As the summer comes to a close (I know it technically doesn't end until September 22nd but I spent many years growing up in a tourist town so to me Labor Day signals the end of summer), I have some thoughts...
- Matt Ryan has been announced as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons for the upcoming NFL season, beating out fellow former first rounders Joey Harrington and Chris Redman. As I have stated before in this blog, this will be a tough position for a rookie to be put into. For the sake of future BC players, the Falcons, and of course the Falcons' fans, I hope he's up to the challenge. I will be watching and rooting for you, Matty Ice!
- College football begins tomorrow night. I look forward to it with baited breath. I can already feel the draw of the PS3 telling me to play some EA Sports before the season starts to really get into the groove. Ohio State is once again stacked with NFL ready talent (some even project as many as 6 first rounders in their opening day roster). But I look to Georgia to continue their roll from last season. I know they have an inexperienced offensive line that had been crippled by injuries but if those guys can gel there may be no stopping the Dawgs this season.
- RCN continues to frustrate me and my ability to watch college football. As it is not currently within my means to buy the Gameday package I find myself without ESPNU (despite numerous e-mails, phone calls, and general protests to RCN attempting to get them to add it to their channel line-up). This means Mrs. Pike will be unable to see Miami (OH) season opener on Thursday night and I will be unable to see BC's season opener on Saturday night without going to the local watering hole. Perhaps justin.tv will be my savior as it has been in the past.
- Some WWE news (for those who don't care, feel free to skip to the next piece), John Cena apparently suffered a herniated disk in his neck and after surgery will miss about three to four months. This is much better than the 12-15 months that some prior superstars have faced (Steve Austin & Gregory Helms come to mind). Though he steals liberally from The Rock (and for those of you who are Rock fans, I recommend "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment" DVD - which really reminded me just how much Cena did steal from the Great One), he is a charismatic figure in the sport and has a legion of fans in the younger set. His wrestling skills leave a little to be desired (at least act like the other man was hurting you John!! I may hate Shawn Michaels but the man knows how to sell being hurt in a match), but he brings an energy and a commitment to the world of sports entertainment that is refreshing.
- The ambulance...oops...I mean the Red Sox are entering the home stretch 2.5 up in the wild card and only 3.5 behind TB for the AL East (with 6 games still to play against the Rays). They have 20 of their final 29 at home. But 7 of those final 29 are against the Blue Jays who have been a thorn in their side all season. Should they get healthy and get some consistent bullpen help they should make the playoffs (the addition of Mark Kotsay would help too). But the question will remain if this limping, beaten up crew will be able to accomplish anything once they get there.
That's all I have for now folks. I'm sure they will be coming more fast and furious now that college football is underway and of course after October 10th when NCAA hockey kicks off another year.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Junkie
I am a certified sports junkie (not that you needed me to tell you this if you are a Loyal Reader).
For those of you who may think that I only pay attention to the male sport, today I had the USA women's basketball team beating Russia on the work TV (yes, I have a TV right next to my cube at work and I am the lord of the remote that controls it), and I found the women's gold medal soccer match on justin.tv (the work TV does not get USA Network).
Are there differences between the men's game and the women's game? Of course. But at its best it is just as exciting and the play is just as compelling. Both teams won. The basketball team now meets Australia for the gold medal and the soccer team wins another.
As an aside, justin.tv is one of the greatest websites. You want to watch boxing or wrestling pay-per-views or catch a great soccer match that you can't see on US television. Dial up justin.tv and watch in all its glory. Margarito-Cotto, saw it on justin.tv. Summerslam, saw it on justin.tv. Olympic soccer matches, you guessed it, saw it on justin.tv (in Spanish but at least I could follow the pictures!)
Here's to my fellow junkies who found a way for those of us without money or expensive satellite television packages to enjoy some of the smaller but equally exciting events of the sports world.
For those of you who may think that I only pay attention to the male sport, today I had the USA women's basketball team beating Russia on the work TV (yes, I have a TV right next to my cube at work and I am the lord of the remote that controls it), and I found the women's gold medal soccer match on justin.tv (the work TV does not get USA Network).
Are there differences between the men's game and the women's game? Of course. But at its best it is just as exciting and the play is just as compelling. Both teams won. The basketball team now meets Australia for the gold medal and the soccer team wins another.
As an aside, justin.tv is one of the greatest websites. You want to watch boxing or wrestling pay-per-views or catch a great soccer match that you can't see on US television. Dial up justin.tv and watch in all its glory. Margarito-Cotto, saw it on justin.tv. Summerslam, saw it on justin.tv. Olympic soccer matches, you guessed it, saw it on justin.tv (in Spanish but at least I could follow the pictures!)
Here's to my fellow junkies who found a way for those of us without money or expensive satellite television packages to enjoy some of the smaller but equally exciting events of the sports world.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
You've got to be kidding!
So over the past few weeks I have been getting excited about the opening of the BC hockey season. The Boys start the season at home against perennial power Wisconsin and they will be raising the 2008 NCAA championship banner that night.
One small problem. I can't be there. (close your mouth you're letting in flies).
That's right. I've been to their last two championship wins. I've gone to Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and Colorado to watch them play. I've gone to two championship celebration ceremonies (missing work to do so). But I will not be there to see them raise the banner.
They did it on the sly in 2001. One game it wasn't up and then the next game it was. This time they were going to unfurl it before the season opener. I was supposed to see it this time.
Then, Mrs. Pike informed me that I could not see it. Her best friend is getting married that day. Of all the weddings that I have been to this is the first one I have ever been to on a Friday. But there you have it. I won't be there. I will miss it. I have been promised pictures but I will miss the experience.
There is no joy in Mudville.
One small problem. I can't be there. (close your mouth you're letting in flies).
That's right. I've been to their last two championship wins. I've gone to Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and Colorado to watch them play. I've gone to two championship celebration ceremonies (missing work to do so). But I will not be there to see them raise the banner.
They did it on the sly in 2001. One game it wasn't up and then the next game it was. This time they were going to unfurl it before the season opener. I was supposed to see it this time.
Then, Mrs. Pike informed me that I could not see it. Her best friend is getting married that day. Of all the weddings that I have been to this is the first one I have ever been to on a Friday. But there you have it. I won't be there. I will miss it. I have been promised pictures but I will miss the experience.
There is no joy in Mudville.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Not ready for prime time
The Yankees and the Red Sox have something in common this year and its not their salaries or the fact that neither one is in first place in the AL East this late in the season for the first time in years. Nope. It's that they both are starting to realize that one of their young pitchers just doesn't have it.
In the off season, while trying to acquire Johan Santana both teams refused to part with one of their key young pitchers. For the Yanks it was Ian Kennedy and for the Red Sox it was Clay Bucholtz. After turning down the Twins' terms, the Yankee fans we excited to see Kennedy come up and become one of the key starters for their future. That has not happened. After struggling mightily at the beginning of the season and being sent back to the minors, Kennedy was back up with the Yanks this weekend to cover for Joba Chamberlain. His line, 2+ innings, 9 hits, 5 earned runs, and one ticket back to Scranton. The Yankees clearly understand that it is too early for Kennedy and he may not be the pitcher the Stienbrenner's hoped he would be.
The Red Sox may soon find themselves in a similar situation. When Bucholtz pitched his no-hitter last season, the Nation was excited that we may have our next Cy Young winner and we came from our own farm system. It was almost a given that he would become an integral part of the starting rotation and lead the Sox to great things. In fact, many felt he was more essential to keep if they were trading for Santana than Jon Lester (myself included). But that seems a little misguided now. Mr. Lester has a no-hitter of his own (which as regular readers will no doubt remember I was present at) and Mr Bucholtz is now 0-6 with an over 8 ERA in his last 7 starts and he has looked just as bad as the numbers suggest.
The problem is that there is no help in sight for him. A team that was thought to be extra deep in starting pitching coming into the season suddenly seems a little thin. Bartolo Colon is still injured from taking a ridiculous swing (gotta love interleague play!) and not Tim Wakefield is on the DL with the same problem he had at the end of last year which kept him off the playoff roster. The Sox seem convinced that Masterson belongs in the bullpen. Don't get me wrong, he has been fantastic out of there and has provided some much needed stability to a floundering pen, but he was just as good at being a starter and certainly more effective than Bucholtz has been since he was brought back to the major league roster.
The Sox are now left with the need to go to Pawtucket for yet another arm and leaving Bucholtz in the rotation. Should Wakefield's injury prove more serious, they are looking at going into the post-season with two pitchers and a key bullpen pitcher with zero post season experience. But it seems possible that the no-hitter may have been the fluke and that Bucholtz may not be reading to play in the major leagues.
Fortunately for both teams, Bucholtz and Kennedy are young and have plenty of time to still develop and become the players that their teams believe they will be able to. Unfortunately for these two kids, they play in two of the toughest markets to succeed in. The fans in Boston and New York are not very forgiving when you don't succeed. The Pedroias, Youkilis, Jeters, and Chamberlains of the word make the fan base think that all players from their systems are just supposed to come up and shine immediately. That's a lot of pressure for a young kid especially when he is seen as the weakest link on a championship caliber team.
In the off season, while trying to acquire Johan Santana both teams refused to part with one of their key young pitchers. For the Yanks it was Ian Kennedy and for the Red Sox it was Clay Bucholtz. After turning down the Twins' terms, the Yankee fans we excited to see Kennedy come up and become one of the key starters for their future. That has not happened. After struggling mightily at the beginning of the season and being sent back to the minors, Kennedy was back up with the Yanks this weekend to cover for Joba Chamberlain. His line, 2+ innings, 9 hits, 5 earned runs, and one ticket back to Scranton. The Yankees clearly understand that it is too early for Kennedy and he may not be the pitcher the Stienbrenner's hoped he would be.
The Red Sox may soon find themselves in a similar situation. When Bucholtz pitched his no-hitter last season, the Nation was excited that we may have our next Cy Young winner and we came from our own farm system. It was almost a given that he would become an integral part of the starting rotation and lead the Sox to great things. In fact, many felt he was more essential to keep if they were trading for Santana than Jon Lester (myself included). But that seems a little misguided now. Mr. Lester has a no-hitter of his own (which as regular readers will no doubt remember I was present at) and Mr Bucholtz is now 0-6 with an over 8 ERA in his last 7 starts and he has looked just as bad as the numbers suggest.
The problem is that there is no help in sight for him. A team that was thought to be extra deep in starting pitching coming into the season suddenly seems a little thin. Bartolo Colon is still injured from taking a ridiculous swing (gotta love interleague play!) and not Tim Wakefield is on the DL with the same problem he had at the end of last year which kept him off the playoff roster. The Sox seem convinced that Masterson belongs in the bullpen. Don't get me wrong, he has been fantastic out of there and has provided some much needed stability to a floundering pen, but he was just as good at being a starter and certainly more effective than Bucholtz has been since he was brought back to the major league roster.
The Sox are now left with the need to go to Pawtucket for yet another arm and leaving Bucholtz in the rotation. Should Wakefield's injury prove more serious, they are looking at going into the post-season with two pitchers and a key bullpen pitcher with zero post season experience. But it seems possible that the no-hitter may have been the fluke and that Bucholtz may not be reading to play in the major leagues.
Fortunately for both teams, Bucholtz and Kennedy are young and have plenty of time to still develop and become the players that their teams believe they will be able to. Unfortunately for these two kids, they play in two of the toughest markets to succeed in. The fans in Boston and New York are not very forgiving when you don't succeed. The Pedroias, Youkilis, Jeters, and Chamberlains of the word make the fan base think that all players from their systems are just supposed to come up and shine immediately. That's a lot of pressure for a young kid especially when he is seen as the weakest link on a championship caliber team.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Champions again
With all due respect to the recently crowed "Titletown" of Valdosta, Georgia by ESPN, I would have to say that Boston has the rights to that claim at the moment. As the Celtics are planning their banner raising ceremony for Oct 28th and the BC Eagles plan their banner raising ceremony for Oct 10th, the New England Revolution last night won the second annual SuperLiga championship.
For those of you who don't know, SuperLiga is a mini-league composed of the 4 best Mexican League teams taking on the 4 best Major League Soccer teams. Last year, it was won by Pachuca of the Mexican League. After beating three former Mexican League champs including Pachuca, the Revolution took the title from the Houston Dynamo 2-2, winning 6-5 on penalty kicks.
It was a great game. You rarely see the amount of back and forth action that was on display last night which also featured some great goaltending by both Pat Onstad and Matt Reis. I was unfortunately forced to watch the festivities in Spanish as no local stations decided that the SuperLiga final was worth broadcasting. There was the alternate choice of watching it on-line but the site would not allow a full screen view so I decided not understanding what the announcers were saying was better than damaging my eyes trying to see the action on my computer.
I was talking with Old Man Pike on the phone as overtime started and had just finished telling him how I disliked the full 30 minute overtime format instead of the "golden goal", sudden-death option when the Dynamo scored to take the 2-1 lead. I must admit in this particular instance I was happy the "golden goal" was not the golden rule for the match as Shalrie Joseph was able to head a Steve Ralston set piece into the back of the net in the 102nd minute. Sadly this great game had to be decided by penalty kicks but the win was still special as the Revolution were able to avenge their losses in the previous two MLS Cup finals and take one from Houston.
The Revs are now the reigning SuperLiga & US Cup champions (with a chance to defend that title as they face DC United on August 12th in the semi-finals of the 2008 US Cup). Combining that with the other local teams and that is a awful lot of hardware in one year for one city. I have a lot of respect for Valdosta and what Valdosta State has been able to do but Boston today is the true Titletown, USA.
For those of you who don't know, SuperLiga is a mini-league composed of the 4 best Mexican League teams taking on the 4 best Major League Soccer teams. Last year, it was won by Pachuca of the Mexican League. After beating three former Mexican League champs including Pachuca, the Revolution took the title from the Houston Dynamo 2-2, winning 6-5 on penalty kicks.
It was a great game. You rarely see the amount of back and forth action that was on display last night which also featured some great goaltending by both Pat Onstad and Matt Reis. I was unfortunately forced to watch the festivities in Spanish as no local stations decided that the SuperLiga final was worth broadcasting. There was the alternate choice of watching it on-line but the site would not allow a full screen view so I decided not understanding what the announcers were saying was better than damaging my eyes trying to see the action on my computer.
I was talking with Old Man Pike on the phone as overtime started and had just finished telling him how I disliked the full 30 minute overtime format instead of the "golden goal", sudden-death option when the Dynamo scored to take the 2-1 lead. I must admit in this particular instance I was happy the "golden goal" was not the golden rule for the match as Shalrie Joseph was able to head a Steve Ralston set piece into the back of the net in the 102nd minute. Sadly this great game had to be decided by penalty kicks but the win was still special as the Revolution were able to avenge their losses in the previous two MLS Cup finals and take one from Houston.
The Revs are now the reigning SuperLiga & US Cup champions (with a chance to defend that title as they face DC United on August 12th in the semi-finals of the 2008 US Cup). Combining that with the other local teams and that is a awful lot of hardware in one year for one city. I have a lot of respect for Valdosta and what Valdosta State has been able to do but Boston today is the true Titletown, USA.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Party's Over
Now that I have had a few days for the news to settle in I feel it is time to weigh in on Manny Ramirez. (OK, so I've just been remiss in my duties and should have put something up on Friday, sue me!)
In my last post I talked about how I felt that the Red Sox should not trade Manny simply because they could not get value back for him. And I was right on half of that statement. They did not get the value back for what they traded away. But the Red Sox were forced to get rid of Manny because of his actions and those caused by his agent Scott Boras.
Scott Boras has got to be one of the most destructive forces in professional baseball. He routinely drives up the price on free agents he controls far above what they deserve and his dealings with teams and the media are shady to say the least. His release of the news that A-Rod was going to opt out of his Yankee contract during the World Series last year was a ridiculous display of grandstanding. And he has a big hand in driving Manny out of Boston.
Boras was not a part of the original deal in 2000 that brought Manny to Boston. Manny only recently changed agents to Boras and I believe that Boras saw this as an opportunity to get his money's worth out of his new client. If the Sox had picked up the final two option years of Manny's contract Boras runs the risk of getting much less from his client in a potential free agent deal two years from now. By forcing the Red Sox to either sign an extension or trade Manny, Boras now gets his money immediately at the end of the season. Now Manny is a grown man and can make his own decisions so this is not strictly Boras' fault but their was undoubtedly manipulations going on behind the scenes.
Manny's performance over the past few weeks was like a spoiled child not getting what he wanted and throwing a tantrum. Everyone knew what was going on and from reports his teammates had had enough of the Manny show. It was reported that veteran players told Epstein that they felt they could not count on Manny down the stretch and that Francona was in danger of losing the clubhouse if Manny was allowed to continue getting the breaks he has always gotten in Boston.
This leads me to the deal itself. While Manny did have to go, as Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein, and even Jason Varitek all agreed, maybe we could have let him go for a little more return considering what we gave up. Like all other Sox fans, I enjoyed watching Jason Bay play as well as he did over the weekend and I think he will be a solid player for this team in the future. But giving away three players and cash for him when one of those players is one of the greatest right handed hitters in the history of the game? The price seems steep. I'm not going to cry of the loss of Craig Hansen, as I have mentioned in this space before, he has been dreadfully inconsistent and unreliable in the clutch this season, and Brandon Moss is not a future Hall of Famer, but couldn't we have gotten more. Grabow? Maybe not include Moss and flip him to the Royals of Mahay? We made a blockbuster deal and didn't fix the glaring bullpen problem that has cost us games this season. It will be interesting to see if Masterson, Smith, Aardsma, and Bowden can make a difference over the last two months of the season.
So this is how an era ends. Manny Ramirez is gone and with him a big piece of the World Series champions that transformed the way this city looks at its sports teams. I don't blame the Sox, they did what they had to do. The final straw was probably when Manny said, "The Red Sox don't deserve me." My boss has a 9-year-old son who was crushed as many fans of all ages were when news of the trade came. When told what Manny said, he looked at his father and said, "Well that's not being a very good teammate to the rest of the Red Sox, is it?" No it wasn't and I guess that's the ending on this story. Did the Red Sox not deserve Manny Ramirez? I think Manny just didn't deserve the fans of Red Sox Nation.
In my last post I talked about how I felt that the Red Sox should not trade Manny simply because they could not get value back for him. And I was right on half of that statement. They did not get the value back for what they traded away. But the Red Sox were forced to get rid of Manny because of his actions and those caused by his agent Scott Boras.
Scott Boras has got to be one of the most destructive forces in professional baseball. He routinely drives up the price on free agents he controls far above what they deserve and his dealings with teams and the media are shady to say the least. His release of the news that A-Rod was going to opt out of his Yankee contract during the World Series last year was a ridiculous display of grandstanding. And he has a big hand in driving Manny out of Boston.
Boras was not a part of the original deal in 2000 that brought Manny to Boston. Manny only recently changed agents to Boras and I believe that Boras saw this as an opportunity to get his money's worth out of his new client. If the Sox had picked up the final two option years of Manny's contract Boras runs the risk of getting much less from his client in a potential free agent deal two years from now. By forcing the Red Sox to either sign an extension or trade Manny, Boras now gets his money immediately at the end of the season. Now Manny is a grown man and can make his own decisions so this is not strictly Boras' fault but their was undoubtedly manipulations going on behind the scenes.
Manny's performance over the past few weeks was like a spoiled child not getting what he wanted and throwing a tantrum. Everyone knew what was going on and from reports his teammates had had enough of the Manny show. It was reported that veteran players told Epstein that they felt they could not count on Manny down the stretch and that Francona was in danger of losing the clubhouse if Manny was allowed to continue getting the breaks he has always gotten in Boston.
This leads me to the deal itself. While Manny did have to go, as Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein, and even Jason Varitek all agreed, maybe we could have let him go for a little more return considering what we gave up. Like all other Sox fans, I enjoyed watching Jason Bay play as well as he did over the weekend and I think he will be a solid player for this team in the future. But giving away three players and cash for him when one of those players is one of the greatest right handed hitters in the history of the game? The price seems steep. I'm not going to cry of the loss of Craig Hansen, as I have mentioned in this space before, he has been dreadfully inconsistent and unreliable in the clutch this season, and Brandon Moss is not a future Hall of Famer, but couldn't we have gotten more. Grabow? Maybe not include Moss and flip him to the Royals of Mahay? We made a blockbuster deal and didn't fix the glaring bullpen problem that has cost us games this season. It will be interesting to see if Masterson, Smith, Aardsma, and Bowden can make a difference over the last two months of the season.
So this is how an era ends. Manny Ramirez is gone and with him a big piece of the World Series champions that transformed the way this city looks at its sports teams. I don't blame the Sox, they did what they had to do. The final straw was probably when Manny said, "The Red Sox don't deserve me." My boss has a 9-year-old son who was crushed as many fans of all ages were when news of the trade came. When told what Manny said, he looked at his father and said, "Well that's not being a very good teammate to the rest of the Red Sox, is it?" No it wasn't and I guess that's the ending on this story. Did the Red Sox not deserve Manny Ramirez? I think Manny just didn't deserve the fans of Red Sox Nation.
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