ramirez's first name "AHN-lay".

I heard the song "The Adventure" by Angels and Airwaves on the radio. I thought it was Blink-182. Turns out the band is fronted by Tom Delonge of Blink fame. Sounds like it could be a great CD.

We'll be heading to the Comic-Con International in San Diego on Wednesday. It should be fun. I can't wait for the presentation by the producers of the show "Lost".

Red Is Better Than White

The Red Sox handled the White Sox on the road this weekend but they couldn't finish the job yesterday. The good guys won the first two games of the series relatively easily before failing to put away the defending champs on Sunday.

Jermaine "Why Won't You" Dye hit a game-tying homerun in the bottom of the 9th off Jonathan Papelbon with two outs. The Sox then managed to score twice in the 11th inning but missed two key opportunities in the bottom of the inning. First, "Why Won't You" Dye failed to touch third base when returning to second base on a flyout. The Red Sox didn't notice and failed to appeal. The miscue gave the White Sox another opportunity to tie the game. The next batter hit a potential double-play ball but A.J. "the Punk" Pierzynski slid well outside the baseline with both arms raised. His actions helped the runner beat the throw. Had the Red Sox completed the second half of the double-play, the game would have been over. Rudy "How Am I Still Pitching In the Major Leagues This Year" Seanez didn't have enough gas in the tank to get through the 19th inning.

Winning the series against the White Sox was a nice pickup after tanking against the Devils Rays earlier in the week. I still don't understand how the D-Rays can play the Sox so well, but fold against the Yanks. The D-Rays at least came back from a 5-0 deficit to win Sunday.

Red Hot Sox

The title says "Sox", you pervert.

The Sox are absolutely smoking, having won 14 of their last 15 games. They won 12 in row before conceding defeat to the Marlins on Friday night. They threw Jason Johnson on the mound against Dontrelle Willis, the Marlins' ace, in what could only be viewed as a blatant waving of the white surrender flag. I assume that management was hoping Willis would have an off night and the Sox offense would overcome any deficit that Johnson would create. Well, Johnson was as bad as advertised early, allowing five runs in the first two innings. The Sox didn't recover and lost for the first time in two weeks. They did go on to win the last two games of the series. In doing so they managed to tie the all time best mark in interleague play for a season at 16-2.

The NESN broadcast tonight is stuttering as if the frame rate is not what it should be. In the past I had assumed that my Motorola 6412 had simply become too warm. Turns out it's only NESN that's the problem. I just checked my incoming signal strength and found that NESN was only "Fair". ESPN HD, on the other hand, was "Good" and had twice the signal-to-noise ratio. Come on, NESN, don't play me like that. Boost your signal strength. I haven't yet attempted to correlate the problem with the location of the team or the weather conditions. It's perfectly clear and warm here, though.

Yes, I think Schilling was snubbed by Ozzie Guillen in not being elected to the All-Star game. However, I think Francisco Liriano was a bigger Guillen snub. I'm also shocked that Nomar was not chosen for the NL team. Both Liriano and Nomar are eligible to voted in by the fans in the MLB Final Vote.

I would like to propose that in the future the managers of the All-Star game are only allowed to add a single player from their own team. That would ensure that fan and player balloting accounted for the primary selections and the managers would be mostly responsible for electing the representatives from crummy teams. It would also remove much of the nepotism that Guillen and Joe Torre are so found of. I would also hope that baseball either drops the stupid rule calling for each team to be represented, or better yet, finds a way to increase the parity among the big and small market teams.

A Perfect Ten

The Sox won their 10th game in a row last night. Lester pitched out of two difficult bases loaded jams in the fourth and fifth innings. His record now stands at 3-0 with an E.R.A. of 2.95. His batting average against is around .221 and he's averaging more than one strikeout per inning. If he cuts down on his walks, he won't be in as many jams. I definitely think that the kid is here to stay; he would have to have a Clement-like meltdown to be sent back to Pawtucket. I actually have more confidence in Lester right now that I've ever had with Clement. I think Lester will be fine down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Coupled with a Yankee loss the Jedi/Rebel Forces now have a three-and-a-half game lead over the Evil Empire.

We all know that the Yankees are the Evil Empire in the galaxy of baseball. The role of the Sox was never clearly identified. I think that historically the Red Sox would equate to simply an average band of Rebel Forces. Now that the ghosts of the past have been vanquished the case could be made that they play a more prominent role in the galaxy of baseball.

Here in an image I created in 2003 during the ALCS. I think that Clemens and Nomar came out the best.

I don't want to preach in this corner of cyberspace, but I will take a quick moment to stand on my virtual soapbox. I hate and abhor three types of people in this world: child molesters/abusers, wife-beaters, and drunk-drivers. I'm glad that the local and national media did not let the Philadelphia Phillies sweep the Brett Myers incident under the rug. Myers was seen assaulting his wife on Boylston Street in Boston last week. He is a foot taller and weighs twice that of his wife. What he did has no place in our society. The Phillies did not handle the incident correctly this weekend. Thanks to the media it appears that they may be taking steps in the right direction.

*steps down*

I was glad that Sox fans applauded Pedro yesterday. It was a classy move by the Sox to show the highlight clips and a classy move by the fans to show so much love and respect. Yes, Pedro was my favorite Sox player through my college years and beyond. No, I don't condone his actions when he left (it's never okay to agree verbally to a contract with a team only to have your agent leverage your verbal agreement against another team to get more money/years). Pedro didn't pull a Damon here; he didn't say that he could never play for the Yankees and then run to them. Pedro simply used the Sox to get a better contract from the Mets. His Koufaxian career has been like a comet, incredibly bright, but short-lived. He deserves to be remembered as one of the best, if not, the best, pitcher in Red Sox history.

The moron running Boston Dirt Dogs had been planning, nay, hoping and praying for, a boo-fest for Pedro for weeks. I'm glad the fans were smarter than him. Once he sold-out to Boston.com his content went from uber-fan who believed every rumor to be stone-cold truth to a simply rehashing the daily headlines and pushing his opinion on the rest of us. I liked him more when he still cared about the team and not the money. The only content worthwhile on his site these days are the custom illustrations.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Commissioner, Peter Gammons, and his family.

Walk This Way

Big Papi, the greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox, did it again. Ortizzle hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning yesterday to give the Red Sox their 9th consecutive victory. Ortiz beat the Phillies with walk-off hits in back-to-back games to close out the three game series. That gives him three walk-off hits in the last 15 days. Somewhere, ARod is crying.

Kevin Youkilis scored the winning run and had a hit that was just as important yesterday. His game-tying double with two outs kept the Sox hopes alive and gave Big Papi a chance. I hope that Youk gets his due.

Craig Hansen got his first victory of the year after allowing an inherited run to score in the top of the 12th inning. Why does GL2:EB insist on bringing Hansen into games with runners on base? Let the kid cut his teeth with clean innings. Then if he gives up a hit, he's not giving up a run at the same time. He needs to gain the confidence that Papelbon possesses. Giving up runs every time out won't help him.

Bill Simmons wrote a piece about Papelbon for ESPN the Mag. I totally agree with his sentiment; my head says that Papelbon should be a starter next year, but my heart says he should remain the closer.

The Sports Guy somehow decided that Papelbon's nickname is "Paps". I think that sounds like a gynecological procedure. Simmons has had nickname issues ever since he moved to L.A. I don't know if he has faulty sources or if he's just too far out of touch with the east cost, but he misspells "Youk" and used to misspell "Big Papi". Someone needs to tell him to simply stop using nicknames altogether.

My last post was #50. So pop open the champagne (or better yet, a beer), but drink responsibly.

I Heard That You Missed Me

I suppose that I'm obligated to explain the dearth of posts here for the last month or so. The simple truth is really multi-faceted.

1. I've been crazy busy at work.
2. The Sox went through a funk and seemingly everyone had the injury bug.
3. Feedster claims that they were going to add Digital Sox to the list of Sox blogs on Boston.com. It hasn't happened yet.
4. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to capture thoughts and ideas and save them to write about at a convenient time.
5. I want to put the necessary time and effort into blogging so that I can write creatively and really find my voice. I don't want to simply rehash news or data that you can find on any website or blog.

Without giving away too much detail I will say that I currently work for a large consumer products company that is based in Boston. At least it was for the last ninety years or so. They "merged" with an even larger consumer products company based in Cincinnati. As a result I will be helping provide "the best a man can get" for only 5 more business days. Trying to launch three SKUs (possibly four), transition a chemical business, clean out your lab and desk, and find a new job is not all it's cracked up to be. A short while ago I was either taking a quick 15-minutes to post in the morning or leaving work on time and posting as soon as I got home. That hasn't happened for a while.

The Sox were starting to bum me out with the yearly June swoon. I certainly have become accustomed to it, but I've never attempted to blog through it in the past. The fact that the injury bug had seemingly bitten the team didn't help the matter. Sure, I poked fun at it with this post but frustrations with work made it difficult to blog about. I am by no means a fair weather Sox fan. I bleed Red Sox red through-and-through. I don't believe that real Sox fans could ever be fair weather fans given the history of the team. I watch way too many innings on NESN every year (at least according to my wonderful wife). Thankfully, the team has righted the ship and currently have an eight game winning streak.

I submitted my blog to Feedster to submit to Boston.com's list of fan blogs during Spring Training. At the start of the season I was blogging almost every day. Feedster said they would be submitting my blog to the list. I haven't seen it yet. It was sort of disheartening knowing that I could have increased readership by being added to the list at Boston.com but that nothing was happening on that front.

I have to figure out how to save "seeds" of posts. I can always type a few sentences and save the post as a draft but for some silly reason Blogger will treat the date of creation of the draft as the post date no matter when the draft is actually finished and posted. This might work, but I don't know how it would handle posts that are seemingly out-of-order chronologically. Maybe I can start using my PDA or saving drafts in GMail or something. I'm open to suggestions.

I like using creative metaphors and analogies. I enjoy carefully crafting pieces. Sites like Blogspot make bloggers a dime a dozen. I want to be different if only in quality, not necessarily content. I want to put the effort into posting that results in a blog I can be proud of.

The good news is that I will have a lot more time in July to post. I will be starting a new job August 1st and will have to reevaluate the blogging situation at that time. In the interim I will be attempting to post 5 or 6 times a week in July, save for the trip to San Diego we'll be taking.

Back to the Sox. Today they try to win their 9th straight game. They haven't made an error in almost two weeks. They are 10-1 against the National League so far this year. If they lose today, it will probably be because I jinxed them and the team made three errors. Let me apologize right now if that happens.

He Ain't Pretty No More

Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger crashed his motorcycle on June 12th in Pittsburgh. While I don't ever wish harm on anyone, I think that Big Ben might have been the victim of some much needed karmic retribution. You see, Mr. Roethlisberger is a big, fat liar. In July 2005 he was interviewed about riding motorcycles by ESPN's Andrea Kremer. How many times did his proverbial pants catch on fire? At least three by my count. And everyone knows that it's three strikes and you're out.

Here are his own words compared to the facts.


Roethlisberger: But when you're riding a Harley or a chopper and you're riding with a group of people and you're not on the highway and you're cruising, you're relaxing. I don't think its as much of a risk as people make it out to be.

Strike 1: LIAR! Benny-boy was riding solo.


Roethlisberger: I think it can be a risk. It depends on how you ride. I don't ride a sport bike. If I'm riding a sport bike and trying to do tricks, and going 200 miles down the highway, that's probably pretty stupid... I ride a Harley and a chopper.

Strike 2: LIAR! He was riding a black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa, a "large, racing-style bike".


ESPN: I assume you have your license?
Roethlisberger: Yes.

Strike 3: LIAR! Roethlisberger did not have license. That means he was required to wear a helmet and will face a whopping $388 in fines. He should be thrown in jail.


Roethlisberger is lucky to be alive. Helmet or no, he's lucky that he only scrambled his face and not his brains.

Riske Business

Ugh... The bullpen is decimated right now. Timlin went on the DL over the weekend which could cripple the Sox for a few weeks. After climbing back against the Jays last night and tying the game on a three run Varitek homerun David Riske promptly gives up the go-ahead run. I don't know why GL2:EB put Riske in that situation in only his second appearance of the season. Foulke and Papelbon were available last night. Bill James would have sent Papelbon into the game in the 8th inning. Is there any chance the Sox can hire James to be the manager?

Coco Crisp made an early return to team on Sunday. In fact, Sunday marked his Fenway debut. He's 3-for-9 since his return with a homerun. Soon enough he'll be batting leadoff again.

Wakefield was brilliant on Sunday throwing eight shutout innings. The bullpen nearly blew the 5-0 lead in the 9th inning. Certainly Mirabelli's inability to catch a 3rd strike, resulting in the Sox having to get four outs, didn't help the cause.

It was great to see the Sox complete a four game sweep of the Devil Rays over the weekend. It was even nicer to beat Scott Kazmir for a change. Papi dealt the killer blow with a three run double off the center field wall.

Injuries have hit hard this week. It looks like Clement might be feeling the effects of the line drive he took off the leg last week. Wells is going to miss his scheduled start tonight. Wily Mo joins Timlin on the DL. Keep your fingers crossed boys and girls.

Early Retirement

Tubby just took a line drive off his bad knee tonight. I'm betting that his career is now over.

I was hit in the knee by a baseball-sized rock thrown by a friend (I know, some friend!) back in my Little League days. I missed my next game because I couldn't run on the bad leg. Tubby has no cartilage in his right knee and was hit by a baseball traveling a lot faster than the rock that hit me. I can't see him returning.

It's a shame considering the rehab he required just to play this year and then the rehab required after his season debut. We need pitching. As good as Wily Mo plays, we could really use Bronson right now (see yesterday's closing paragraph).

Where's Jack Bauer When You Need Him?

"Slit his throat. Cut deep to sever the vocal chords and carotid artery." - 24's Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer is brutally efficient counter-terrorist agent. He saves the world 24-hours at a time without eating or using the bathroom. He's not afraid to torture, maim, or kill you to get critical information or to prevent disaster.

The Red Sox could have used a bit of Jack Bauer last night. The Yankees were licking their wounds with Posada and Damon on the bench nursing injuries. Randy Johnson was ineffective as advertised yesterday. Yet somehow the Red Sox could not finish off the Yankees and managed to lose the game.

Matt (insert nickname pertaining to "mental", "meltdown", or simply, "overpaid") Clement demonstrated exactly why GL2:EB skipped him in the rotation last week so Clement could avoid the Yanks. Look at how many times Papelbon has been hit by or has deflected the baseball coming off the bat and still made the play. Clement made no attempt to field the ball after getting hit in the leg last night.

I was okay with the Arroyo trade when it happened. I think I've changed my mind. Even if Bronson had an E.R.A. of 7.50 right now and didn't have a win to his name, I would still trade Clement to get him back on the team.

Rubberized

Tim Wakefield and Doug Mirabelli looked an awful lot like Tim Wakefield and Josh Bard last night. Ironically, as the game started I thought about how much more comfortable I feel having Mirabelli back in his familiar role of personal backstop to Wake. In the 6th inning last night Wakefield fell apart and Mirabelli was charged with three passed balls. The Yanks took advantage and held on for the 7-5 victory.

The ever more ugly (as a person and a visage) and ever less effective Randy Johnson faces up-and-down Matt Clement tonight in the rubber match of the series. The oddsmakers favor the Sox in this game and I'm not going to disagree. I think RJ is totally washed up and will retire after this season. He's a thrower, not a pitcher.

Wily Mo Pena is scheduled to return to the Sox lineup tonight. I think I would have gouged out one of my eyes if I had to suffer through three straight nights of Willie Harris. I understand and agree with the decision to leave Adam Stern in Pawtucket; he needs to get at bats and playing to continue to develop. I don't, however, understand how or why the Sox can't get a better backup outfielder in the short term. I suppose the problem will resolve itself when Coco returns from the DL.

10-4 Good Buddy

Or 9-5. Either way, the Yanks got it handed to them by the Sox once again last night. Schilling was excellent. This was the first game since Schilling threw 133 pitches against the Indians that he actually looked dominant. He had been scuffling a little bit since that outing. The Sox are now 4-1 against NY this year.

Patrick Hruby wrote a great piece on the number of homeruns that Bonds* would have hit without steroids. He discusses the key factors influenced by Barry's chemical intake and their affect on homerun output. It's a good read for stat-heads and casual fans alike.

Wanted: A Starting Pitcher

Must be able to throw 80-120 quality pitches every 5th day. Pitches should include a fastball between 88 and 100 MPH. Fastball in the 92-97 MPH range preferred. Must also possess at least two other quality pitches. Preferred pitches include 90-93 MPH slider, 82-86 MPH curveball (either a 12-6 break or 1-7 break), and a changeup in the 76-80 MPH range. Additional pitches, such a sinker or knuckleball, are also welcome. Applicants must possess excellent command of all pitches (see Greg Maddux). Applicants without excellent command must possess the ability to vary speeds and throw pitches with excellent movement (see Pedro Martinez).

Benefits include:

• the opportunity to reach the playoffs.
• a good chance to win a World Series ring.
• excellent run support.
• a very good bullpen.
• lots of media coverage and exposure.
• the opportunity to sign multiple endorsement deals.
• a great team physician, Dr. Bill Morgan, oops an adequate team physician

Serious applicants only. Relocation packages available. To inquire, call Theo Epstein, General Manager and Executive Vice President of the Boston Red Sox.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I hope that people in this area have made more progress building their respective arks than I have. I feel fortunate to live where I do as I have been relatively unaffected by the near constant rains of the last 10 days. The sunshine on Wednesday and Thursday was wonderful and the temperature was perfect. I finally got to play a round of golf this year. I feel for those individuals who have to deal with flooding and water damage. Stay dry and stay safe.

The Sox have had a quiet week so far. They have only played three games, going 2-1 against the Orioles. They had an off day yesterday and had two games rained out last weekend. Tonight they start a three game series in Philadelphia.

There has been a lot of jibber-jabber by the talking heads inside the radio and TV regarding the lineups that the Sox will or should use against the Phillies. If you believe D&C on WEEI, Youk will sit tonight as Ortiz plays first, then Youk will play 3rd as Lowell sits on Saturday, and finally Ortiz will rest on Sunday as Youk moves back to 1st base.

I disagree with the notion that Ortiz is a complete liability in the field. Big Papi should have dispelled that notion by his play in the 2004 World Series. I do agree that he's a big downgrade defensively from the stellar play of Kevin Youkilis, but he's not a disaster waiting to happen. I think that the rotating lineup is the best bet for this weekend. When the Sox travel to Atlanta and Florida later in the season the health of the team could dictate the lineups. Having a healthy team is a blessing that leads to healthy debate.

I was discussing the impact of the eventual return of Coco Crisp to the Sox lineup with a friend the other day. If Loretta had not broken out of his slump, Youkilis would have been well suited in the #2 spot behind Crisp. Loretta has been on fire lately, though, and I think he's better suited to move runners over with sac bunts and to protect runners when the hit-and-run is called. As it stands now, we figured that Youk would be best suited at #6, as opposed to #7, #8, or #9. His high average and on-base percentage would help keep innings alive and drive in runs behind the big bats in the order. I'd like to see the impact he could have at #6.

Drivers Aren't Athletes

Kurt Busch and Michael Waltrip have each thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game this year. Both NASCAR drivers were simply awful. Awful. Busch threw like an effeminate wimp. Waltrip threw the ball into the 3rd base dugout.

These two drivers are helping to prove two points. Drivers are not athletes. NASCAR is not a sport.

NASCAR is an entertainment event. It should be covered under the Arts and Entertainment section of the newspaper. It should not take up time or space on sports shows, channels, or papers. NASCAR should receive as much coverage on SportsCenter as the WWE does.

NASCAR drivers are skilled individuals who can navigate crowded racetracks at very high speeds for hours at a time in brutal heat. They are not athletes. The more they pose as athletes the more they will be exposed.

If a kid can't go outside and play NASCAR, NASCAR is not a sport. I, for one, hope that NASCAR stops being covered as a sport.

Every Game Counts

The three game series the Sox just completed in New York went about as well as one could have hoped for. The Sox won two of the three games (hello, Marvin!) while facing the top of the Yankees rotation. Boston has now won three of four against the Yanks.

Game one was a romp, with the Sox pounding the now ineffective Randy Johnson. The national media continued to pump Johnson as a great pitcher before the game. His numbers and performance this year told a different story. After surrendering seven runs to the Sox and looking awful on the mound, the media has come around to see the light. Johnson's mechanics were simply awful and he isn't a pitcher ready to get by on smarts and location. Even at his peak he was never a great pitcher, but rather an intimidating thrower. Thanks to some of E-Rod's continued superb defense against the Sox Johnson was only charged with two earned runs. He actually lowered his E.R.A. from 5.02 to 5.01.

Mike Mussina has completely turned the corner this year and become a crafty pitcher. Mussina now mixes speeds and uses great control to fool batters. Game two featured the most intriguing matchup of the series, Mussina against Schilling. The Sox got to Mussina early, but failed to put him away. Jason Varitek's inability to get a big hit with the bases loaded allowed New York to climb back into the game. Mussina settled down and Schilling didn't. Schill missed his location with a few pitches and the Yankees managed to take him deep repeatedly. Game two showed New York's response to criticism from Georgie Porgie.

Game three featured textbook pitching and defense by the Sox but was an exercise in frustration at the plate. Boston left 15 men on base and left the bases loaded three times. The tying and winning runs scored when Miguel Cairo failed to hold onto a throw as Mark Loretta reached first and the two players collided. I'm sure that Loretta would have preferred to line a base hit into the outfield. Game three proved costly for New York as Hideki Matsui broke his wrist in the 1st inning, ending his consecutive games played streak.

If the rain holds off, the Sox are scheduled to play three games against the Rangers this weekend. Hopefully they can continue their 7-2 pace in the month of May.

Radio Plagiarism?

I was listening to Dennis and Callahan on WEEI 850 AM this morning from 7:20 to 7:40 AM. They were discussing Barry Bonds* and whether or not race was coming into play with the way that Barry is treated by fans and the media. They made every point that I wrote about last night. If I didn't know better, I would think that those guys had read my blog earlier this morning. They talked about how Bonds* is so disliked because he's a cheater and a fraud, not because of the color of his skin. They also speculated about the treatment and scrutiny that McGwire would be facing if he were still an active player.