noonanberg

Is Roethlisberger the best QB in the game? No. He makes his share of mistakes. But the fact is he is one of the big reasons the Steelers got that far, and bad call or not, he did score a touchdown for his team (let's not kid ourselves if not on that play the ball eventually would have ended up in Seattle's endzone). Let's also recall how Roethlisberger saved a touchdown with his tackle against the Colts. On pure talent alone neither Big Ben nor Brady are even probably in the top five amongst QBs. But the fact of the matter is they both win, even as more talented guys like Manning, Vick, etc. choke year after year.

Maurice Clarett is a perfect example of what a bad ego does for you. He thought he was bigger than he was, now he's coming crashing down to Earth the hard way. That's what you get. Not to say I'm glad he turned into a criminal headcase, but I'm glad he was taught a lesson. I hope Matt Leinhart learns the same lesson very soon. Again, not rooting for a jail trip here, but a weak career would be nice to see. I hope the same for Eli Manning as well.

as for this loretta/pedroia discussion, you're pretty much getting the same player. the only difference is age.

yay for the win, but really woulda rather have seen em loaded than a botched ball like that

drum roll please

that was the pitch

sick pitch on gibbons

i think the sox by far must have the longest time per game average in the league. i don't think more than about 10 of their games have ended in less than 2:45.

manny does not get enough credit for his arm/defense. good fielding that inning, saved a run. now let's end this in 9.

i wouldn't mind making a pitch for buerhle. a solid lefty who should be good for roughly fifteen wins and is still pretty young. also a long shot, but a potential big reward if lucky could be kerry wood. yes i know he's hurt more often than david beckham in the world cup, but he could be cheap because of all the injuries. if by some stroke of luck he stayed healthy and was still effective, he could be a steal. other than those two, i don't think there's any starter out there really worth the amount of money it would probably cost.

i voted for Frank Thomas myself. really think he should have retired a few years ago, but he is having a good year, and is hitting more like the Big Hurt instead of acting like a Big Hurt. in the N.L. i went with Nomar.

this next pitch is gone

this is absolutely not a basketball state. basketball is fourth on the list. i would say it goes hockey, baseball, football, basketball. you can't look at it just by the pro sports teams, you have to look at every dynamic. 9 hockey players were drafted from MA this year. none of the other sports come close. the (hockey) beanpot is arguably the biggest tournament in the state. bu/bc always draws sellouts. when the B's are good they sell well, and now that the owners spent money this year, attendance should be much higher than the past couple years. even girls hockey is big in this state. assabet valley has about three teams in the national finals every year. southie, dorchester and quincy have all been to the national finals in the last six years. the super eight draws a big crowd every year. the Prep and ISL are two of the best high school leagues in the country. Seven D1 men's hockey teams play in the state, four D1 women's teams. three minor/pro hockey teams play in the state. no one here will probably admit it because of the country's general dislike of hockey, but it's the truth. MASSACHUSETTS IS A HOCKEY STATE.

that's arguably one of the worst publicity stunts of bettman's era.

Well, we'll never know how Mota would have done for us, but I can't imagine it would have been much worse than Seanez or Tavarez.

Well let's see. Papelbon has blown two saves since Tek's injury. The Sox have only won twice. Lester had what was arguably his worst outing. And the Sox have blown a few late leads. Yes, Varitek does play a big part. From pitch calling, to his calming presence, Tek is a big reason for our success. Granted he's not the only factor, but he is a part. The other part has been execution. The Sox aren't scoring when they have the chances. They are stranding too many runners. Solo home runs are great, but two run singles are better. Hopefully tonight's game will get them back on track, and give them a little morale boost.

He's fine. Let's not forget almost every time he has the chance to close it's a one run game. NO CLOSER, Gagne, Rivera, whoever, is going to be able to save every one run game. Those are the games that only take one swing of the bat, and if you'll notice that's what usually kills Papelbon. What's it like 3 of his 5 blown saves or whatever were because of a home run? It happens. If the Sox could get a lead bigger than one run more often this wouldn't be a problem. Looking at game 2 of the Royals series, it wasn't even his fault. Why in hell the outfield was that shallow with no outs in the bottom of the ninth is beyond me. That should have been a lead off single at best if the outfield was where it should have been.

A lot depends on how we do against the Yanks in next week's five game series. Also the games before that as well, but if we can take 3 of 5 or 4 of 5 from the Yanks next week we're back in it. As for the Twins, I wouldn't expect them to fade. I don't expect another 32-8 run either, but I think they got their crappy play out of their system in April and May. I'd expect them to hang in their.

I also agree with Pesky, most teams can keep some of the higher priced talent, they just choose not to. Baltimore is a fine baseball market, and they've shown they can and sometimes will spend, they just don't get it right. The Twins are another example, they have some cash, they can spend, they have chosen not to. And it ended up panning out, instead of overpaying for Pierzynski, etc. they chose to curb spending a little and ended up with the likes of Mauer, Morneau, Liriano etc. There is not an owner in any sport, who buys a team without the ability to spend because otherwise they wouldn't buy the team at all. The problem is that most owners buy the team, don't spend a lot and try to keep their costs low and maximize profits, that's the reality. And also, you can win with a cheap roster as some teams have proven.

ahm, bosox, i'm as devoted a fan as u are. i just dont enjoy watching sh**ty games. i love hockey more than anything, but i still wont watch if it's a poorly played (or officiated) game.

lester is fine. let's not forget he had to be rushed to the bigs because otherwise we would have a three man rotation at this point. it's one bad game, let's not forget he's had a few good ones. i don't think his confidence will get shaken that much. pitchers know not every game is going to be a good one. beckett is a good example. i think having dave wallace back will be good too. also dont forget he has guys like schilling telling him how to bounce back. lester will be fine.

and this is when i turn off the game

i get the feeling hansen might be a bust, or at least not live up to the hype. i dont see him being the dominant closer the sox have envisioned. he may be solid, but i dont see him being as great as projected.

no jacksonian, they are a half game ahead

thank god for that lucky hop