Hey man, I'm stunned that you can make nouns and verbs agree at 4:15am, so it's no knock but you're missing an important "not" in that first sentence ...
Does Ellsbury have the arm for RF? While I totally appreciate Coco's defensive heroics this season, doesn't his suck at the plate suggest that a JE/CC platoon (not possible with Drew in any case) leading to new center fielder Ellsbury sometime in the next couple of years seem likelier? (That's assuming of course you take his very short-term performance with the big club seriously enough to say that he's anything other than 4th OF for now ...).
I agree about Coco's contributions on the basepaths and in the field, but I still think he's gonna be trade bait... and I'm hoping the Sox can use him to get a prospect or two from an outfielder-challenged organization.
Somewhere in my channel-surfing last night, I saw a report that speculated on Atlanta or Minnesota as possible trading partners for Coco. Both teams (a) have highly productive farm systems, and (b) are unlikely to re-sign their talented but too-expensive free-agent centerfielders. (No, I don't want the Sox going anywhere near Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter. Let the Yankees sign another 30-something outfielder to a long-term deal.)
And while I'm definitely thinking of Ellsbury as the long-term answer in center, it's too early to label him a success. He's had a few ABs lately where he seems to have expanded his strike zone, and some of his hits have been lucky bleeders, as Ian Dury would say. I'm glad he's getting lots of chances to play; by the end of the season, we need to know if he's a fluke or keeper.
Watching the Orioles makes me so glad I'm not a Baltimore fan. It's like rooting for the commander in "Das Boot." While we get to watch youngsters like Ellsbury, Buchholz and Lester, O's fans have to pin their hopes on the likes of Daniel Cabrera -- while they watch aging mediocrities like Payton, Huff, and Millar piss away their at-bats. I'd like to know what Cal Ripken really thinks of all this.
The more I see Jacoby Ellsbury, the more he reminds me of Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez from the movie The Sandlot(in case you haven't seen it, great movie for the family. A bit of swearing, but a great movie nonetheless). He's got the insane speed, the power stroke, and all the girls will want to share their cookies with him.
And I'm sure you may get a bit of a kick out of this lookalike: Clay Buchholz looks like he could be Rainn Wilson's(or Dwight Schrute) kid brother
thanks for the head's-up, grasshopper. the 4:15 a.m. had something to do with it.
geez, buchholz does look a little bit like him. i wouldn't be shocked if he was raised on a beet farm.
ideally, both ellsbury and coco would be on this team next season - i hate selling low on coco, especially to atlanta. he's hitting good fastballs again, which suggests there's a chance he'll get back to that .300-15-70 level he was at in Cleveland.
It seems Jenna Fischer has recently appeared in a music video that doesn't stray too far from her current situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E...h?
v=EVpBw5V7sPU
Yeah, Willie Wisely. He's been pretty open about his crush on her. Makes one wonder.
it seems that dice-k is friggin josh beckett circa 06 plus rookie frustrations. i mean, if you look,he like beckett used to is trying to just blow batters away.
i agree. at what point does that locked-down rookie of the year that was matsuzaka's to lose go to pedroia?
//Tom Brady hasn't had a lot of time to get on the same page with new receivers Randy Moss and Donte' Stallworth . . . and they have to deal with the Jets and the Chargers right out of the gate.//
I wonder what Brady and Moss will do when they get on the same page? 
The schoolmarm is back!
Yes, it's reassuring to know my instincts on the Pats are as off this year as they were last. Though I think that was a pretty reasonable expectation, especially with the qualifier you left out. Man, that WAS fun today.
Now scurry back to your desk, Griff. Your life-sized Pedroia bobblehead misses you.
no mention of jenna breaking her back a few months ago. gunn doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who has a huge capacity for nursing someone back to health. did you send a "get well soon" card? you may have missed your chance, chad.
As for Geffner, amen (www.38cliches.com).
I was taken aback by the vitriol Francona reports receiving about town. You can see right through some of his baseball-speak, but he does a great job with some challenging employees. Every manager has his annoying tendencies. The "great" Joe Torre destroys bullpen pitchers... And how about that Lurch-walk he does to the mound?
On a different note, it turns out that "Daisuke" is Japanese for "Big-Inning." Who knew?
CF, I'm not saying this to be a wiseguy, but both Fox columns need a bit of editing/proofreading. The second one mangled the end of point 7 into all of point 8, and the first one missed the end of point 4.
Maybe you can hire Jenna to be your proofreader.
Geoff,
Thanks for pointing that out, and don't even get me started. I've pointed out a zillion fixes and adjustments that never seem to get made, and I must have sent them the Torre card five times without it ever getting posted. I bet they treat McCarver with more respect.
Chad
Hey Chad, I'm with you about Coco, I love watching the guy play. I'm even more with you on Francona. I can't believe the abuse the man is receiving. As you say, bring back one of the slugs that we've had as manager and see how long it takes for the banshees to cry for the good old Francona days. The one that really gets me, and I've been seeing this a lot on Sox message boards, is the idea that he has lost 10-15 games for us and that we should easily be on our way to 110 or 115 wins. Can you believe it? These people apparently think we have the best Red Sox teams ever, and one of the best teams in MLB history. Never mind the fact that the most games a Boston team has won since 1946 is 99. And the same people who make this claim are also complaining about our lack of clutch hitting, the terrible years by Drew and Lugo, Ortiz' and Manny's power drop, our weak bench, and on and on. The fundamental illogic of what they're saying somehow never penetrates their granite skulls. I just hope Francona can continue to handle all the unwarranted crap as he tries to do his job.
chad, you must have been born yesterday! i have been a red sox fan
for over 50 years. fran'coma' has to
rank near the bottom 1/3 of red sox
managers in my lifetime. too indecisive with pitching changes (and
often makes the wrong move), lacking in use of fundamentals (sacrifice bunt, hit and run etc.) Waiting for
the 'big' hit is the wrong approach
with this team, a bunch of singles hitters.
ownership purports to be smart businessmen. when will they wake up
and realize that the money they will
lose not making playoffs is far greater than the amount it would take
to buyout fran'coma's AND theo's contract. one is a low level major league exec and the other a low level
minor league manager.
FIRE THEM BOTH - NOW!!!
bill, a former mainer now living in fl
The "Francona has cost the team 10-15 games" crowd has it made. They never try to estimate either: a)how many games he's "won;" or b)how many games other managers have "lost." So in their world, Francona is 0-whatever they say.
Over the past four years, there have been only two events on which all of Red Sox fandom were of a single mind before the events took place:
1. Don't bring Pedro out for the 8th.
2. Don't sign J.D. Drew.
Nobody but Grady Little thought number one was a good idea. And nobody but Theo Epstein thought number two was a good idea.
But maybe he'll break out during the post season. After all, he's certainly reversed his regular season performance, going from a career .886 OPS to this season's .740 (which *still* seems higher than what I've seen with my eyes). Maybe he'll add 146 to his career post season .669 OPS.
One can hope, right?
SkANKEES are ugly evil Americans who use NEW YORK scum money to BUY championships....
BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE MONEY IN A BIGGER MEDIA OUTLET, THEY HAVE STOLEN THE TALENT FROM ALL AMERICA AND CREATED AN ALL STAR OF MERCENARIES AND ROBBER PALYERS....
NEED TO PUT $TIENBUMMER OUT TO PASTURE... START CAPING THE TEAM SALARIES....
SO THAT ALL TEAMS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND NOT JUST NEW YORK BUYING CHAMPIONSHIPS.... LIKE THE UNGLY AMERICANS THE WORLD HATES....
i took my three yesr old daughter to a red sox game and she wore a yankee hat as we are from the new york area and they cursed her and really said some bad things to her so bad i had to smack a guy who said bad things its amazing you won once i cant imagine how bad you would b if you won as much as the yankees who had parades with no problem you classy people kill people at your one parade
I believe that last one will be filed under "feeding the stereotype."
Lifes a bitch and then you die.
Go Yankees
Why are you sox fans soooo bitter? The "fans" of the sox are not fans of their team... all their energy is wrapped up hating the Yankees. Take that away and Fenway would be a ghost town. It became blatantly apparent that that was true when the Pats won the Super Bowl and instead of cheering the Pats who won a great victory those sad misguided creatures started a Yankees suck chant. Without the Evil Empire Yankees - Boston would shrivel up and die. You should love the Yanks - without us you wouln't exist.
With one wild card aided exception in 90 years, you losers have always found a way to gag. Get it? Get it.
Not so fast retards.
The Sawx spend plenty and have a notoriously bad grasp of homegrown talent. The Sucks are more mercenary than any team in baseball.
The Yankees (Posada, Jeter, Cano, Cabrerra, Pettite, Wang, Phillips, Rivera, Chamberlain, etc..), not so much.
Second fiddle wannabes. We love how you obsess.
Commenting by HaloScan
