Zim Zim Zim

Picture: Pedro Martinez throwing Don Zimmer down to the ground, by his ears, in the 2003 ALCS. The Sox lost this series tragically to the Yankees and Aaron Bleepin Boone.

Today is the day, folks.

I will be releasing the Top 50 Free Agent list.

When I write the "Top 50 FA" I am choosing from the players that will file for free agency. You don't have to thank me, I realize I am a very courteous man.

It's hard to pinpoint which FA that should be in the Top 50, but if you feel the need to scream at me go ahead and do so.

Trivia Question:

Who is the all time career leader in most outs made?

Try it.

Free Beer for Mueller!

It's bee a pretty hectic two days with me having to write that story and all... I want to say thanks to Aaron for helping me with my Narrative. This was very much appreciated and you should follow his blog!
http://aaronholden-aka-amanama.blogspot.com/
DO IT!

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on their World Series Championship!

And finally Tampa's Dream Season comes to a close!

Good times!

Pesky and the Elf

It has kinda been a hectic day today. When will the misery of the Red Sox losing the ALCS ever stop? It's like a nightmare that just keeps popping up. I wake up in the middle of the night screaming "No Lester, not the cutter right over the plate!" Ok. Scratch that last part. Its gotten easier but its just sickening to think that my team came ONE WIN away from the World Series. At the start of the year, you tell me if we win ONE MORE GAME from the Tampa Bay Rays and then we're going to the WS? I would have said sign me up.

Well, of course the situation was different because the Rays had suuuuch a "good" story. Bleh. Don't talk to me about that. If you have the #1 overall pick every year for the past 10 years, then you should be good at some point. I'll give them props for the Matt Garza trade because nobody would have traded the AL ROY runner up for a former #1 overall pick that didn't do much until this year. Jason Bartlett isn't half as bad either.

So whats with the rant? The Elf. The one play that I will never forget as long as I live, is that in the 8th inning of Game 7, we had a runner on 1st with nobody out. Coco was up and I was praying that he would get on without making an out. I started literally praying. Stupid? Sure. When you have money on a team and when its YOUR team you do some pretty stupid stuff. Nonetheless, Coco singled in between 1st and 2nd. I was going nuts. By the way, the score at the time was 3-1. Lester had given up the homer in the previous half inning. So lets go back to the Elf. 1st and 2nd nobody out. Dan Wheeler in the game, and if you remember we owned his ass. In GM 5, he was my hero. Fastball after fastball after fastball. All the Elf had to do was move the runners over for Papi, to get a base hit and score TWO runs. Wheeler throws him a fastball practically down the plate and the Elf misses is by about a centimeter. This was a very overlooked play in the game. If Pedroia gets BARELY on top of it, we are scoring both of the runs and possibly have a 4-3 lead.

This was crushing. After that play, I knew we were going down. It crushed me, the probable AL MVP had missed a ball that was supposed to be sent 400 FT. A part of me died, I'm sure of it.

Thats all for tonight- Oh and by the way:

Quote of the Day:

"We'll load up in the offseason and take the crown next year"- David "Big Papi" Ortiz


Oh and F*@k Longoria.

Top 50 Free Agent List

I will be making a Top 50 Free Agent List and where those free agents will be landing (of course, my predictions). I should have it out by this Saturday.

Under the comments section, tell me how wrong I am or what a "G" my picks are. This is supposed to be realistic and not comments like "dA nEw YoRk YaNkEeS wIlL sIgN eVeRyBoDy".

One Trivia Question: There are 3 former Cardinals in the Yankees' Monument Park.
Name them.

Think about it.

Go Sox!

Bud Selig: A Hero? Freaky Game 5

A potential World Series clinching game suspended? Ridiculous. I do commend Selig for not converting back to the normal regular season rules which say the team leading after 5 innings win the game.

If this was the case, the Philadelphia Phillies would be your new World Champions. So far, this is a win for the Tampa Bay Rays. Cole Hamels is out of the game and its now a sprint to the finish line. Who can score the most runs in 2 1/2 innings.

This game is a definite momentum changer: whoever wins this game, especially the Rays, will win the series. I expect, this game to come down to two pitchers: David Price and Brad Lidge. When this game finally ends, I believe the Rays will be victorious.

Thats a No-No

On this blog, I will never talk religion or politics. This is somewhat about the politics part. So much for that rule. Aaron, I stole your video!

The New Hank Aaron. Word.

Congrats to Mr. Beard on the new hardware. There's not one person besides Elf (Pedroia) that I can honestly say deserves this award more.

Kevin Youkilis has always been doubted. Never fast enough. Not flashy. He even had to switch from 3B to 1B a couple of years ago to accommodate Mike Lowell. When Lowell went down in the ALDS, who was to play 3B? Well, Kevin Youkilis of course.

Kevin Youkilis has turned into one of the biggest offensive forces in the American League along with playing exceptional defense.

Don't ya wish you had his beard?

Peyton Manning is Bomb

*Warning Peyton Manning can be a little excessive with the language*

Congradulations Philadelphia

One win away from becoming World Champions...




and ending Tampa's Dream Season

AJ Burnett

Ah Allan James Burnett. What a complicated pitcher. Where do I begin? The ex-Florida Marlin pitcher has battled arm injuries his entire career. In fact, thats the primary reason he hasn't been mentioned as one of the most dominating pitchers of our era. Ladies and Gentlemen, he has the stuff. Lets break down his numbers from last year, only the third season in which he has posted 200+ innings. His main statistical stats:

221 1/3 IP- 211 hits- 86 BB-231 K- 4.07 ERA- 1.34 WHIP-1 CG- 0 SO

Very nice statistics. AJ could opt out of his remaining contract with 2 years and 24 million dollars left on the table. Would he be a great fit for the Red Sox? Yes. This acquisition might be the biggest and most realistic option the Red Sox could make in the 2009 offseason. Not only would it give the Red Sox a formidable rotation, but it would represent an addition by subtraction factor. With the Toronto Blue Jays in the same division as the Sox, it would remove a key pleayer from the foe.

FOX Sports has already reported that the Red Sox are going to make a strong push towards signing the 31 year old righthander if he does indeed optout of his contract.

With Burnett, the Red Sox have a dominating rotation and would be the clear strength of the team:

1. Josh Beckett
2. AJ Burnett
3. Jon Lester
4. Daisuke Matsuzaka
5. Clay Buchholz/ Tim Wakefield

With AJ possibly joining the staff, the Red Sox would enable themselves to keep sinkerballer Justin Masterson in the Boston Bullpen.

If there is one free agent that the Red Sox will go hard after, it is AJ Burnett.

Next Up: Mr. Carsten Charles Sabathia

Mark Teixeira

Many of us would love to see Mark Teixeira manning 1st base for us next year, as would I, but this just simply isn't realistic.

To have Teixeira play 1st base, many things would have to happen.

1) Trade Mike Lowell. Consider this:

What team would trade for a guy BEFORE Spring Training coming off of a hip surgery? A player that his splits are better in Fenway. If there is ANY chance of the Red Sox trading Mike Lowell, they would have to pick up 80%+ of his contract.

2) The Red Sox would have to beat the Angels AND the Yankees in an ultimate bidding war

The Red Sox would have to beat the Angels, who are looking in their couches for extra money that they could give to Tex. The Angels might not even resign Frankie Rodriguez because they need the money to pony up to Scott Boras and Teixeira. The Yankees are merely saying "Bring a wheelbarrow to our Vault and you can take as much as you want- 6 times a week".

3) Why would the Red Sox block Lars Anderson?

As most fans know, the Red Sox have one legitimate power prospect in Anderson. He also plays 1B, so why would the Red Sox block him? The only way I don't see Anderson in Fenway by 2010 is if he gets traded for a stud pitcher.

Reasons to think the Red Sox could sign Mark Teixeira:

1) Has everything we're looking for:

• Great Glove
• Switch hitter
• Takes his BBs
• Averages 35 HRs
• Works the Count
• Ultimate Professional
• Doesn't strike out much (93) compared to 97 BBs.

2) Scott Boras

Many Boras clients are Red Sox players: Cora, Drew, Ellsbury, Varitek and Matsuzaka. Boras loves the Red Sox ownership and with all of the obvious reasons Boras could sell Teixeira right into the middle of the order.

3) When you least expect it:

Theo Epstein had a very uneventful offseason last year, aside from the Johan Santana sweepstakes. He has declared that most likely, this will not occur. Theo has made some moves that we have not seen in the near future: JD Drew, Julio Lugo and most notably Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Conclusion: Would I love to have Teixeira in the middle of our order for years to come? Sure. Are the odds in the Red Sox favor? I don't believe so.

What says you loyal readers?

Free Agents

As apart of my blog, I will be writing articles on potential FA signings for the Boston Red Sox. Some of the players that will be discussed:

• Mark Teixeira
• AJ Burnett
• CC Sabathia
• Derek Lowe
• Jason Varitek
• Pedro Martinez
  

Go Sox!