Hanging Chad

Posted by Mike Giardi August 31, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Word is circulating that the Patriots have told Chad Jackson his services are no longer wanted. In fact, our good friend Mike Reiss is reporting this in the Globe. Fairly bold of the team to part ways with a wide receiver who just three drafts ago they traded up to grab in the second-round. But – and you know this if you’ve been a religious reader of this site – I think Jackson’s football IQ is painfully low. That has been evident on the practice field as well as during game situations.

I realize he lost a good portion of last year due to injury, but that shouldn’t have prevented him from ingesting that playbook and coming into this summer with a full grasp of the offense. Watching him, it is safe to say Jackson wasn’t grasping much, thus this surprise, a day after rosters were trimmed to 53. Let me know what you think. Does this move catch you off guard? Do you think the Pats have enough at wideout to make this work? Will they regret sending the former Florida star packing? Do tell…

Pedroia’s a Prize

Posted by Mike Giardi August 30, 2008 at 9:05 pm

I wasn’t – nor am I still – much of a poetry guy. My favorite is “I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee…” by noted poet laureate Muhammad Ali. But I’m thinking about doing something special for Dustin Pedroia. If not a poem, perhaps a limerick or haiku or – and this is more my speed – an ode. The guy is simply one of my all-time favorite baseball players.

Dusty is just wearing out White Sox pitching in this series, a perfect 7-for-7 here midway through Saturday night’s tilt. And that slide he just made, the one where he lifted up his lead hand, then dropped it over the tag to reach safely at second for a double was further proof that his instincts are second to none. Not bad for a pip squeak batting clean-up for the first time in his career (said Pedroia, ” It’s about time!”)

It was just 10 days or so ago that noted friend of Sports Late Night Joe Haggerty and I were discussing Kevin Youkilis as a viable MVP candidate. How does Pedroia not factor into that discussion as well? This isn’t a normal year, with some slugger piling up off-the-chart stats like A-Rod, or Vlad or Justin Morneau (or Big Papi, but that’s another story for another day). So who has been more valuable than the Sox second baseman? Maybe Youk. Maybe not. Maybe Cliff Lee, but they have an award for that: it’s called the Cy Young. Who else? Carlos Quentin? He’s not even the best hitter on that team (say hello to Jermaine Dye). If there was ever the time for a scrappy second baseman who is still motivated by slights uttered two September’s ago about his size and swing, this is it. I mean, there’s a reason why Ortiz has a massive man-crush on him. Pedroia’s earned it.

 
****From the Sox’s crack PR staff following the game. More reasons to love Pedroia.
PEDROIA PRODUCES: With 4 hits tonight, Dustin Pedroia is the 1st Red Sox player with 4 hits in back-to-back games since Wade Boggs on June 8 and June 10, 1989…He now has 182 hits this season, one shy of Del Pratt (183 in 1922) for the Red Sox record by a 2nd baseman…He has hit safely in 8 straight at-bats and reached base safely in 10 straight plate appearances, going 8-for-8 with 2 walks over the last 2 games.

Pedroia becomes the 3rd Red Sox player ever to record 180 hits, 100 runs, 40 doubles and 15 home runs in his 2nd full major league season, following Ted Williams in 1940 and Nomar Garciaparra in 1998.

 

Surprised?

Posted by Mike Giardi August 30, 2008 at 6:39 pm

Fernando Bryant, we hardly knew ye. The Pats casting aside another of their free agent acquisitions who was suppose to help that secondary survive without Asante Samuel, Randall Gay and Eugene Wilson. Bryant struggled to cover in the preseason, despite starting all 4 games. An indictment on him? You bet, but obviously he didn’t make enough of an impression in camp either.

The other move that stands out here is which quarterback is now looking for work. Most assumed Matt Cassel was a dead duck after the way he performed this preseason, although over this last week or so, I began to think he was going to survive. Call it a gut feeling on how to read the tea leaves in Foxboro. No way would they keep 4 signal callers on the 53-man roster, which meant Matt Gutierrez becomes the odd man out. Gutierrez has potential, and the hope is that he can sneak through and remain on the team’s practice squad, but I find that highly unlikely.

Here’s the rest of the moves:

DL Titus Adams

CB Fernando Bryant

TE Tyson DeVree

S Mark Sillard

C Mike Flynn

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis

QB Matt Gutierrez

LB Victor Hobson

LB Vince Redd

CB Mike Richardson

T Stephen Sene

S Antwain Spann

DL Santonio Thomas

G John Welbourn

 

Players placed on injured reserve, ending their season:

LB Bo Ruud

DL Kenny Smith 

 

Players placed on reserve/non-football injury list: 

OT Oliver Ross  

Beckett Placed on DL

Posted by Morry Levine August 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm

Red Sox ace Josh Beckett has been placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a strained right elbow.  The move is retroactive to August 18th so he can come off of it next Tuesday.  This diagnosis coming after his meeting with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama today.  Red Sox Manager Terry Francona says everything came out clean and he’s hoping that Beckett will start next Friday night in Texas and get back into the rotation.

Pride goeth before the fall…

Posted by Ted McEnroe August 29, 2008 at 2:08 pm

A little less baseball in New England next year. The owner of the Nashua Pride says he is folding the team, while he looks for either a new location or a buyer for the franchise. The team press release is below.
(Nashua, N.H., August 29, 2008)  Nashua Pride team owner John Stabile announced on Thursday night that the organization will not return for the 2009 season under his ownership.

“I’m sorry that we weren’t able to succeed in accomplishing what our goal was; which was keeping baseball here in Nashua,” said Stabile in a closed meeting on Thursday. “We took it as long as we could, worked long and hard… we did everything we could do. The Nashua Pride as you know it today won’t be here next year.”

Stabile announced that he has approached a firm to assist in possibly locating a municipality which may have interest in purchasing the Nashua Pride. Stabile has said that he is also entertaining the idea of taking a voluntary leave of absence from the Can-Am League for a year while retaining the franchise, which would allow the opportunity to search for an interested party to purchase the team.

Stabile cited severe revenue loss as the foremost reason for his regretful decision. The Pride finished the year last in the Can-Am League in attendance for the second consecutive season, averaging approximately 1,500 fans per home game.

“I appreciate and enjoyed all the people who came here for the last three years,” said Stabile. “We had great fun, we had a ball… I thank everyone for their help, all out staff, and the people who helped us.”
The Nashua Pride Professional Baseball Club, in its 11th season, provides a fun, affordable, community-based and fan-friendly source of sports entertainment. The 2007 Can-Am League Champions are participating in its third year of play in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball.
For tickets or more information call 603-883-BALL (2255), or visit www.nashuapride.com.

What More Can I Say?

Posted by Adam Hart August 29, 2008 at 2:08 am

I first featured this story in my Awesome vs. Not-Awesome post from last Sunday. So you might be asking, “Why is he recycling this topic? Is his well of creativity dried up?” Rest assured, Al Gore has not gotten a hold of my writing. It’s simply a good cause about which to write. Plus, there are pictures!

Last Sunday the MSPCA held its 4th annual Paw Wash with the New England Patriots Cheerleaders. I learned about the event through NECN. On Sunday, I realized that I have never loved my job any more. And neither has my dog, Mysti. She was an instant hit.

As for me, please turn your attention to the pale guy in between those young ladies above. You can just tell that I work on a website by my paleness. It probably doesn’t help that the NECN newsroom boasts no windows. I think management wants our bodies to fail to recognize what time of day it is, so that we are working as hard at midnight as we would be at noon. Doesn’t that sound like a torture tactic — depriving the body of its sense of night and day? ……..I’ve said too much.

Ah, yes. The initial “hosing down” of Mystibuds. Typically, she is not one for baths. But this is not the typical bath.

With the rinsing almost complete, you can see just how much Mysti is enjoying this cool down session. The mystery arm holding the leash belongs to me. I clearly have the least important job in this process. Just stand back and try not to get wet. I’m like the 5-year-old who is issued the plastic hammer by his dad and is assured that he is being of actual importance to a home fix-up project — but all the while just tapping imaginary nails into the wall. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The look on Mysti’s face says it all. The shampoo they were using must have been Herbel Essences for Dogs. But definitely not Herbal Essences for Men. That stuff is disturbing.

From the highest of the highs, to the lowest of the lows. Mysti seems a bit tired in this picture. It’s a tough life those dogs live. Luckily, I am still doing a bang up job of holding the leash. Those imaginary nails were never before struck with such precision and purpose.

“Please shut up,” Mysti conveys with that look, as I continue to chat it up. If Mysti is not the center of attention, she turns quite irritable. But that’s true of all dogs. I’ve just never met one who expresses such emotion with her face. She’s a one-of-a-kind. And now she is almost dry, thanks to Alyssa.

This conditioner being applied in the picture works really well. Mysti’s fur is both soft and pleasantly aromatic almost 5 days later. I should find out what brand it is. And then buy a bottle. Otherwise all that research would go to waste.

Her favorite part of the day — air drying with a couple of sprints up and down Gillette’s parking lot. I am currently in the process of video analyzing my running posture to find out once and for all if I actually run like I have two giant, invisible casts on both of my arms which prevent them from bending. Results to follow.

– There you have it. It was a great event and all the people were happy to see such a big turnout, from the MSPCA workers to the Pats Cheerleaders. If you missed out on your chance to donate to the MSPCA, there’s still time. Visit their website, MSPCA.org. You can also search for animals on their website if you have a good home and are looking to adopt.

P.S. A special thanks to my sister Beth for snapping these photos.  Otherwise you would be stuck with my dull descriptions of the event.

P.P.S. Yes, the title of this post has me playing Jay-Z’s song by the same name in my head. Nothing wrong with that.

Beckett Scratched

Posted by Morry Levine August 28, 2008 at 5:35 pm

 

 

Yankees Win

Posted by Morry Levine August 28, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Papelbon came in with the bases loaded and gave up a single to Jason Giambi.  Yankees walk off with the win and avoid the sweep in what is likely the last game between the two teams at the stadium.

Just like that

Posted by Morry Levine August 28, 2008 at 3:45 pm

Okajima in, Giambi takes him deep and out for the 2 run shot.  Game is now tied at 2 and Lester won’t factor in the decision.

Lester’s Pitching a Gem

Posted by Morry Levine August 28, 2008 at 3:41 pm

The Sox and Yanks are in the 7th inning of their series finale.  Jon Lester was just pulled after a great outing.  Lester went 6.2 innings with no earned runs, but he’s responsible for the runner on 2nd base.

Page 1 of 1112345»...Last »