Holy Crap!

I have not posted for a while, thus probably alienating my ever-dwindling readership...sometimes, real life just intrudes. School started this week, and since I had absolutely nothing prepared, that's what I spent all last week and the first part of this week doing, Oy vey. Not that it had to be that way, mind you. It's just that if it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing at midnight the night before. Procrastination is my middle name.

That does not, however, mean I have not been paying attention. To wit:

1. Eli Manning is the definition of a one-note wonder. Of course,it's just a shame that one note had to come last February, but to call him mediocre and overrated is an insult to mediocre and overrated people. You can take the "defending" out of champions now, Giant fans. Hey, Manning, you loser, got a question for ya....where-IS-Burr-ESS? Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap!

2. From what I've seen so far, the 2008 New England Patriots could have gone toe-to-toe with any of the playoff teams, except maybe the Steelers-certainly anybody in the NFC. I don't think I gave the Steelers credit earlier for being a *really* good team. So nice to see the wussy-ass, overrated, fragile-like-a-crystal-lamp Chargers brought crashing back down to earth.

3. Right now, I'm cheering for Arizona, only partially because I lived in Phoenix for a little while (wouldn't recommend it long term). Forgetting for a second that the Patriots absolutely humiliated them, their win would be a great 2001 Patriots-like story (where is Kurt Warner's ubiquitous wife this time around, anyway? Or did they split up years ago and I just didn't know about it?) Not to mention I detest McNabb-he sealed his fate with me with that pissy remark about wanting his ring back last year, conveniently forgetting his glaring contributions to his team's Super Bowl loss-and, on a lesser plane, I dislike both the Steelers AND the Ravens. Go Cards!!!!!

4. Scott Pioli is finally moving on, although I expected he and McDaniel to go as a package deal. Like I said, I really don't expect him to duplicate the level of success elsewhere as he did with Belichick and Kraft. But that doesn't mean I wish him anything ill. He did a great job for the organization and it's fans and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you, Scott! Good luck unless you guys are playing the Pats!

5. Cleveland is the world's worst organization, next to the Lions and Jets. Crennel for the weaselly fat boy Mangini? Mangini when they possibly otherwise have had Pioli? I hope they go 0-16 next year. By the way, Romeo, I'm pretty sure a defense orchestrated by you wouldn't've allowed the Giants to march straight down the field for the winning touchdown the way the defense orchestrated by Dean Pees did. Has Bill called you yet?

6. I'm absolutely drowning in the manure that is the fawning over Tony Dungy, the world's biggest choker next to the Yankees and his own quarterback. Now I'll probably have to endure him on some sports talk show, where he'll just be so darned nice about everybody, because, in case you haven't heard, it's only been said ninety million times, he's just a helluva nice guy. Blech. Please. Give me an edgy guy any day-Belichick on the field, Boomer in the booth.

6. Color me "eh" about John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli. Between them and Brad Penny, you might get 2/3 of a player. The Sox seem to be trying to field a team the way, say, Dr. Frankenstein might-parts is parts, after all. I'm thus far unimpressed, although I'm aware this isn't costing them much money. But it's not as if I'm actually paying anybody's salary, or that the Sox couldn't afford something better. Not that there is much better out there at this point. I'm just sayin'.

7. I'm aware this deserves it's own post befitting a lifelong fan who adored the man in his prime, and later on I'll do one, but I just want to say congratulations to the writers who finally pulled their heads out of their asses and gave Jim Rice his due. Nice job, Jim Ed. We love you, man!

EDIT: For a great fan perspective, I would direct you here. Good job, Doug.

8. The Braves are out of their minds. Four years, sixty million? Bullshit! Derek Lowe, for that amout of money, should be a guarantee to the promised land, and right now, even with him, they’re not even a playoff team. He should fit in well, though. He and Chipper will have a lot to talk about, no doubt. Sideline reporters, Hooters waitresses, assorted groupies and weirdos...

Whew. Caught up.

Comments

[Peter Naboicheck]

I like your style...right to the point! Yay, Jim Ed!! I've been waiting for so long.

[Douglas Watts]

Thank you Lisa, writing my epistle for Jim Ed Rice took a lot longer than I ever thought (much was condensed and/or left on the cutting room floor). Now upon re-reading it sounds all right.

[Kevin S.]

I have to say I agree with you on most of the stuff - particularly Rice, but I think the Brad Penny signing was a good choice. He's in his prime, has started fewer than 29 games only three times in his career (not including his rookie season), averages 27 appearances and 162 innings per season (six innings per start), and 10.5 wins per season, and that was on teams that weren't as good as the Sox.

No, he's not a big, sexy signing, but the Sox are set with the top three spots in their rotation. I'm guessing, as a number four starter, Penny can hit at least 13 wins, and 15 wouldn't surprise me - as long as he stays healthy. With Wakefield and a couple of the rookie pitchers they have, Penny will give them more production out of that fifth starter spot than they got last season. The team was 17-19 out of that number 5/injury fill-in spot (three of the top four starters combined to miss ten starts) - so that 17-19 was over 43 starts and from seven pitchers.

Penny should give a little more stability there.

Baldelli is a good guy coming off the bench, and having John Smolz coming in around the trade deadline - it means that the Sox aren't going to be under as much pressure to make a deal if they do have issues with the pitching.

And let me tell you how glad I am that the Yankees saved them from overpaying for Tex.

[Lisa K.]

Well, of course he can help them out of he can stay healthy. Same could be said of Curt Schilling last year, but he didn't.

I'm not a big fan of reclamation projects in general. Sometimes, you get lucky, but more often than not you get Wade Miller or Mark Prior. It just makes me a little nervous to see the Sox pinning their hopes on these guys whose production is, frankly, far less certain than that of a Tex.