Lineup Complete
Pending a physical, the Boston Red Sox have seemingly filled the major remaining holes in their roster and have more or less solidified the starting lineup for the 2006 season. As of yesterday, the Red Sox signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one year deal worth $3 million, acquiring what looks to be their final position player. Although this year’s team has more new members than an Irish-Catholic family reunion, I for one am excited. However, if you are like any sane or emotionally stable Red Sox fan, you have probably tried to stay a safe distance from this offseason’s hot stove as to properly digest the many new acquisitions. So to help you identify the many new faces that will be occupying Friendly Fenway this year, I have put together a quick reference guide. [writer’s note: reference guide subject to change upon further personnel changes including the forthcoming trade of David Wells and probable trade of Matt Clement]
So without further ado…your 2006 Boston Red Sox(as of February 1st):
THE LINEUP:
1 Coco Crisp CF - Edgar Renteria traded to Atlanta Braves for third base prospect Andy Marte, Marte then sent to Cleveland Indians for Crisp. He batted .300 last year with 16 HRs, 15 SBs, and an On Base Percentage of .345. He will return to his natural spot as a leadoff hitter and center fielder this year and is signed with the Sox until 2009.
2 Mark Loretta 2B - acquired in trade that sent back-up catcher Doug Mirabelli to the San Diego Padres. Should be a good fit in the 2-spot despite a mostly dissappointing season last year.
3 Manny Ramirez LF - After asking for a trade to basically anywhere that would take him, Manny apparently had a change of heart and decided he would like to stick around in Boston. Yay.
4 David Ortiz DH - Big Papi needs no introduction. Expect the big fella to welcome the newcomers with his patented hugs.
5 Jason Varitek C - the Sox Captain should bring a little stability to a team that saw a lot of changes this offseason.
6 Trot Nixon RF - expect utility outfielder Dustan Mohr to see some time if Nixon continues his pattern of injuries. Trot should also be a solid leader in the clubhouse with the new players. However, with the MLB crackdown on steroids, expect Trot’s production to go down a little as well. Oops…who said that?
7 Kevin Youkilis/J.T. Snow 1B - expect another platoon job here. The young’n Youk will be adapting to a new position while former Gold Glover Snow will see some quality time as well. Snow was picked up off free agency from the San Francisco Giants. He is sort of the 2006 version of John Olerud. Only without the hard hat.
8 Mike Lowell 3B - Lowell was thrown into the trade with the Florida Marlins that brought starting pitcher Josh Beckett to the Sox for prospect Hanley Ramirez. With Marte gone and Youk moved to first, Lowell seems to be our main guy at third. He had a terrible season at the plate last year but has had good career numbers. He is looking to bounce back into his prior form this year with the Sox. He is also a former Gold Glover.
9 Alex Gonzalez SS - Pending a physical, Gonzalez will be the last position player signed by the Red Sox for this year. He was picked up from free agency after playing with the Florida Marlins last year and signed for a one year deal for $3 million. Gonzalez might be a rally-killer at the plate but he is capable of some breathtaking defensive plays. He did improve his strike-out to walk percentage significantly last year and will look to do that again this year. They will probably work on his patience at the plate to just try to get him on base more often. He is comparable to a Pokey Reese type player but without the cool name and fun personality.
THE STARTERS:
1- Curt Shilling - If Curt can stay healthy he could very well return to 2004 shape. He is a great competitor(as we all know) and should be a good mentor to Beckett, Papelbon, and the other pitching prospects if they get to the show this year.
2- Josh Beckett - acquired in probably the best move of the offseason that sent shortstop prospect Hanley Ramirez to the Marlins for the former World Series MVP in Beckett. Could possibly surpass Curt for the #1 spot in the rotation by August. He has also had some DL trouble but mostly for blisters on his fingers.
3- David Wells - although the Sox tried hard to honor Boomer’s request to be traded to a west coast team, their inability to get even 50 cents on the dollar prevented them from pulling the trigger on any deal. Negotiations should start up again in Spring Training so don’t expect David to be in a Sox uniform come April 3rd.
4- Matt Clement - This right-hander was pretty much on the trading block all off-season. Unfortunately his time on the DL and implosion in the postseason last year didn’t exactly make him a hot commodity. If Abe- I mean Matt- starts off hot expect a deal for some possible lefty relief help or even another starter.
5- Tim Wakefield - I am pretty sure you all know Tim. He should be a solid 4/5 man this year and should work well behind the hard throwers in front of him in the rotation. Expect a little bit of an adjustment in the beginning since long time plate partner Doug Mirabelli left town.
6- Jonathan Papelbon - We saw a little of this guy last year when he was brought up from triple-A to fill in for our ailing pitching staff. The best spot for this hard throwing youngster is in the starting rotation however he might end up starting in the ‘pen for a little while until Wells and/or Clement leave town.
7- Bronson Arroyo - Saturn Nuts might end up anchoring our bullpen and filling in if any starters hit the DL this year. He has stated he will do anything to help the club and even took a hometown discount to stay with Boston. A trade would ruffle some feathers in the Red Sox Nation so expect Mr. Cornrows to be on the 25 man roster in September.
THE BULLPEN:
RHP - Keith Foulke(CL) - if there was anyone who has something to prove this year its Foulkie. After a frustrating year recovering from knee surgeries last year, Foulke needs to step it up and prove to the organization and fan base that he wasn’t just a one hit wonder in Boston.
RHP - Mike Timlin - the acquisition of right handed set-up man David Riske should take some pressure off Timlin. Hopefully he won’t have to appear in as many innings and can stay healthy throughout the entire year. That will leave time for more hunting with Wakefield.
RHP - David Riske - this 29 year old right hander was acquired in the Coco Crisp trade from the Cleveland Indians. He should be a solid addition to the bullpen.
RHP - Rudy Seanez - Seanez makes his second go around with the Sox, having previously played in Boston in the 2003 season. He was picked up out of free agency and signed to a one year deal after previously playing with the San Diego Padres. Last year he went 7-1 with a 2.69 ERA and yielded just 18 earned runs in 60 1/3 innings over 57 relief appearances.
LHP - Julian Tavarez - The Sox signed this lefty set-up man to a to a two-year, $6.7 million contract in early January. Tavarez previously pitched for the Cardinals where, in the last two years he made a total of 151 appearances. He went 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA last year while two years ago he posted a 2.38 ERA. He may look familiar to many Sox fans as he was the losing pitcher in Game 1 of the 2004 World Series after giving up a game winning home run to Mark Bellhorn.
LHP - Lenny DiNardo - probably looks familiar to Sox fans. We have seen him a number of times make appearances for the BoSox. He might see some more time this year due to the lack of lefties in the Sox ‘pen. He gives a solid effort and is decent in long relief situations.
UTILITY PLAYERS:
Tony Graffanino - Infield - Picked up last year from the Kansas City Royals midseason, Tony batted .300 and started at second base for the latter half of the Sox season. Tony accepted arbitration with the Sox, even though that means he might not start. I would expect him to get some solid playing time though, especially playing a possible third base if Mike Lowell poops his pants.
Alex Cora - Infield - We saw a little bit of Cora last year. He will probably have a similar role playing the infield as a defensive substitute in late innings.
Adam Stern - Outfield - Stern saw limited playing time last year playing in only 36 games. He will probably play a little bit more depending on Gabe Gabler’s status and whether or not Coco Crisp gets soggy(HAahahAHAhA - get it, ’soggy’! hahahha)
Dustan Mohr - Outfield - Mohr was picked up from free agency after playing with the Colorado Rockies last year. He doesn’t have tremendous speed but is a great hustler. He isn’t the best bat either but is capable of hitting the long ball.
John Flaherty - Catcher - Flaherty will probably be catching for Wakefield every fifth game. Don’t expect him to pop up any time other than that though.
COACHES:
Manager:
Terry Francona - Good ol’ Tito will be back at the helm this year, nervous rocking and all. He will have a bigger challenge trying to figure out how to manage all of the new guys but luckily for him most of the guys fit well in a certain spot in the lineup. Also, thats his job.
Pitching Coach:
Dave Wallace - Dave Wallace will return again this year as well and continue to hobble his way to the mound like a geratric dog for every conference at the mound.
1st Base Coach:
Bill Haselman - Bill will be a new face to see when runners single, walk, or get hit-by-pitch and make their way to 1st base. We welcome Bill but will sadly miss Lynn “The Mustache” Jones.
BROADCASTERS:
Joe Castiglione, Jerry Trupiano, Don Orsillo, and Jerry Remy all return to anchor our all-star cast of Red Sox personalities. It should be noted that this is WEEI’s last year of their contract with the Red Sox. I would expect a big year for the station being that its a contract year. Unless it pulls a Nomar and puts on a pouty-bitch-pussy face for half the year. Also, the Rem-dawg returns following and All-Star worthy season last year. I would imagine his buddy Wally the Green Monster will emerge as well. Probably in extra-inning or extra-boring games.
As of February 1st, that ladies and gentlemen, appear to be your 2006 Boston Red Sox.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Football Held hostage
After Doug Flutie’s historic extra-point drop-kick sailed through the uprights on January 1, 2006 against the Miami Dolphins, the Pro Football Hall of Fame requested the football to be placed on display along with Flutie’s jersey and cleats. Unfortunately, since the team lined up as if to complete a two point conversion, no nets were raised to prevent the ball from entering the stands. So inevitably some fan actually caught the ball and brought it home. Although instant replay could not reveal which spectator received the ball, the Patriots Front Office did receive a fax from a fan who claimed they had the desired ball. The unnamed fan made this request in return for the football:
“1. Payment of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND ($100,000.00) DOLLARS [lawyer’s capitals] on delivery of the football.
“2. A guarantee of eight (8) season tickets for 25 years in the end zone (preferably sections 142 or 143).
“a. The season tickets will be paid for annually by my client at the then going price for season tickets. The Patriots would not be expected to pay for the tickets.
“3. Delivery by the Patriots to my client sometime in September, 2006, of a Tom Brady Patriots’ football jersey signed by all the team members as of the beginning of the next football season.”
Scott Boras will you please just give the Patriots their fucking ball back. Thank you.
But in all seriousness, is this not one of the most ridiculous requests you have ever heard? Roger Clemens has demanded less. I am glad the Krafts and Patriots paid this request the respect its due and ignored the entire thing. I don’t think they even gave it a laugh. As one member of the Patriots organization said Friday “I hope he enjoys the football.”
Candy-man and Wally’s World?
I woke up this morning to find that the trade-happy Danny Ainge had struck again. This time acting in cahoots with former Celtics teammate Kevin McHale. Do you think we will ever get to see a season go by without Danny Ainge making a trade? It would be the equivalent to watching a Real World season were nobody gets excessively inebriated and almost gets arrested resulting in all the other housemates to wonder if that person is an alcoholic. I am not so sure that day is coming. So we are forced to digest another midseason move by the Celts GM.
The first thing I found out was that Mark Blount had been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Michael Olowokandi. No surprise there. Blount and the Candy-man had probably already swapped real-estate agents. Finding himself in a new uniform midseason might mean Mark Blownt…er…Blunt…er…uh…Blount’s(?) identity crisis continues. Maybe he will just get to Minnesota and just pull a Yao and put ‘Mark’ on the back of his jersey. Or change his last name to ‘Doobie’ which is much less ambiguous to pronounce. But something tells me this was more about the Celtics getting rid of the underachieving Blount and much less about aquiring the former No. 1 draft pick in Olowokandi. After all, Olowokandi only has one year left on his contract and his agent Bill Duffy has already suggested that Ainge move or release him. The focus on developing Kendrick Perkins this season has also pointed to the fact that the Celts are probably set with their bigman for the time being. Which leads me to search for a more plausible reason for this trade(besides the fact that apparently Danny Ainge feels the need to always make a trade).
A second part of this deal regards Marcus Banks being sent to the Wolves for Dwayne Jones. Yup that Dwayne Jones. The same Dwayne Jones that…ah…uh…wait a second…who the hell is Dwayne Jones? Apparently he is a 6’11” rebounder who is currently playing for the Florida Flames in the NBA’s developmental league. Oh. With Banks getting limited time behind the emerging Delonte West and Ryan Gomes, who are much younger and consequently have more potential, Banks was sent packing. So it seems like that aspect was pretty much formality. The 2008 first round draft pick that the Celtics received in exchange for two second round picks seems like a wash to me as well. Hmm. So what was this trade all about then?
Well my friends, it seems this trade comes down to Ricky Davis for Wally Szczberiak, straight up. Celtics fans: welcome to Wally’s World. May I buy a vowel?
I will be honest with everyone here. I love Wally Szczerbiak. I do. I always have. Ever since I was watching his college days at Miami of Ohio(honestly couldn’t they change the name so no one gets confused? Or do they like it that way because they think it sounds regal or something? Oh well). But I also liked Ricky Davis too. And call me naïve but I thought he fit in pretty well with the Celtics. After his past three other teams apparently couldn’t get rid of him fast enough, Ricky found a pretty comfortable place with the Green. Kind of like a mini Corey Dillon story. Except without all the Championships and stuff. But Ricky did bring an energy to the court. He had an electric presence, could make crowd noise insighting plays, and was one of the only players to (semi)consistently play solid defense.
So this is where this trade doesn’t sit well with me. We have a young, inexperienced team who struggles to play good defense and creates more turnovers than Au Bon Pain. Anchoring this team is a veteran scorer known for his ability to hit on anywhere on the court. In this trade though, we give up our number two scorer who has the ability to play defense for another veteran sharpshooter not known for his defensive aptitude. I don’t get it.
Was Wally really what we were looking for? Weren’t we really looking for a veteran defensive player that could spark this years team and mentor our young players for a few years? Like a younger Gary Payton/Charles Oakley, a sane Ron Artest, or a Rodney Harrison of basketball type player? Don’t we already have a sharpshooting scorer? Am I the only one that is confused here? This is a low grade equivalent of the Lakers trading for Allen Iverson.
Like I said though, I love Wally Szczerbiak. On top of his long range capabilities, Szczerbiak brings a composed veteran presence to a club that desperately needs it. In this capacity he is a significant improvement from Ricky Davis, who is just one noche above Manny Ramirez on the maturity-meter. In all fairness, Ricky probably was asked to do too much here in Boston. His role is probably a lot more appropriate as a number three man instead of a number two. I think Szczerbiak will probably fit a little better in this role although only time will tell. Wally also brings a sort of old school game style that probably impresses Danny Ainge. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ainge says something ridiculous and cliché along the lines of “he reminds me of myself when I was his age.” Only Wally doesn’t take stupid pull-up three pointers on 3 on 1 fast breaks.
Wally’s tenacity and hustle could also be valuable on a team that needs a little spark. Even if he isn’t the most athletic or defensively gifted guy on the court, his hustle and desire could inspire others. He truly is a guy who loves basketball. I am also looking forward to hearing Tommy scream “I LOVE WALLY’S WORLD!!!” in his thick Boston accent.
Obviously no one really knows what will happen to this team after this trade. Ainge and the rest of the Front Office are hoping it will ignite this team to a playoff berth. I think most of the fans are hoping that as well. I guess we will all have to just sit back and take the Paul Pierce “Wait and See Approach” . Go Green.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Coo-coo over this Coco deal
I think Mark Shapiro has a point. After rumors of a six player deal that would send center fielder Coco Crisp to the Red Sox leaked to the press as an almost done deal, Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro expressed his discontent with the earlier announcement. After three grueling days of no official announcement and more rumors surrounding the deal than a Jose Canseco memoir, I am thinking that I probably agree with him. Allegedly the leak was purposefully spread to put pressure on the Indians to pull the trigger on said trade. However, if you ask me it is just driving everyone batty. Its been ‘Coco’ this and ‘6 players’ that. Enough already. Can’t we just skip to the part were we take Coco’s picture holding up a Sox jersey?
The first word on the street was that the Crisp deal, which included set-up man David Riske and back-up catcher Josh Bard in exchange for prized third-base prospect Andy Marte, relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, and catcher Kelly Shoppach, was as good as done. However after Mota presumably failed his physical, Cleveland lost interest and claimed they would take Mota if the Sox added a player to “sweeten the pot”. If you ask my mom though, she would say that anything involving Coco Crisp is sweet enough, although that’s neither here nor there. The point was that the Indians were hinting that the Red Sox should throw in Manny Delcarmen on top of the other three. The latest states that the Indians then gave the Boston Front Office until today to come up with their best offer, or else the Indians would presumably walk.
Now I am no Theo Epstein, but I would say that two of our top five prospects for a center fielder who has possibly reached his plateau in terms of potential is a bit of a stretch. It seems the Indians are perhaps taking advantage of our lack of a center fielder by dangling Crisp in hopes of milking(no pun intended) Theo & Co. into a suckers deal. If this were Fantasy Baseball I would veto this as soon as it was posted.
Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to have Coco Crisp as my center fielder on opening day. Even if the thought of giving up Marte was slightly uncomfortable I still would have done that deal. However adding one of our highly touted pitching prospects put this over the top. There have been additional whispers that have hinted that the Reds or Phillies could possibly get involved. Specifically, something along the lines of right-hander Matt Clement being sent to Philly, the Phillies sending an outfielder to Cleveland, and Cleveland sending Crisp here to Boston or even a possible Clement to Cincinnati for outfielder Austin Kearns straight up. Since it looks like we are trying to get rid of Clement like he’s a venereal disease and he probably won’t be on the midsummer roster anyways, I think that deal settles a little better.
Even if this entire Crisp deal falls through it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Firstly, it would show that Theo is back and is not going to get hustled just because we might have to start Adam Stern as our centerfielder on opening day. Secondly, even if we did enter the season with the centerfield status quo we would still have seven starting pitchers including a malcontent David Wells and a Matt Clement that has probably already put his house on the market.
I have faith that Theo & Co. will probably counter with a more appropriate deal by tonight. And since so much has been invested in this already, my hope would be that they would finalize a fair trade rather than watch it fall through. Although in all honesty, who knows what tomorrows status of this deal is going to be. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it involved Tom Carons, Wally the Green Monster, a 52nd round draft pick, and a player to be named later. I keep telling myself that I am going to ignore the rumors and just sit back until the whole things unfolds.
Yeah right. I wish I had that kind of will power.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
one big reason to root for this team…
To make the playoffs. Simply said that should be the biggest goal of the Boston Celtics this year. Yes it sounds obvious and very un-prophetic, but it is important. I think we can all agree that this is not our year. I think it is also safe to say that this could be what is considered in sports a ‘rebuilding year’. So as fans we need to look at the small successes. Really put everything in perspective. I am sure if we drop a few more games out of that eighth playoff spot then it might be easier to start rooting for a draft pick. At least it might be a little better on our sanity. Nothing is worse than having a lame-duck season that ends without a playoff berth or a top ten first round draft pick. However there is one reason to root for the 2005-06 Celtics team to succeed and that reason exists in two words: Playoff Experience.
We could have a million excuses and justifications for why we didn’t make the post-season. But when it comes down to it, it would be much more beneficial for this team to participate in the playoffs. For one thing it would be a small victory in and of itself. If this team continued to battle and then ended up beating out other teams for the final play-off spot, believe it or not it would show a lot of character. Simply making the playoffs would be an accomplishment for this team. However everyone on the planet would probably admit we would not make it past the first round. Which in all honestly would not be the worst thing in the world. Then we could start issuing our excuses. They are incredibly young, they are just learning to play with each other, blah, blah, blah.
The best thing about making the playoffs, however, would be that it would give the younger guys on the team a taste of the postseason and the feel of a truly competitive atmosphere separate from the day to day grind of the regular season. It would give them motivation to get back as well. And, perhaps most importantly, it would give them another notch on their totem pole of experience and would truly be their ‘coming of age’ experience in the NBA. So in two or three years when (hopefully) this rebuilding experiment does pan out and Ainge’s young’ens grow up a little and put together a competitive team that could be dangerous in the playoffs, no one on TBS or NBC will pull out some grotesque statistic that states that “only two players on this 2007-08 Celtics team has playoff experience.”
I know as much as anyone that watching this team can be maddening. They’re more inconsistent than a bipolar weatherman and sometimes seem about as old as Freddy Adu’s younger siblings. But there have been flashes of brilliance. And with a team that is anchored by a perennial all-star having a career year, there is hope in the horizon of Celtics basketball. No one is expecting them to end this year with champagne and cigars. But a playoff berth might be just as valuable. And for a team that is only a couple games out of that last playoff spot, its enough for this fan not to quit on them just yet.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
The prodigal son returns
So the prodigal son returns.
I am not so sure this is a big surprise to anyone. But nevertheless, while Larry Lucchino plays the part of the older, uncelebrated brother in the famous Biblical parable, John Henry and the Red Sox nation throw a miniature party for their beloved former GM. With the announcement coming less than a week after the defending SuperBowl Champion Patriots bowed out of the playoffs early, it seems the timing is perhaps less than accidental. Considering the Boston sports fan and media magnifying glass was about to ravage the slumping Bruins, baby Celtics, and seemingly disorganized Red Sox Front Office, the Alka-Seltzer-esque relief that the return of Theo brings is a perfect distraction.
As of yesterday, “In Theo We Trust” resumes and the Red Sox Nation eagerly awaits the brilliant personnel moves that will presumably redeem an otherwise average off-season. However, let us all keep in mind that the baseball prodigy that we refer to as Theo Epstein also brought us a $40 million Edgar Renteria whom we begrudgingly were forced to trade after the experiment with the former golden glover failed miserably. And although his resume includes breaking an 86 year curse and delivering salvation to many Sox fans in the form of a World Series Championship, young Theo is only one piece of the Red Sox puzzle that needs to be completed for the 2006 season.
Perhaps what baffles me the most in all this “Theo officially returns” hoopla is the obliviousness to Theo’s role in the organization the past 80 days. After the first month when Theo didn’t even remotely show interest in joining another organization, was anyone doubting his correspondence with the Red Sox Front Office? Wasn’t this even more obvious when two internal assistants and close friends of Theo’s were appointed to his former position despite all signs pointing to the fact that they might not be the most qualified people for the job? And to top all this off Mr. Hot Stove himself Peter Gammons broke news that Theo was still involved and could possibly resume a role in the Red Sox organization. And although Mr. Gammons is not always right about his rumor predictions, I would find it hard to believe that he heard this one from a bouncer at the Paradise.
Yet I am still hearing grumblings questioning why Theo would still consult his former team and then eventually return. Let me state it very simply: this is his dream job. As in Theo’s answer to the Office Space question “what would you do if you had a million dollars?” And although doing two chicks at the same time might have crossed his mind(he does have a Y chromosome doesn’t he?), Theo’s most likely answer would be “General Manager of the Boston Red Sox”. And although a brief clash of egos drove him from the job only a few months ago, does it surprise anyone that both parties would swallow their pride a little to reach a compromise that everyone seems happy with? It certainly doesn’t surprise me that a young and confident Theo Epstein wouldn’t allow his relationship with one man ruin an extended career with his dream position. Why is this surprising to anyone else?
In any event, as of yesterday, Theo returns. To what extent no one is quite sure yet. But John Henry did prove to everyone that he is not a living skeleton by flexing his Principal Owner muscles(skeletons don’t have those) and bringing back the most successful General Manager in Sox history. Theo proved his point, Ben & Jed are three sheets to the wind celebrating right now, and Larry will perhaps don a fake smile and pretend that this was a “mutual reunification.” Regardless of the politics, I am happy he is back. Now let’s get ourselves a center fielder.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Thank You Bronson
Ok so this is something that I find incredibly important to draw attention to. Today Bronson Arroyo will be finalizing a contract with the Boston Red Sox against the advice of his agents and for probably less money than he could have received elsewhere. The reason you ask? It’s as simple as it is rare. Bronson Arroyo is loyal to the Red Sox organization and quite simply, is happy in Boston. To make sure he stays in the city he loves, the 28 year old side-arm took a pay cut. In a sports market where loyalty is as common as a cross-dressing American Idol singer, Arroyo’s actions are a breath of fresh air. Events like these reaffirm our faith in professional athletes and give us genuine reasons to pour our hearts into our favorite teams.
Arroyo stated that: “I agreed to this contract with strong advice from them[his agents] not to sign it, simply for the reason that I want to play in this town. I wouldn’t have signed a deal in any other place…They basically advised me against it for one because I signed at a discount.”
A professional athlete taking a pay cut so he can play for his favorite team in his favorite city? To some people this is about as believable as Roger Clemens climbing a tree to save some child’s kitten. Its really too bad Johnny Damon wasn’t consulting the Tao of Bronson. Or even just listening to his music maybe.
Now I can understand that for many professional athletes, Boston is not the city for them. The ravenous media. The often fickle fans. The intense pressure to perform. To many it can be a very daunting environment. But not for Bronson. The skinny white dude with corn-rows loves it. Elaborating on his desire to stay in Boston, Arroyo said that: “Everyone has their own take on the city, and how rabid the fans are. I love playing here. It’s fun for me, it’s exciting, every time you come to the ballpark you know you’ve got to bring your best, or people are going to criticize you for it.”
Coming from the guy who, according to Curt Schilling has “nuts the size of Saturn”, I am beginning to think Arroyo gets as much respect from his teammates as he should get from the fans and media. Arroyo’s actions should not only elicit respect for the pitcher, they should make him a fan favorite. He has been one of the most underrated players on the team, always plays his heart out, and constantly surprises his critics. To me, Arroyo joined fellow Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield as one of the classiest acts in not only Boston sports, but professional sports in general.
To top all this off, Arroyo was also quoted as saying: “I have not spoken to the team [about my role] … I said in the past I’d do anything to help the team win. I’ve proven myself as a starter … but if I need to pitch out of the bullpen, that’s what I’ll do …”
This comment means Arroyo’s either a Rhodes scholar from the Crash Davis School of Interviewing or about as legit a team player as they come. From what I know about the guitar playing hurler, he’s a pretty humble, down to earth, laid back kinda guy. In which case these comments probably shouldn’t be a surprise. But in today’s world of professional sports, unfortunately they are very surprising. So let me be the first to say: thank you Bronson Arroyo.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Now who?
Now that our beloved Patriots our out of the playoffs a question emerges regarding who to root for. Since I have dedicated every Sunday for the last 5 months to watching professional football it is a little hard to go cold turkey. This was illustrated this past weekend when I went out and purchased the Superbowl XXXVIII video to cheer me up as I mentioned in the last post yesterday. I only watched the high-lights over the weekend but I am sure I will bust out the entire game at some point in the next two weeks. And after that there is a good chance I will go out and get the SuperBowl XXXIX DVD and do the same thing all over again.
But to answer my first question: how does the average Patriots fan choose who to root for(assuming said person is not gambling on the game of course)? Well, here’s a quick breakdown on how I see it…
I need to say that I was not and will not root for Peyton Manning and the Colts. Ever. Although he is incredibly talented and it was impressive to see him tell Assistant Coach Tony Dungy that they would be going for it on fourth down, I cannot justify rooting for Peyton Manning. Peyton comes across as a pretty classy guy. He’s funny in those commercials and overall pretty much a good guy as far as we know. Chewing out his lineman in a post-game interview wouldn’t really make me want to be his teammate but overall he still seems like a decent person.
However any REAL Patriots fan will not root for him and here’s why. In about 10-20 years the next generation is going to talk about who was the best quarterback of our generation. Since those doing the analysis may have never seen the QBs of our time play, they might evaluate these players based on statistics. On paper, Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time and arguably the best of our time. However without a ring he might never wear that crown. Tom Brady’s rings and fourth quarter comebacks will probably trump Manning’s yards and touchdowns. Which will lead to Brady being dubbed the best of our generation. Which obviously all true New England fans should cheer for since, as we will attest, they don’t come much better than Brady. So provided Manning never achieves a ring, he cannot ever bear the title of the best of his time. Marino might have been the best quarterback, but Aikman will trump him and Jim Kelly any day because he has got the jewelry. So poor Peyton might join the likes of Danny-boy as “the best that couldn’t win the big one.” I even think Peyton would win this contest hands down considering Marino never had an Edgerrin James or Marvin Harrison. So I will never root for Peyton to win it all. At least not in this decade and probably not in my lifetime. Also I think it would be incredibly hilarious if Peyton had some sort of breakdown and ran off screaming jibberish and pulling his hair out. It would be extra funny if this happened as his induction to the hall of fame or retirement press conference. So needless to say I was happy Pittsburg won. No thanks to you, you stupid refs.
Carolina: See part of me still dislikes this team from the SuperBowl two years ago. Sometimes when there is a really important sporting event regarding my team, I get so pumped up that I create a dislike for the other team by making up bad stuff about them. I know, it seems a little ridiculous and perhaps a little Ray Lewis-esque but it just happens to be a consequence of being such a passionate fan. For example, I convinced myself Saturday that Jake Plummer does derogatory things to women, films it, and then sells it in stores like Amazing. Last summer Randy Johnson hurt kittens. Four years ago Kurt Warner disliked elderly people. Jason Kidd beat women(oh wait that one is real). So when we played Carolina in the Superbowl, I convinced myself at some point that the entire Panthers defensive line had midget throwing contests for money. And somehow there seems to be a little bit of the dislikage left from that game. I am also rooting for the Panthers to lose because if I have to hear Chris Berman say “Daylight come and me wanna Delhomme” one more time I am going to gouge my ears with scissors.
Pittsburg: I have trouble rooting for Pittsburg as well. Although I did have a brief stint as a Pittsburg fan. It was in 7th grade when I was a young and confused adolescent. And as I was desperately trying to fit in with the “cool crowd” as most 7th graders are, I did the “cool thing” by wearing a Starter jacket of a team that wasn’t my own. Don’t ask me why this was cool at the time. Maybe for 7th graders it still is cool. But in any event I had a Steelers jacket and became a big Steelers fan. They were my “in case the Patriots suck incredibly bad you still have a reason to watch football” team. Although the Pats went to the SuperBowl the following year so maybe I was in fact just a confused adolescent. My parents didn’t seem to mind though. Of all the things a confused adolescent could do I think wearing a non-Patriots jacket and rooting for another team was about the most docile thing possible. I guess experimenting with rooting for another team is a little different than experimenting with playing for another team. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I also could have pierced my nostrils, ingested aerosol fumes, and tortured the cat. So needless to say my parents were ok with me as a Steelers fan when I was 13. I don’t know where I am going with this except for when I grew up, matured, and became a full-fledged Patriots fan again the Pats-Steelers rivalry is now preventing me from fully rooting for Pittsburg. Although Ben and the Bus are more or less class acts and if they do end up winning I suppose there are worse things in life. And hey, they did beat the Colts.
Denver: it would be more justifiable if we lost to the eventual SuperBowl winners. But somehow I can’t root for them. I can’t root for a team who has a quarterback that’s a bum and could double as an extra in the remake of “King Dong: The Porn”. Also I had a brief altercation and exchange with a Broncos fan after the loss and for some reason do not want that women’s team to win it all. She was obnoxious. C’mon lady. Act like you’ve been there before.
Seattle: So it seems like Seattle wins by default. Although I do have a problem rooting for a team that cleared their lineman to play because he made bail on his domestic assault charges. I have an issue rooting for a team that has a wife-beater on it. It stems from my hatred for Jason Kidd and the Nets-Celts rivalry from a few years ago. So it will be tough for me to passionately cheer them on, especially since the alleged abuser is 300 lbs. However he isn’t the entire team and in fact isn’t really one of the headlining stars. They do have Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck. The former is a hard-working MVP with potential to take over a game. The latter is a local guy who graduated from Boston College. That seems enough for this Boston fan to root for. Although I hope someday Locklear dates a woman who is three times the size of him and tries to choke him in public. Eh…go Seahawks?
Jeez, from reading what I just typed it looks like I might be watching a few DVDs next weekend. Oh well.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Tough Reaction
5 Turnovers.
I kept running this through my head. 5 turnovers. 5 silly turnovers became the gun that the Patriots used to shoot themselves in the foot and ultimately derail the dynasty train in Denver saturday night.
Yes the referees were bad. Yes they blew the pass interference call against Asante that resulted in a Broncos touchdown. But that was hardly the game. The game was not won by Denver. The Patriots simply beat themselves. Not only did they not bring their dominating playoff ‘A Game’ that I have come to expect but they made more mistakes with the football than MC Hammer with money. And for any other team and for any other fan this would be absolute justification to be furious. But I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t be mad at these guys. I couldn’t justify in my mind getting upset at a team and organization that has brought me so many smiles in the past few years. Even if they did blow a game that would have brought them back to Gillette for the AFC championship against a team they had previously beaten in the regular season. It didn’t matter. The Pats flat out beat themselves in that game and I still could not be mad at them.
So knowing that I would not or could not take it out on the Pats, for the first few moments of defeat I took it out of the refs. But I soon realized that was only one referee mistake in a game of numerous costly mistakes made by the Patriots. There really was no one person to blame. I couldn’t blame the refs, I certainly couldn’t blame Belichick or the coaching staff and I am a little to meticulous to simply admit “it just wasn’t meant to be”. Upon more reflection, I came to the conclusion that the team simply lost the game. They didn’t execute. If anyone watched the Belichick post-game they would realize that he knew the same thing. The turnovers cost us. If you take away the turnovers it could have very well been a 13-0 Pats win. And for a Bill Belichick team that had a few very un-Belichick moments this season(like the enormous amount of penalties this year) maybe this shouldn’t have been a surprise. But I still couldn’t get mad at the team for their bad play.
So this loss made for a tough reaction. Mostly because I am not used to this. I haven’t had to deal with a Patriots play-off loss in almost a decade. In all honesty, I didn’t know how to react. I was at first angry but then seemed to wake up Sunday more depressed. I watched most of Sunday’s games but it just wasn’t the same. I knew I couldn’t be mad but that still didn’t stop me from being upset at this loss. I had followed this team all season. I stuck it out through the injuries and the losses and the doubts and the eventual fall from grace that was the 2005-06 season. But I still believed. Which is what makes losses like these hurt more. So somehow I had to come up with a way to deal with this season’s pre-SuperBowl conclusion. Denial wasn’t going to work because I still want to watch the SuperBowl. And its hard to root for your team when they are not in it. And plus people who cheer for their team when they are irrelevent are just plain sad. Anger or blame wouldn’t work because of the previous success. Hope for next year is tough with a team that will make only small changes in a league that doesn’t tend to have blockbuster off seasons. And how could depression or sadness work with a dynasty that has only recently been un-crowned.
So…I did what any self-loathing fan would do to patch up a post-loss funk. I relived the high-lights of the Pats extraordinary run these past few years. After the Colts loss I felt a little relief and so took a nice Sunday afternoon excursion to my local Best Buy and picked up a copy of the Patriots Superbowl XXXVIII victory DVD. It was a cheap and effective way to cure my Pats-loss blues(Best Buy has these for $7 in the Sports DVD section…*ahem* Mr. CEO of Best Buy I will email you the account # to where my kick-backs can be sent). Mission accomplished. I sat back, had a few Sunday afternoon beers(which I have been accustomed to having the past few years during Sundays in January), and watched the recap of the Patriots 2003-04 Superbowl season. I would have felt like a sad mother looking back at baby-pictures of her son who just went off to college but fortunately for me much of the Pats team is still the same. So I lose the “sad sad fan desperately trying to relive the glory days” label for the “fan who just picked up his team’s Superbowl DVD because it was on sale and he is either too cheap or too broke to buy it when it first comes out” label. Now I am no social sports-fan pyramid expert, but I am pretty sure the latter is much more acceptable.
So rather than wallow in my own sorrows, I proactively cheered myself up by enjoying just one of the three incredibly successful world championship SuperBowl victory seasons that the Patriots have enjoyed in only the past four years. I became thankful for Mr. Kraft and Bill and Tom and Tedy and Deion and the whole gang. And as I sat and watched the recapitulation of that season the joy of watching my team win it all recaptured me. And although it was not this actual season, it was much of the same players, much of the same organization, and much of the same team. And I couldn’t help but to smile and think how lucky I am to be a Pats fan right now.
So I guess I can sit back, relax, and just watch professional football for the remaining two weeks without having to cheer for any team in particular. Or without the butterflies that always emerge before big games. And although deep down I’ll still be wishing that it were my team playing in the big game, I can still look back and be thankful for the 2005-06 Pats and the hard-work, excitement, and competetiveness that they brought me all season. Because its more than a lot of other fans can say. And if all else fails, I know that a Patriots SuperBowl victory is only a remote control button away.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Hype-less Saturday
Is anyone else bothered by the considerable lack of hype surrounding Saturdays game against the Broncos? I mean, its not like I was expecting Tyson-McNeely II or anything, I just regard this as a rather big game. And to be honest, I am slightly disappointed that the only trash talking going on is between a couple of fans calling in on sports talk radio. To be fair, that kind of thing happens during Brockton-New Bedford games in October. So it’s a little strange to me that this same level of hype, trash-talk, and build-up is taking place the week before a AFC Divisional match-up between two very good football teams both vying for a AFC Championship and eventually a SuperBowl berth. Where are the Freddie Mitchell and Mike Vanderjagts of this game? You’re killing me people. This would be like a Real World(or any other reality series) season where everyone in the house got along great and became best friends. C’mon where is the excitement? The adrenalin? The emotion caused from illegal amphetamines taken before the game?
Ok so maybe I expect this from Belichick’s juice-sipping bunch but not from the lowly Broncos. A team that hasn’t won a play-off game since John Elway hung up the cleats for the microphone. They even got a first round bye! They can’t make a few inappropriate and immature comments about the 10-6 Patriots? And if the Patriots can’t be arrogant in a situation where they are two-time defending champs and coming off a 28-3 victory than when can they? I guess we have to give Mike Shanahan credit. The lack of locker room material could reach an all-time low for what I would consider, to be a very high profile game. Why can’t Willie McGinest make some kind of derogatory comment about Jake Plummer’s porn ‘stache. Or better yet, can some reporter ask rookie Ellis Hobbs if he is worried about the game, followed by him responding “Hell no man we’re playing against Jake Plummer” and then laugh maniacally. Am I alone here?
Maybe it is just me. Maybe this game is just going to be simply a hard nosed football game proven solely on the turf. And maybe deep down I would cringe if any of my Patriots made any comments that could insight a Broncos upset. But it still won’t prevent me from wishing this would happen. Just so that I don’t feel like I am the only person in the world that is completely amped up for this game. Oh well. There is still Friday.
