The Titans are a winless team who really didn’t show up for last Sunday’s game.  If anything the next two weeks of pounding the Pats will do on these hapless teams is no-news in my book.

On a fantasy level, you must be drooling if you have Brady or Moss on your team. Maroney has now become an eligible bachelor at the halfback position now that Sammy Morris has gone down and Laurence discarded the North-South game.

I am waiting for the Brady-Moss connection deep, but in a game that counts. For now, I care more about the Mad Men teacher than I do about the Foxboro favorites.

Sorry Brady, I will wait until Brees and Manning enter the Patriots storyline. Happy Halloween.

The radio is A-Buzz with people calling saying that ” Tom Brady has lost it, Tom Brady isn’t the same as he was in 2007.”

This is probably the same Nation constituency that lauded Matt Cassell ( the now Winless Matt Cassell ) so much that it was only prudent to trade away the QB that actually won three Super Bowls. This is also the same group of people that move on and off the bandwagon like it was the Red Line going into Downtown Crossing. People always bring up his injury and age, like these are rare positions for QB’s to have.

Boston fans: Stop Being Fucking Loons!

Go look at Carson Palmer, and see how he’s doing. Go look at Phillip Rivers, and ask him how well he did coming back from knee surgery. Peyton Manning, oh my golly, you are about to win an MVP this year, and you are 33?

Age means zilch for a QB. The only times that QBs retire before they’re 35 is because they weren’t good enough to hold around against better talented players coming through the draft. Tom Brady might have his issues, but he isn’t Jeff Blake. He isn’t Trent Dilfer. He is Tom Brady.

I don’t excuse the poor play that Tom Brady has been showcasing. Hell, I am one of the few that blame him for our Super Bowl meltdown in 2007. He hasn’t hit Moss on a deep route since the Giants in 2007. And I am talking about the regular season game.

But he has done so much for this team’s success, that I am not about to turn on him now. He would have to lose 10 straight games for me to sour on him. Even then, dare would I have the balls to say Bobby Kraft should trade him.

Boston fans: get back to Earth. Give Brady some time, and understand that we are going to get our asses kicked in this game from time to time. Its called football, and last time I checked, the Patriots are still a team very few opponents want to fuck with. Lets relax.

ps: Bringing Back the Spinning Globe Papinos! Wazzzzzaaaap!

When we win, he could do no wrong. When we lose, he still could do no wrong ( but there has been much rumblings on some of his decisions ). I can say, without a doubt, that people have overlooked nearly all of his bad decisions that he has made during his Red Sox tenure.

You will hear some of the whistle-while-you-work-blowers on WEEI. They will call up and Theo-bitch, and seldom these occasions are ever on the radio. These calls don’t receive much merit, because a lot of the people who have hard criticism of Theo Epstein have correlated their arguments in some way toward Manny Ramirez’s departure and the Bill Simmons article on the hypocrisy of the Red Sox front office.

Pete Sheppard doesn’t want to hear this. Michael Holley doesn’t want to hear this. Mike Adams sure as hell never wanted to hear this. “This” being that Theo Epstein fucked up when they decided to let Manny Ramirez go.

The same retort of bringing up the Manny ordeal is now correlative with bringing up the search of WMD’s in Iraq: it doesn’t matter, because it is in the past.

The evidence that Red Sox fans can use against Theo Epstein was never validated, even though the controversy was well-constructed by Bill Simmons, and now the argument had a statute of limitations that can never be resurrected.

The Manny Ramirez Argument Needs To Be Resurrected. But Not Because Theo Epstein Fucked Up.

Theo Epstein, and parts of Red Sox management, had long wanted to have Manny Ramirez off the books. And the trade delivered us another top-10 hitter in baseball in Jason Bay, as well as closed the books on looking for another left-fielder for years to come ( Manny was 37, none of us could expect him to keep doing steroids and hold his prime much longer ).

But I have been staunch in my perception of the trade:

If the Red Sox don’t sign Jason Bay, they will have made one of the worst decisions in the history of baseball. Period.

There is no way that you can spend 30 million dollars for two right-fielders you can’t keep, only to have one ( Manny ) play for a title each year on the West Coast, and the other ( Jason Bay ), play for a title in your own division. This can’t be what You, I, or any Red Sox could’ve thought of for the future of the Red Sox. To be honest, this couldn’t be what the front office could’ve predicted, either.

It would be equivalent if the Yankees traded Alex Rodriguez, paid off his contract and traded him to the Marlins for Hanley Ramirez, and then let Hanlet Ramirez walk away to Beantown a year later.

Can this be about Money?

This whole case about the front office not wanting to spend so much on their field team is a baseless argument. 25% of the money they could’ve give Manny Ramirez or 33% of what they could give Jason Bay they gave to John Smoltz ($5,000,000). The other third and half of the power-hitter funds went to Brad Penny ($5,000,000).

Julio Lugo’s contract is still on the Red Sox books, although Theo Epstein has called the signing “a lesson learned”. Is Epstein turning a new leaf building our team for 2010 and beyond? Maybe.

But the reasoning that the Red Sox are cash-strapped, at least for composing their personnel for 2009, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Now, if they are deciding to pull back on their salaries for the future ( we do know Henry vouches for a salary cap publicly), they will have to do much better on fielding a proper team. Any mistakes in contracts ( such as Smoltz, Lugo, Matt Clement etc. ) will cripple our team this side of Jon Lester.

Seeing the team post-Manny: it just isn’t as good. And holding onto Manny wouldn’t have done anything, since his talent would’ve waned way before their youngsters fully blossoms (Lester and Buchholz).

Long-term Success

Jason Bay is a premiere hitter. This was a guy who had a nagging hamstring injury that held him stagnant for nearly 40 games statistically. He still ends up with 36 homeruns and 119 RBIs. He isn’t as intimidating as Manny Ramirez, but he can be. He can be a threat to the Yankees. He can be a threat to the league’s top pitchers. He can be the long-term solution to the Red Sox outfield power needs.

Letting him go would be the worst thing the Red Sox can do in putting out a championship team. Not only would it hurt their World Series chances, but it would upgrade their nemesis, the Yankees.

Do you possibly believe Jason Bay is going to find his home somewhere out of the AL East? If so, do any of us believe that he will end up on a team that we won’t meet somewhere down the line in the playoffs? Matt Holliday would be another great replacement, but are we willing to put up the $13-15 million to keep up with the Pinstriped-Joneses?

The Future of the Champions, or the Serfs

Victor Martinez was probably the best long-term pickup Theo Epstein has ever pulled off. He pushes a great bat into the lineup, is a great catcher, and will probably increase his DH role as David Ortiz wanes or is let go in the future.

Dustin Pedroia, The Greek God of Walks, The Lefty Monster ( Jon Lester ), Clay Buchholz, Ellsbury. The core for the Fenway favorites is solid for the next 5-7 years. But the price of legitimizing our contention for the World Series will not be set unless the power hitter in right-field is kept or replaced.

Against the Angels in this ALDS, our hitting was over-matched by good pitching, and this might be the sign of the times. We may never put out a home-run mashing team like we had in the past few years, but our hitting is ok enough. To keep it at this level, we have to keep the bats we already have, or fear another offensive collapse in the future.

We can say we don’t have the money for the bats, but we risk becoming the Blue Jays. The success of the Red Sox hinges on Jason Bay. It is in his signing, or in his departure, that will define what our fan-base received for the enigmatic Manny Ramirez, and the Bay decision will define the direction of American League East for years to come.

Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office: Don’t fuck up.

Now, in the time when the Sox most needed a clutch bat in the lineup, JD Drew: Nothing. Dustin Pedroia: Nothing. Victor Martinez: Nothing. David Ortiz: WTF?

And what does Lester and Beckett do? None other than pitch their hearts out with no run support and end up losing the games they pitch.

Is this season over? No, they have a game going on right now, and they could easily end up battling for title in two weeks. But looking at the way this team is playing right now, and seeing how they played in last year’s playoffs, they seem to be missing something.

In the midwest, the Dodgers displayed a swagger and looseness very reminiscent of the World Series Red Sox teams of the past. Even Ranirez came through in the final game, running up three hits and 2 RBI to since it for the West Coast Blue.

I am not saying that we need Ramirez, but we all must be aware that the intimidation of our lineup that we have had in the past in the postseason is no longer apparent. No matter how many RBI’s Jason Bay will be behind Texeira for the season, no matter how much JD Drew hits in the postseason ( ps: This contract is way too much. Period ). no matter how much Beckett and Lester will mow down opposing hitters, the Red Sox post-Manny seem vulnerable.

This is no one’s fault. Manny wanted to leave, and we got an amazing hitter in place. But we did ( and we had to ) move a step down in terms of our offensive prowess. Whether Manny struggles or not, his mere existence in the lineup makes us better. It makes us better against good pitching, and not just any pitching.

But the postseason is coming up, and this is where Epstein must make the right decision: He must sign Jason Bay.

We no longer have that dominant lineup that can beat the best pitching in the game. But we are close enough, and we can still win the Championship this year and in future years ( hey, we are a very well-built team ).

But if Jason Bay ends up in the Yankee pinstripes, then we will have to look at the Manny trade as one of the worst trades in the history of baseball. We could end up with two great hitters playing for different teams, one for our arch-enemy, and account balance of $30,000,000 ( $20,000,000 for Manny, $10,000,000 for the Jason Bay rental ) that will culminate into one less dangerous hitter in our lineup.

And hitters are hard to come by. Unless we try to go out and get Matt Holliday ( if somehow we think he will be better than Bay ). Or Adrian Gonzalez. The latter would mean we would never see Bard and Bucholz ever again.

Epstein, the Manny trade isn’t over until you ink Bay. Do the right thing Epstein.

As for the Red Sox, welcome to the post-Manny era. We can at least rely on the best pitching staff in baseball to take us to the title for many years to come.

This is what I expected from Ortiz this year ( And I wasn’t far off. I posted this on Facebook, so don’t think I am fibbing about this one: ):

Ortiz: 32 HR, 111 RBI

He will get 100 RBIs by the season’s end, and maybe he could reach 30, which would make a very good season. But the inconsistency, and the atrocious start ( Which I have never seen the likes of. Maybe Derek Jeter a few years back ) make me think twice about how good he really was all year.

At the same time, his talent is still so immense that he pretty much has been one of the top 5 RBI men in baseball since mid-May, and he has put fear back into many pitchers again ( that fastball isn’t going by him much anymore ).

B-

My worry is that he will lose playing time in 2010, and they will probably rotate him, Lowell, and V-Mart in the DH spot. I love Ortiz, I really do, but I question if management is going to give him any time to get it going next year. If he doesn’t bat in April, they may take the bat out of his hands before he can get his groove. The leash will no doubt be tighter next year; hopefully the pressure won’t overwhelm him.

Ortiz’s future with the Red Sox hinges on this October and Next April. I will be on the edge of my seat rooting for him to get the Nation back on his side. Good luck Ortiz.

And for god sakes, can you bunt just once before the playoffs?

This team is so much better than they are playing. So much better. But you have to question their ability to mold dominant pitchers for this frail staff.

Think about it: Under John Hart or Mark Shapiro, when have major league baseball teams ever been scared of this team’s rotation?

Although very dominant in the late 90’s, could you really feel overwhelmed against a pitching staff with Charles Nagy and Jared Wright? Is there a future core of your rotation when you rotate mid-30’s post-nasty pitchers through the revolving doors of Jacobs Field.

Chuck Finley? Dwight Gooden? Orel Hershisher?

The point I want to make is that the evolution of Mark Shapiro’s Indians replicate the same team setup as with the dominant Indians’ teams of the last decade of the 20th century. A lot of hitting, a solid defensive infield, 3-4-5 power, and the 5-tool face of the franchise ( currently injured ).

Something is Missing!

Two key things are missing from this Indians team from the one ten years back. One thing is two bullpen automatics. When Manny was at the plate in Cleveland, any lead the lineup around him produced was mightily protected by Jose Mesa and Mike Jackson. Even other notable relievers like Eric Plunk and Paul Assenmacher had good stuff to shut teams down after the 6th inning.

Although the Indians have added Kerry Wood to supplement Betancourt and the rest of the bullpen, the history of the post-Hart Indians could be summed up in 5 words:

Joe Borowski & Bob Wickman

This team never really tried to get just one good reliever to glue this bullpen together, and the truly talented pieces ( Like Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez) have been pitched so many innings that one has to wonder if their struggles the last 365 days could be due to fatigue.

The 2nd thing that Shapiro is doing differently is that he has not brought in the right veteran role players around their young players.

Veterans

Julio Franco, Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Tony Pena Sr., Alvaro Espinosa. From 1996-2000, these guys played a great role for helping the Indians win, and bringing a veteran influence into the clubhouse. These guys have won, and these guys were very professional.

Matt Lawton, Lou Merloni ( sorry to pick on you buddy ), Paul Byrd, Jose Hernandez, Kenny Lofton. Other than Quickie Kenny, their role players didn’t have the same grit, the same history, the Hall of Fame sweat that some of the other veterans on the Hart teams.

When their young talent gets injured, have development issues, or get overwhelmed, you need those solid veterans to pick up the slack ( and be somewhat still productive ). You can’t just add veterans because they have major league service. Getting Trot Nixon and Aaron Boone at the midnight of their careers doesn’t help, especially considering they didn’t produce over 20 homeruns and 90 RBI’s COMBINED during their tenure ( and that was over 200 games played ).

The current team is talented. But like the sheltered intellectual kid who goes off to college, gets too wild, and ends up in their own puke, the Cleveland Indians find themselves in a putrid mess.

The End of the Beginning of the End

In the end, they can save themselves for next year. Hell, they probably can make a mini-run this year. They have the talent. But they need management to hold on to this core, and add some arm depth and gritty vets to bring this team back to dominance.

Here is the post

“He came into the (Mets) visiting clubhouse, spied the throng of media awaiting him, spread his arms wide and proclaimed with a grin, “Most wanted!”

-Newday

I ranted on Wallace Matthews of Newsday’s column saying Manny lives “outside the rules”. You would think Manny has the ability to call his own strikes and balls at the plate, or that he can punch the pope, based on the title. But his only ammunition to support his claim is that people like Ramirez!

That is it? Because he is lovable? He lives outside the rules because his personality is so great? When the hell did having a goofy personality became illegal after steroid use? Well, here is what I wrote to reply to his poppycock prose:

“There’s a difference between fans liking Manny and living outside of the rules.

What rules? Who says when you are suspended and you apologize that there is a rule that you have to be vilified upon your return? Was this rule put in place by the owners? What the hell are you talking about?

The reason Manny is liked is because HE IS LIKEABLE. Unlike Bonds, he didn’t run through tearing up homeruns DENYING he cheated ( for two plus years ).

He is liked by his teammates. A lot of things he does on the field are great, but his antics are always funny. Watching Manny is like watching a cartoon character, and I have met very few characters that I have ever loathed.

You need to relax. You remind of all the hypocritical Red Sox fans who couldn’t stand Manny on the team but they sure as hell love their Randy Moss, Corey Dillon’s and Starbury.

Look at your team. You think David Wright is a winner since he never raises is his voice or has become a leader in that clubhouse? Talk shit about the timid golden boy who’s lack of balls will keep your team struggling against a Marlins minor-league team that might make it to the world series again.

(The Marlins)Backed by 1,000 fans, I remind you. When you go home and tell your wife how your day was, let her know I bombasted you for being a complete **** because a baseball player is liked.

The reason people didn’t like formers cheater is NOT because they cheated, but because they LIED. How many times did Pettitte get booed? Giambi? JC Romero?

They don’t, because they took their licks, and they came back. Manny did the same, and he’s hilarious. It is fun to watch him, and if you can’t stand him, keep your boring golden boy and float around .500. Because that is so much better than watching Ramirez act goofy and insane.

Entertainment. It pays your bills. Good luck with your boring Mets.”

Wallace Matthews, I understand you are upset because you see someone who cheats, and everyone crowds around Manny like his fucking kid died. But the reason for it is because his personality has always been positive, and his antics were rarely dictated by sports professionalism.

In a way that could be seen as blaspheme to some die-hards, Manny doesn’t care about how to act in the game of baseball. This is the same guy that said it wasn’t the end of the world if the Red Sox lost when they were down two games to the Indians in the 2007 ALCS. This is the same guy who put up the Brett Favre for Manny trade sign during the infamous Summer meltdown of 2008.

Even yesterday, with his passive aggressive shenanigans on a not-very close pitch ( don’t worry, QuesTec will decide the ump’s salary ), it shows that Manny’s personality has a bad-boy streak that rarely manifests itself in a game. When have you ever seen Manny question balls and strikes TWICE in a game? Think about it.

That was entertaining. I thought Vince McMahon was going to ask Manny to join “The Corporation” after that tirade, it was so goddamn surreal and exciting. It sometimes bothers me that he never had that spark in his eight years with the Red Sox ( sigh ).

But Manny hasn’t really changed. He has always been like this: unpredictable. Like a reality TV show, we always want to see what greatness or zaniness he will do next. To say that this is unlawful in the game of baseball to love the personality of unpredictability, is shameful.

In the game, where much exciting Sportcenter fodder usually comes from Atlanta minor league managers and random animals on the field, Manny always shows me how much excited one could have watching one player just play the goddamn game like its supposed to be played: for fun.

Ps:  (Video link above)The End of the Golden Age of the WWF. The video puts a tear to your eyes for all you 90’s diehards.

” Most people die over money or women; and most occurs the latter.”

That went through my mind the second I heard that Mcnair got shot twice in the head. This guy has money, and he doesn’t ever promote a lifesyle that he is wasting it or using it in the wrong fashion.

And double upon that, he wasn’t not only with his wife, but he was in company with a woman nearly half his age.

It hurts. I know people cheat. But it does hurt to think ( and hopefully this isn’t true ) that his infidelity might of lead to a crime of passion. I don’t believe his wife has any involement, but would be least surprised that whoever had committed this crime was known by the younger female.

Steve, you were the best. A clutch quarterback, always played hurt, never dissed your teammates, walked off the field, did pushups under the Drew Rosenhaus’s daft publicity stunts, or slam a stripper’s head onto a stage.

He was football at its best. And he went out on top. I know, very long after this sad event is settled, I will still remember you for the memories you and the Oilers/Titans teams gave me over the last decade. Take care, buddy.

Also, a lesson for the infidelitous: these situations happen, remember if you are with someone that is with someone else, there is a chance that you will get your ass kicked or fucked up worse. It can happen to anybody.

What a concoction when one adds the nicotine stick into the equation. Lighting it up, placing it on your mouth, and inhale. Holding the heavy smoke only enhances the aura of movement, of motion, of activity.

Poor is it to let this feeling pass with conversation or diversion. No. One must sit still, and embrace this potion of serenity. The buzzing of nicotine in the veins, so far now from reality that I am complacent to feel it. I will head back to reality, but for only a minute I request to be left to the power of stimulant and stimulant.

Let the feeling flow through me, so I can be free, and all stress exchanged to a silent active glee.