After having lost my Thursday and Friday night posts, and having simply been too lazy to do anything after working in the yard most of Saturday, I am back at the keyboard and ready to rip...
They Now Begin To Eat Their Own
"Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election," Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., told The Associated Press in an interview, calling for DeLay to step down as majority leader.
So begins an Associated Press I found on Yahoo. It figures that the Democrats are letting the saner Republicans like Shays do their jobs for them. Remember when Jim Wright, Democratic House Speaker was hounded into resignation because he failed to report, with 100% accuracy, the amount of money he'd earned from book royalties? What Tom DeLay has done is so much worse than what Wright did it isn't even fair to compare the two. Michael Schaivo was too kind when he referred to DeLay as a "slithering little snake".
Full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/ap/20050411/ap_on_go_co/delay&sid=84439559
Stop Me If You've Heard This Before...
In a recurring joke on the American people, Senate Democrats claim that the questions for President Bush's nominee to be United Nations Ambassador, the UN-hostile John Bolton, will be "tough" when he meets the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week. Tough Dems like Barbara Boxer (D-Fighter, California) hope to block his nomination. Unfortunately Ms. Boxer is saddled with Bush Appeaser, Joe Biden (D-Rubber Stamp, Delaware) as the ranking Democrat on the panel. Biden, pretending he has a pair, even sent a letter to the last Bush nominee for whom he rolled over, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in which he faked outrage at the lack of background information from the White House about Bolton. Get a load of this:
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the committee's senior Democrat, complained Wednesday in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the State Department had not provided access to officials and documents regarding Bolton's last job, undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.
Joe, if you laugh and flirt with Bolton the way you did with Condi and Attorney General, Alberto "The Torture Guy" Gonzalez, please, do everyone a favor and change your party affiliation. And while you're at it, get that whore Lieberman to do likewise. Full story: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050408/a_bolton08.art.htm
Not Such A Hot First Week For The Red Sox
The Red Sox lost the rubber match of a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto this afternoon. The bats were silent against Jays starter Ted Lilly who threw five innings of one-run ball. Pete Walker relieved and left it to closer Miguel Batista in the eigthth inning. Trailing 3-1 in the ninth, the Sox tied the game on a two-run bases-loaded single from Edgar Renteria. Unfortunately, Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin gave up the game-winning double to Orlando Hudson. The big hit scored Reed Johnson who had reached on an infield roller that Mark Bellhorn couldn't convert into an out.
So the Sox are 2-4 on the young season. They aren't hitting. The non-David Wells starts have been pretty good. The bullpen has been shaky, and the defense is no better than ordinary right now. It would have been nice to have stolen a win today, since tomorrow is the home opener versus the Yankees, and the players all receive their WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP rings, but hey, things don't always go they way you'd like them to go...
Nutjob Attacks Siegfried and Roy - Montecore Unavailable For Comment
A former NFL kicker allegedly shot into the Siegfried and Roy compound. Apparently Cole Ford, former Oakland Raider, was upset at the "intimacy" the two magicians display toward their animals, and he attempted to bring this to the attention of the world through this attack.
From the AP story: Ford, 32, a former kicker for the Oakland Raiders, has been ruled incompetent to stand trial and sent to a mental health facility for treatment. Ford maintained he never intended to harm anyone and his actions were intended to "warn the world of the illusionists' unhealthy danger to them and to animals," according to the report published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"While watching Siegfried and Roy, he had a sudden realization that what was wrong with the world was linked to the illusionists' treatment, dominance and unhealthy intimacy he saw them having with their animals," Roitman wrote. Ford told Roitman that he thought the entertainers' contact with their animals was sexual and related to the development of viruses such as AIDS. "He felt they threatened (the) world, and he began to figure out how he could stop them," Roitman said.
Roy Horn was probably thinking: Great. As if getting mauled by my own animal isn't bad enough, now I have to worry about getting shot by some creep Al Davis released. Full strange story here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=14&u=/ap/20050410/ap_on_re_us/siegfried___roy_shooting
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Yankees 4 Red Sox 3
It's not often that the opposing closers gave up home runs in the same game, but it happened this afternoon in Yankee Stadium. In the top of the ninth, with the Red Sox down 3-2, Jason Varitek hit a solo homer off of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera to tie the game. In the bottom of the inning, Derek Jeter hit the game winning solo homer off of Red Sox closer Keith Foulke to win the game.
Early in the game, Matt Clement got in and out of trouble in his crummy Red Sox debut (4 1/3 innings pitched, five hits, three walks and three runs allowed). To be fair, an Edgar Renteria error and a missed tag by Mark Bellhorn didn't help. On the other side, Carl Pavano pitched decently for the Pinstripes. In 6 1/3 innings he allowed two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
David Ortiz hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, and Johnny Damon added an RBI single. Two down, 160 to go. Tim Wakefield goes tomorrow afternoon for the Red Sox.
Early in the game, Matt Clement got in and out of trouble in his crummy Red Sox debut (4 1/3 innings pitched, five hits, three walks and three runs allowed). To be fair, an Edgar Renteria error and a missed tag by Mark Bellhorn didn't help. On the other side, Carl Pavano pitched decently for the Pinstripes. In 6 1/3 innings he allowed two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
David Ortiz hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, and Johnny Damon added an RBI single. Two down, 160 to go. Tim Wakefield goes tomorrow afternoon for the Red Sox.
Here he goes again...
The passage below in italics is from a story I found on Yahoo. In it, President Bush once agin distorted the view of Social Security.
"A lot of people in America think there's a trust," Bush told a forum here, shortly after he stopped off at the Bureau of Public Debt, the agency that keeps records on the nation's debt.
"But that's not the way it works," he said. "There is no trust fund -- just IOUs."
Full story here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050405/pl_nm/retirement_bush_dc&e=5
Technically, Bush is correct, but strangely enough we never seem to hear him say this whenever he asks for funding to do something like attack another nation. Sure, there is a theoretical amount of money in the defense portion of the budget, but you can just as easily argue that there is a defense budget crisis because there is no defense trust fund -- just IOUs. And since the Congressional Budget Office has already said that the program can be fully funded if left as it is until 2042 (and be able to pay 80% of promised benefits until 2052), the other part of Bush's alarmist argument, that the program will be "flat broke" by 2018, is yet another bit of nonsense that goes uncontested by the "liberal media".
Bush has, at best, misstated the case for "overhauling" Social Security. At worst, he has told nothing but bald-faced lies. People seem to think, because Bush has said this numerous times, that a portion of the payroll tax will be set aside for workers to put into personal/private accounts. This is dead wrong. Even Vice President Dick Cheney says that simply isn't so. Cheney says that it is a portion of the Social Security piece of the payroll tax that will be set aside -- a different matter entirely.
What is scary is that nobody except Paul Krugman of the New York Times seems willing to call the President on these misstatements. Krugman, an economist, has written several articles that show why Bush's evidence is incorrect, and offers sane solutions that Bush would never consider since they generally involve either raising the tax rates or raising the ceiling on high-end earners who can be taxed from $90,000 a year to $200,000 a year.
That is the other portion of this discussion that gets lost. In Campaign 2000, Bush said he had a plan to fix Social Security, but a mere five years later we still only have a tiny glimpse of what this plan entails. Meanwhile, mainstream media pundits tripped over themselves to proclaim the man as a bold visionary. In that campaign, political analysts wanted to pretend Al Gore was a nitpicking nerd because he was actually able to demonstrate that Bush's own projections for a budget filled with the tax cuts he wanted would cause a recession. These analysts didn't like the way Gore sighed when Bush told his whoppers about this subject during the debates. And these same clowns likewise pretended that it was okay that Bush was obviously not even close to being the smartest guy in the room, but that that too was somehow okay because of his deep "convictions".
Those convictions have given us record budget deficits. The Dow is still about 1,000 points down from where it was when Bill Clinton left office. There are over two million people still looking for jobs as a result of this man's economic vision. On that record alone, nobody should believe a single word he says about Social Security (or, for that matter, anything else).
"A lot of people in America think there's a trust," Bush told a forum here, shortly after he stopped off at the Bureau of Public Debt, the agency that keeps records on the nation's debt.
"But that's not the way it works," he said. "There is no trust fund -- just IOUs."
Full story here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050405/pl_nm/retirement_bush_dc&e=5
Technically, Bush is correct, but strangely enough we never seem to hear him say this whenever he asks for funding to do something like attack another nation. Sure, there is a theoretical amount of money in the defense portion of the budget, but you can just as easily argue that there is a defense budget crisis because there is no defense trust fund -- just IOUs. And since the Congressional Budget Office has already said that the program can be fully funded if left as it is until 2042 (and be able to pay 80% of promised benefits until 2052), the other part of Bush's alarmist argument, that the program will be "flat broke" by 2018, is yet another bit of nonsense that goes uncontested by the "liberal media".
Bush has, at best, misstated the case for "overhauling" Social Security. At worst, he has told nothing but bald-faced lies. People seem to think, because Bush has said this numerous times, that a portion of the payroll tax will be set aside for workers to put into personal/private accounts. This is dead wrong. Even Vice President Dick Cheney says that simply isn't so. Cheney says that it is a portion of the Social Security piece of the payroll tax that will be set aside -- a different matter entirely.
What is scary is that nobody except Paul Krugman of the New York Times seems willing to call the President on these misstatements. Krugman, an economist, has written several articles that show why Bush's evidence is incorrect, and offers sane solutions that Bush would never consider since they generally involve either raising the tax rates or raising the ceiling on high-end earners who can be taxed from $90,000 a year to $200,000 a year.
That is the other portion of this discussion that gets lost. In Campaign 2000, Bush said he had a plan to fix Social Security, but a mere five years later we still only have a tiny glimpse of what this plan entails. Meanwhile, mainstream media pundits tripped over themselves to proclaim the man as a bold visionary. In that campaign, political analysts wanted to pretend Al Gore was a nitpicking nerd because he was actually able to demonstrate that Bush's own projections for a budget filled with the tax cuts he wanted would cause a recession. These analysts didn't like the way Gore sighed when Bush told his whoppers about this subject during the debates. And these same clowns likewise pretended that it was okay that Bush was obviously not even close to being the smartest guy in the room, but that that too was somehow okay because of his deep "convictions".
Those convictions have given us record budget deficits. The Dow is still about 1,000 points down from where it was when Bill Clinton left office. There are over two million people still looking for jobs as a result of this man's economic vision. On that record alone, nobody should believe a single word he says about Social Security (or, for that matter, anything else).
Monday, April 04, 2005
Opening Day 2005 - Pedro, Nomar and Todd Walker
Pedro Martinez pitched well after a rough first inning in which he surrendered a three-run homer to the HUGE Adam Dunn. Ken Griffey Jr. and Sean Casey scored in front of Dunn. After that, Pedro settled in and threw 103 pitches over six innings in his Mets debut. He allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out twelve. He didn't figure in the decision as the Reds rallied against the Mets bullpen to win 7-6.
Nomar Garciaparra and Todd Walker were other prominent ex-Red Sox who had good performances on Opening Day as the Cubs clobbered the Diamondbacks 16-6. Batting second in Dusty Baker's batting order, Walker had three hits in four at-bats with two runs scored and one run batted in. Nomar batted third and had two hits in five at-bats with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
In current Red Sox news, we get to see Matt Clement's American League debut as he gets tossed into the deep end of the pool against the arch-rival Yankees tomorrow afternoon. I just hope George Steinbrenner doesn't put the sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads in the pool with him...
Nomar Garciaparra and Todd Walker were other prominent ex-Red Sox who had good performances on Opening Day as the Cubs clobbered the Diamondbacks 16-6. Batting second in Dusty Baker's batting order, Walker had three hits in four at-bats with two runs scored and one run batted in. Nomar batted third and had two hits in five at-bats with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
In current Red Sox news, we get to see Matt Clement's American League debut as he gets tossed into the deep end of the pool against the arch-rival Yankees tomorrow afternoon. I just hope George Steinbrenner doesn't put the sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads in the pool with him...
No such thing as bad publicity?
The following is the lead paragraph of a news story I spotted on Yahoo. When you read an introduction like what I've cut and pasted below in italics, chances are probably good that what follows is even worse. Try this on for size:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Over three decades in the Tennessee Senate, John Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, given a political job to a girlfriend and been successfully sued for sexual harassment.
You know you are in deep trouble when a news story begins in such a manner. It's not exactly a "headlines you would least want to read about yourself" since it isn't an actual headline, but I think the point has been made. I just wish something like this would happen to Tom DeLay.
For those interested, what follows is the entire story about Mr. Ford collecting money as a consultant to Tennessee's Medicaid program, TennCare, and not reporting it to the proper authorities. Read the whole thing here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20050404/ap_on_re_us/scandalous_senator
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Over three decades in the Tennessee Senate, John Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, given a political job to a girlfriend and been successfully sued for sexual harassment.
You know you are in deep trouble when a news story begins in such a manner. It's not exactly a "headlines you would least want to read about yourself" since it isn't an actual headline, but I think the point has been made. I just wish something like this would happen to Tom DeLay.
For those interested, what follows is the entire story about Mr. Ford collecting money as a consultant to Tennessee's Medicaid program, TennCare, and not reporting it to the proper authorities. Read the whole thing here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20050404/ap_on_re_us/scandalous_senator
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Yankees 9 Red Sox 2
Randy Johnson did just what the Yankees acquired him to do by neutralizing the Red Sox bats in the 2005 season opener.
The Red Sox did take an early lead in the second inning with Jay Payton's RBI single that followed a David Ortiz double and a Kevin Millar groundout. After that, Johnson was efficient in shutting down the bats.
David Wells, on the other hand, got hit fairly hard as the Yankee batters had good swings against him. He left the game down 4-1, and was lucky that Mike Myers got a double play grounder off the bat of Tony Womack with the bases loaded in the fifth inning or else it could have been a much worse Red Sox debut for the portly lefthander.
Mr. Wells also committed a stupid balk that allowed a run to score. Red Sox manager Terry Francona allowed newcomer Blaine Neal to warm up four separate times when Wells was struggling before he came on after Myers' short stint. Surprise, surprise, Neal had nothing left and the Yanks put two more runs across against him and Alan Embree in the sixth.
It appeared that Yankee manager Joe Torre was doing the Red Sox a favor by bringing Tanyon Strurtze in relief in the top of the seventh, but he pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.
Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox, but another newcomer, Matt Mantei, gave up a two-run homer to Hideki Matsui, and another run scored when John Halama let a little squibber off the bat of Derek Jeter squirt through the wickets.
The Sox managed one more run when Tom Gordon game in to pitch the ninth. He walked Kevin Millar. Jason Varitek followed with a single off the right field wall that moved Millar to third. Millar then scored on pinch-hitter Trot Nixon's fly ball to center. Gordon then retired Bill Mueller on a short fly to right, then struck out Mark Bellhorn, one of three whiffs for Bellhorn.
Oh well, one down, 161 to go...
The Red Sox did take an early lead in the second inning with Jay Payton's RBI single that followed a David Ortiz double and a Kevin Millar groundout. After that, Johnson was efficient in shutting down the bats.
David Wells, on the other hand, got hit fairly hard as the Yankee batters had good swings against him. He left the game down 4-1, and was lucky that Mike Myers got a double play grounder off the bat of Tony Womack with the bases loaded in the fifth inning or else it could have been a much worse Red Sox debut for the portly lefthander.
Mr. Wells also committed a stupid balk that allowed a run to score. Red Sox manager Terry Francona allowed newcomer Blaine Neal to warm up four separate times when Wells was struggling before he came on after Myers' short stint. Surprise, surprise, Neal had nothing left and the Yanks put two more runs across against him and Alan Embree in the sixth.
It appeared that Yankee manager Joe Torre was doing the Red Sox a favor by bringing Tanyon Strurtze in relief in the top of the seventh, but he pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.
Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox, but another newcomer, Matt Mantei, gave up a two-run homer to Hideki Matsui, and another run scored when John Halama let a little squibber off the bat of Derek Jeter squirt through the wickets.
The Sox managed one more run when Tom Gordon game in to pitch the ninth. He walked Kevin Millar. Jason Varitek followed with a single off the right field wall that moved Millar to third. Millar then scored on pinch-hitter Trot Nixon's fly ball to center. Gordon then retired Bill Mueller on a short fly to right, then struck out Mark Bellhorn, one of three whiffs for Bellhorn.
Oh well, one down, 161 to go...
Alex Sanchez? ALEX FREAKIN' SANCHEZ???
Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sanchez was suspended today for 10 days under Major League Baseball's new steroid policy. Sanchez has the dubious distinction of being the first player punished under this policy. Here is the story as posted on ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2029037
I have some doubt about Sanchez's guilt. Exhibit A: Sanchez is listed as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. Having watched him play as a member of the Tigers last season, and as a member of the Devil Rays this spring, I am guessing that the figure given as his weight is a bit on the generous side. In other words, he isn't exactly ripped like a weight lifter. Exhibit B: In 1,459 plate appearances in 365 games over the course of his four year career, he has hit a grand total of four home runs. He hit two of those last season. His others came in 2002 and 2003. In other words, we're not talking home run threat here. We aren't even talking warning track power threat.
Sanchez has a hitting style that resembles that of Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. He slaps the ball to the opposite field, and tries to chop down and let his great speed take over. He also puts down frequent bunts. Given all of the above information, it seems difficult to see how steroids could be of any benefit unless Sanchez thought that he could increase his already considerable speed.
The irony here is that not one of the big, bulky sluggers was first to be "caught" and punished, but a punch-and-judy hitting outfield who provides speed as 80% of his game. Is this yet another example of Bud Selig and his cronies clamping down on the non-superstar sluggers in an effort to appear as if he is doing something concrete about steroid use in the National Pastime? I've said this before, but this will be my first mention of it in the blogosphere: Bud Selig is a hack who never should have been made Commissioner of Baseball.
I have some doubt about Sanchez's guilt. Exhibit A: Sanchez is listed as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. Having watched him play as a member of the Tigers last season, and as a member of the Devil Rays this spring, I am guessing that the figure given as his weight is a bit on the generous side. In other words, he isn't exactly ripped like a weight lifter. Exhibit B: In 1,459 plate appearances in 365 games over the course of his four year career, he has hit a grand total of four home runs. He hit two of those last season. His others came in 2002 and 2003. In other words, we're not talking home run threat here. We aren't even talking warning track power threat.
Sanchez has a hitting style that resembles that of Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. He slaps the ball to the opposite field, and tries to chop down and let his great speed take over. He also puts down frequent bunts. Given all of the above information, it seems difficult to see how steroids could be of any benefit unless Sanchez thought that he could increase his already considerable speed.
The irony here is that not one of the big, bulky sluggers was first to be "caught" and punished, but a punch-and-judy hitting outfield who provides speed as 80% of his game. Is this yet another example of Bud Selig and his cronies clamping down on the non-superstar sluggers in an effort to appear as if he is doing something concrete about steroid use in the National Pastime? I've said this before, but this will be my first mention of it in the blogosphere: Bud Selig is a hack who never should have been made Commissioner of Baseball.
And this just in from the "I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!" department: Yankee pitcher Kevin Brown was placed on the disabled list because of, surprise, his ailing back.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
The Pope is dead, and already much is being said about his legacy. He is thought of as a partner to Ronald Reagan in bringing down Communism in his native Poland. What is not being said is the part that the Polish Solidarity movement, led by Lech Walesa, played a bigger role than anything the Pope or President Reagan ever did. That is a wicked side irony in this issue. Reagan hated unions and it must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow in sharing the credit with a trade union for such a huge accomplishment. But that is a subject for another post...
At the same time Pope John Paul II was preaching freedom from Communism for his fellow Poles, a similar battle was brewing in Central America. In El Salvador, a vicious right-wing government was destroying the country. A courageous priest, Archbishop Romeros, tried to calm things and was told by Pope John Paul II to stay out of politics. The Archbishop was soon assassinated by the notorious death squads that were covertly funded and trained by the United States.
That is a more lasting image of this Pope's legacy. He picked and chose battles based on how the Reagan White House felt at the time, and over 100,000 El Salvadorans were murdered as a result.
I was raised Catholic, but from an early age I questioned everything only to find that questions were not tolerated by the clergy. It has always seemed to me that Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular, is driven by superstition and prejudice, two things I find completely abhorrent. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Christianity preaches things that are that much more stupid than any other religion, it is just that I hate the hypocritical posturing by politicians and priests that takes place whenever they sense a chance to exact some personal gain. The Terry Schaivo case is a prime example of such shameful behavior. The Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal is another.
As is often the case in my writing I seem to have strayed a bit from the main topic, the legacy of this Pope. Or have I? Do the actions of the Catholic Church on a worldwide scale reflect the wishes and directives of Rome? It will be interesting to see who becomes the next pontiff. Already there are stories that high-ranking officials and bishops are clamoring for a pope who will be more evangelical. Great. That's just what we need, a Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson clone. If that occurs then it will push the Catholic Church even further into its shell of ignorance, superstition and prejudice. I hope they can do better than that.
At the same time Pope John Paul II was preaching freedom from Communism for his fellow Poles, a similar battle was brewing in Central America. In El Salvador, a vicious right-wing government was destroying the country. A courageous priest, Archbishop Romeros, tried to calm things and was told by Pope John Paul II to stay out of politics. The Archbishop was soon assassinated by the notorious death squads that were covertly funded and trained by the United States.
That is a more lasting image of this Pope's legacy. He picked and chose battles based on how the Reagan White House felt at the time, and over 100,000 El Salvadorans were murdered as a result.
I was raised Catholic, but from an early age I questioned everything only to find that questions were not tolerated by the clergy. It has always seemed to me that Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular, is driven by superstition and prejudice, two things I find completely abhorrent. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Christianity preaches things that are that much more stupid than any other religion, it is just that I hate the hypocritical posturing by politicians and priests that takes place whenever they sense a chance to exact some personal gain. The Terry Schaivo case is a prime example of such shameful behavior. The Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal is another.
As is often the case in my writing I seem to have strayed a bit from the main topic, the legacy of this Pope. Or have I? Do the actions of the Catholic Church on a worldwide scale reflect the wishes and directives of Rome? It will be interesting to see who becomes the next pontiff. Already there are stories that high-ranking officials and bishops are clamoring for a pope who will be more evangelical. Great. That's just what we need, a Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson clone. If that occurs then it will push the Catholic Church even further into its shell of ignorance, superstition and prejudice. I hope they can do better than that.
Friday, April 01, 2005
The Byun-Hyung Kim Era Is Over
Now that Theo Epstein has admitted his huge mistake, the Red Sox have cut their losses and sent Mr. Kim to the Colorado Rockies. This is simple addition by subtraction. Kim was doomed from the start in a Red Sox uniform. The poor guy was immediately made the closer, even though it was apparent from his disastrous 2001 World Series performance that he could never get the Yankee batters out. Kim always seemed to be battling inconsistency and injury. Those factors combined with a bad attitude made him a marked man. I'm just surprised it took so long for Theo to pull the trigger and do what had to be done.
To sum up, Theo foolishly gave Kim a contract extension that must have made all the other GMs snicker openly. I don't know what was going on with the man, but for the sake of the Sox bullpen I am glad to see him gone. I wish him luck with the Rockies.
I'm more concerned with the Sox starting staff. Gone is Pedro. Gone are his 16 wins and 227 strikeouts. Also gone is his tendency to be a flake. Back in the National League, if healthy, he will probably, thanks to being able to face his opposing pitchers and weak number seven and eight hitters, see his ERA drop by as much as one full run. Gone too is Derek Lowe, he of the more than occasional "deer in the headlights" expression. Yes he won quite a few games in a Sox uniform, but he also got a ton of run support. Still, he was a durable pitcher, and the Sox will try hard to replace his and Pedro's innings this season.
Which brings us to the new guys. David Wells. The man who once said that if Boston ever wanted to blow up Fenway Park he'd be glad to push the plunger. He will turn 42 in May, and has never been a poster boy for being in tip-top physical shape. He does have the uncanny ability to throw strikes when he is healthy, but will he be healthy enough to make 33 starts?
Then there is Matt Clement. This kid has a golden arm, but has somehow never been able to put it all together. Early in his career one could have put his mediocrity down to being on lousy Padre and Marlin clubs, but for the past few years he has been a Cub, and they have been in contention for post-season play the last two seasons, and he hasn't improved at all. With his stuff, a 96 MPH fastball, scary split-finger fastball and slider, he should be capable of 18 wins on talent alone. I hope pitching coach Dave Wallace can help him find the missing pieces to his puzzle.
Then there is Tim Wakefield, Mr. Knuckler. Wake will turn 39 in August, but since he's not a power pitcher that becomes a smaller concern. He'll do his best to pitch 6-7 innings and turn the game over to the bullpen.
Up next is Bronson Arroyo. If he'd had Derek Lowe's run support he'd have won 15-16 games in 2004 instead of the 10 with which he finished. I think he'll be a big factor since Curt Schilling is still on the mend.
And speaking of Curt...he's 38. He's a warrior. But is it reasonable to expect the same level of performance he gave in 2004? The pessimist in me says no. I think that is why Theo picked up guys like John Halama and Jeremi Gonzalez. They have experience as starters and will likely step in if there are long stints of inactivity for any of the first five.
The addition of Matt Mantei to the bullpen should help Mike Timlin and Alan Embree quite a bit, as should the re-acquisition of lefty submariner Mike Myers. Keith Foulke remains solid as the closer.
To sum up, when one considers the age 3/5 of the projected starters one then has to face the inevitability of lost time due to injury. A lot of things have to go right for these moves to be successful. Two nights from now is when we will begin to find out.
To sum up, Theo foolishly gave Kim a contract extension that must have made all the other GMs snicker openly. I don't know what was going on with the man, but for the sake of the Sox bullpen I am glad to see him gone. I wish him luck with the Rockies.
I'm more concerned with the Sox starting staff. Gone is Pedro. Gone are his 16 wins and 227 strikeouts. Also gone is his tendency to be a flake. Back in the National League, if healthy, he will probably, thanks to being able to face his opposing pitchers and weak number seven and eight hitters, see his ERA drop by as much as one full run. Gone too is Derek Lowe, he of the more than occasional "deer in the headlights" expression. Yes he won quite a few games in a Sox uniform, but he also got a ton of run support. Still, he was a durable pitcher, and the Sox will try hard to replace his and Pedro's innings this season.
Which brings us to the new guys. David Wells. The man who once said that if Boston ever wanted to blow up Fenway Park he'd be glad to push the plunger. He will turn 42 in May, and has never been a poster boy for being in tip-top physical shape. He does have the uncanny ability to throw strikes when he is healthy, but will he be healthy enough to make 33 starts?
Then there is Matt Clement. This kid has a golden arm, but has somehow never been able to put it all together. Early in his career one could have put his mediocrity down to being on lousy Padre and Marlin clubs, but for the past few years he has been a Cub, and they have been in contention for post-season play the last two seasons, and he hasn't improved at all. With his stuff, a 96 MPH fastball, scary split-finger fastball and slider, he should be capable of 18 wins on talent alone. I hope pitching coach Dave Wallace can help him find the missing pieces to his puzzle.
Then there is Tim Wakefield, Mr. Knuckler. Wake will turn 39 in August, but since he's not a power pitcher that becomes a smaller concern. He'll do his best to pitch 6-7 innings and turn the game over to the bullpen.
Up next is Bronson Arroyo. If he'd had Derek Lowe's run support he'd have won 15-16 games in 2004 instead of the 10 with which he finished. I think he'll be a big factor since Curt Schilling is still on the mend.
And speaking of Curt...he's 38. He's a warrior. But is it reasonable to expect the same level of performance he gave in 2004? The pessimist in me says no. I think that is why Theo picked up guys like John Halama and Jeremi Gonzalez. They have experience as starters and will likely step in if there are long stints of inactivity for any of the first five.
The addition of Matt Mantei to the bullpen should help Mike Timlin and Alan Embree quite a bit, as should the re-acquisition of lefty submariner Mike Myers. Keith Foulke remains solid as the closer.
To sum up, when one considers the age 3/5 of the projected starters one then has to face the inevitability of lost time due to injury. A lot of things have to go right for these moves to be successful. Two nights from now is when we will begin to find out.
...it would be a hell of a lot easier for me to blog...
Greetings. Welcome to my humble blog. I've been meaning to do this ever since Al Gore invented these Internets, but I am, on occasion, afflicted by bouts of laziness. But that is all behind me now. Stay tuned as I tackle such topics as:
- How will my beloved Red Sox fare as they attempt to defend their WORLD SERIES TITLE?
- Why the hell are we still arguing the merits of Evolution versus Creationism?
- Now that U2 is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when will the REAL greatest Irish rock act, Thin Lizzy, finally get their due respect?
- Is it possible to conduct two long distance relationships at the same time?
- Are the Republicans really as big a bunch of rotten bastards as they appear to be?
- Are the Democrats as hopelessly inept as they appear to be?
- Why don't the Big and Tall stores carry pants with 38-inch inseams and 33-inch waists?
I will attempt to find answers to all these questions as I move forward. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I'll try to make it worth your while.
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