HeadOfSoxNation

Good for him...that's a great buy for the Astros in my opinion. A guy that can play solid defense at 3 infield positions and bat close to .300 while doing all the little offensive things correctly for 3.5 million tops sounds good to me. Best of luck to him, I hope the NL treats him well again.

Am I the only one here that, even if its neccessary, doesn't feel that confident with Papelbon closing this year? Hear me out here...I was watching with all of you last year when he put on that unbelievable display, and I was just as excited about it as all of you were. But, when it got down to crunch time, the kids arm just had just had it. He blew something like 5 of 15 of his last save opportunities, and he was far from the unhittable presence that we saw before the ASB. Now, I know people are going to get all over me and say that this is because his arm was conditioned as a starter rather than an everyday reliever...well, he's been projected to be a rotation starter for this year, how do you think they conditioned his arm this off season? Exactly. To be a rotational starter. I see way too many upsides to this kid to keep him in limbo between the rotation and the closing roll dependant upon the performance of others in Spring Training. Besides the mental aspect, that type of variance can be an absolute death sentence to a young arm. If you ask me, the Sox just plain HAVE to make a decision as to where Paps is going to pitch, and I'm not just talking about for this year. If you want to have him close that's fine, but figure it now so he can start preparing accordingly so we don't have another breakdown towards the end of the season when the games REALLY matter. If you want him in the rotation, that's fine too...but make a decision and stick with it. I couldn't bare to see something happen to his arm and rob us, not to mention him, of his skills in the future.

I think that's a bold statement about a guy like Blanton...he hasn't shown me enough to say that yet. And even if he had...still...I don't do this deal. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that he would be the key link that was missing to take the NYM a ring last year...but where does this move put them in 2 years? They've got Glavine who's over 40, Pedro who's nearing 40 and VERY injury prone, and El Duque who's probably 54. Trading a huge talent like Milledge for a guy like Blanton just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe for Danny Haren, definitley for Rich Harden...but Blanton? Nope. I don't agree with this deal, but I'd definitley say the A's are getting the farrrrrrr better end of it.

Wild Card Week NFL Football - NFL Playoff Game Dates 1/6 - 1/7, 2007 Date & Time Favorite ............. Spread ................ Underdog 1/6 4:30 ET At Indianapolis .......... -6.5 ...................... Kansas City 1/6 8:00 ET At Seattle .................. -3 ............................... Dallas 1/7 1:00 ET At New England......... -9 .............................. NY Jets 1/7 4:30 ET At Philadelphia .......... -6.5 ......................... NY Giants

Week Seventeen NFL Football - NFL Game Dates 12/30 - 12/31, 2006 Spread Category : Date & Time Favorite .................. Spread ........................ Underdog 12/30 8:00 ET NY Giants .................... -2 ..................... At Washington 12/31 1:00 ET At Cincinnati ............... -6 ............................ Pittsburgh 12/31 1:00 ET At Dallas ................... -12 ................................ Detroit 12/31 1:00 ET At Houston ................ -3.5 ........................... Cleveland 12/31 1:00 ET At Kansas City ........... -2.5 ........................ Jacksonville 12/31 1:00 ET St. Louis .................... -2 ........................ At Minnesota 12/31 1:00 ET At New Orleans .......... -3 ............................... Carolina 12/31 1:00 ET At NY Jets ............... -12.5 ............................. Oakland 12/31 1:00 ET At Tampa Bay ........... -3.5 ............................... Seattle 12/31 1:00 ET At Tennessee ............ -3 ........................ New England 12/31 4:15 ET At Philadelphia ......... -7.5 ............................... Atlanta 12/31 4:15 ET At Denver ................ -11 ...................... San Francisco 12/31 4:15 ET At San Diego .......... -13.5 .............................. Arizona 12/31 4:15 ET At Baltimore .............. -9 ................................ Buffalo 12/31 4:15 ET At Indianapolis .......... -9 .................................. Miami Sunday Night Football : 12/31 8:15 ET At Chicago .............. -2.5 ........................... Green Bay Straight Category : Date & Time Favorite .................................................. .. Underdog 12/30 8:00 ET NY Giants ............................................. At Washington 12/31 1:00 ET At Cincinnati ............................................... Pittsburgh 12/31 1:00 ET At Dallas .................................................. ....... Detroit 12/31 1:00 ET At Houston .................................................. Cleveland 12/31 1:00 ET At Kansas City .......................................... Jacksonville 12/31 1:00 ET St. Louis ................................................ At Minnesota 12/31 1:00 ET At New Orleans ............................................. Carolina 12/31 1:00 ET At NY Jets .................................................. ... Oakland 12/31 1:00 ET At Tampa Bay ................................................. Seattle 12/31 1:00 ET At Tennessee ......................................... New England 12/31 4:15 ET At Philadelphia ................................................ Atlanta 12/31 4:15 ET At Denver ............................................. San Francisco 12/31 4:15 ET At San Diego ................................................. Arizona 12/31 4:15 ET At Baltimore .................................................. . Buffalo 12/31 4:15 ET At Indianapolis ................................................. Miami Sunday Night Football : 12/31 8:15 ET At Chicago ................................................. Green Bay Sunday Night Football Total Points Scored : .................___49_____

I don't think the 10/5 thing even matters because I think the Sox strayed from club policy and gave Tek a NTC when he resigned to the 4 yr/40 million deal. I could be wrong, but I could swear I read that somewhere.

Stuffed Shells were tonight in my family...along with the seafood. Christmas Eve is the huge night with my Goomba half; tomorrow is the Irish half.

Week Sixteen NFL Football - NFL Game Dates 12/21 - 12/25,2006 Spread Category : Date & Time Favorite.................... Spread ......................... Underdog 12/21 8:00 ET At Green Bay................ -3.5 .............................Minnesota 12/23 8:00 ET Kansas City.................. -6.5 ............................At Oakland 12/24 1:00 ET At Buffalo ....................-4.5 .............................Tennessee 12/24 1:00 ET At NY Giants ...................-3 ..........................New Orleans 12/24 1:00 ET At Atlanta ......................-6 .................................Carolina 12/24 1:00 ET At St. Louis ..................-2.5 ...........................Washington 12/24 1:00 ET Indianapolis ...................-9 .............................At Houston 12/24 1:00 ET At Pittsburgh .................-3 ................................Baltimore 12/24 1:00 ET At Cleveland ..................-3 .............................Tampa Bay 12/24 1:00 ET Chicago ......................-4.5 ...............................At Detroit 12/24 1:00 ET At Jacksonville.............-2.5 ..........................New England 12/24 4:05 ET At San Francisco ............-4 ..................................Arizona 12/24 4:15 ET At Denver ......................-3 ...............................Cincinnati 12/24 4:15 ET San Diego .....................-5 ...............................At Seattle Monday Night Football Point Spread 12/25 5:00 ET At Dallas ......................-7 .............................Philadelphia 12/25 8:30 ET At Miami ......................-2 ....................................NY Jets Straight Category : Date & Time Favorite...................................................... Underdog 12/21 8:00 ET At Green Bay.....................................................Minnesota 12/23 8:00 ET Kansas City......................................................At Oakland 12/24 1:00 ET At Buffalo ........................................................Tennessee 12/24 1:00 ET At NY Giants .................................................New Orleans 12/24 1:00 ET At Atlanta ...........................................................Carolina 12/24 1:00 ET At St. Louis ....................................................Washington 12/24 1:00 ET Indianapolis .....................................................At Houston 12/24 1:00 ET At Pittsburgh ......................................................Baltimore 12/24 1:00 ET At Cleveland ....................................................Tampa Bay 12/24 1:00 ET Chicago ............................................................At Detroit 12/24 1:00 ET At Jacksonville ..............................................New England 12/24 4:05 ET At San Francisco ..................................................Arizona 12/24 4:15 ET At Denver .........................................................Cincinnati 12/24 4:15 ET San Diego ........................................................At Seattle Monday Night Football Point Spread 12/25 5:00 ET At Dallas .......................................................Philadelphia 12/25 8:30 ET At Miami ..............................................................NY Jets Monday Night Football Total Points Scored : Use the Dallas / Philadelphia game.......................... ___56______

Seriously...does anyone even like Skip Bayless? I gotta say...it's very seldom I experience as much dissapointment as I do when I know I'm going to be in the car for a while during Jim Rome, and I flip it on to hear Skip freaking Bayless hosting on Jim's days off...such a letdown. I'd rather listen to Steven A. Smith talk sports than Skip Bayless, and I'd rather watch puppies be tortured than EVER listen to Steven A. Smith.

Thats a huge deal...but Wells is a helluva player. Id say hes definitley worth it, especially when you consider what some of these dirtballs are signing for this year...ie JD Drew 14 million per...are you kidding me?!?

Did these two every face each other in Japan? D-Mat is only 26 and Matsui has been over here a while now...

I just figure that the Sox obviously see SOMETHING in J.D. Drew that necessitates $14 million a year...so giving them the benefit of the doubt and saying that being able to see things like that are what make them GMs and me just some college bum...with Drew, Ramirez, Ortiz, and now Lugo...this team should put up something ridiculous like 7 runs a game...Helen freaking Keller should be able to win 14 games with that kind of support . I hope Daisuke's approximate 4.20 ERA falls over the course of his 6 years here. Should be an interesting season!

Week 15 - NFL Game Dates 12/14 - 12/18, 2006 Spread Category : Date & Time Favorite..................Spread.................. ..Underdog 12/14 8:00 ET At Seattle...................-10......................San Francisco 12/16 8:00 ET Dallas..........................-3............................At Atlanta 12/17 1:00 ET At Minnesota................-3................................NY Jets 12/17 1:00 ET At Baltimore..............-11.5...........................Cleveland 12/17 1:00 ET At New England..........-11...............................Houston 12/17 1:00 ET At Buffalo....................-1..................................Miami 12/17 1:00 ET Pittsburgh..................-2.5..........................At Carolina 12/17 1:00 ET At New Orleans..........-9.5.........................Washington 12/17 1:00 ET Jacksonville................-3.5......................At Tennessee 12/17 1:00 ET At Chicago................-13.5.........................Tampa Bay 12/17 1:00 ET At Green Bay...............-5.................................Detroit 12/17 4:15 ET At NY Giants...............-5.5........................Philadelphia 12/17 4:05 ET Denver.......................-2.5..........................At Arizona 12/17 4:15 ET At Oakland..................-1...............................St. Louis 12/17 8:15 ET At San Diego..............-8.5.........................Kansas City Monday Night Football Point Spread 12/18 8:30 ET At Indianapolis............-3.5..........................Cincinnati Straight Category : Date & Time Favorite.......................................... ......Underdog 12/14 8:00 ET At Seattle........................................... ...San Francisco 12/16 8:00 ET Dallas............................................ .............At Atlanta 12/17 1:00 ET At Minnesota......................................... ..........NY Jets 12/17 1:00 ET At Baltimore......................................... .......Cleveland 12/17 1:00 ET At New England........................................... ...Houston 12/17 1:00 ET At Buffalo........................................... ..............Miami 12/17 1:00 ET Pittsburgh........................................ .........At Carolina 12/17 1:00 ET At New Orleans........................................Was hington 12/17 1:00 ET Jacksonville...................................... .....At Tennessee 12/17 1:00 ET At Chicago........................................... .....Tampa Bay 12/17 1:00 ET At Green Bay............................................... ....Detroit 12/17 4:15 ET At NY Giants............................................ .Philadelphia 12/17 4:05 ET Denver............................................ ...........At Arizona 12/17 4:15 ET At Oakland........................................... .........St. Louis 12/17 8:15 ET At San Diego............................................. Kansas City Monday Night Football 12/18 8:30 ET At Indianapolis...................................... ......Cincinnati Monday Night Football Total Points Scored :................___65_____ I'd also like to predict that Rudy Johnson runs for 747 and 9 TDs against Indy's GOD AWFUL run defense

Alright alright...so it seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeems (knock on wood)...that the Sox are going to have Daisuke in the rotation for this coming year. I know we've touched on it in other threads...but I wanted a thread all its own to get everybody's opinion on what, exactly, we're expecting out of this kid in his first year this side of the pond. I'm with everyone else in that he's looked EXTREMELY impressive in all the highlights I've seen of him...but we also can't forget that Japanese pitchers coming over into "our" league and "our" style of play haven't turned into marquee superstars right away, if at all. Assuming that Tek's knowledge of big league hitters and his ability to convey this knowledge extends beyond language barriers, I'm looking for 14 wins and an ERA slightly over 4 coming from D-Mat this year. I think he'll be in the top 15 pitchers in the majors in strikeouts, as I have always felt that pitchers have an advantage over hitters when they first face each other...and, thusly, that leads to a lot of strikeouts. I'm also hoping he has the ability to eat innings and save our suspect-to-say-the-least bullpen...but you can't help but think that the Sox are going to be EXTREMELY careful with their new 26 year-old investment, so maybe he won't eat as many innings as I hope. What's everyone else think?

What about Langerhans/Diaz in left? I'd take Crisp over Langerhans, but Diaz put up way better numbers than Crisp last year in limited (allbeit not too limited) action. I guess running is a lot more important in the NL than it was in the AL this year, so I guess the edge there goes to Crisp, but Bobby Cox has never really been a hardcore running manager, so who knows. Considering the two are virtually the same age...I don't see why they'd want to bench Diaz.

There is ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO REASON for Boras to have Daisuke sign a contract before the absolute final second. He's trying to make it look like they have no intention of signing what's currently on the table to see if, right before the deadline, the Sox put one more proposal together...obviously bettering what's out there. I think if the Sox hold strong, he'll get signed for what's on the table now...if not, they'll take the the most current offer. I just think that both parties have too much to lose if Matsuzaka doesn't sign.

I agree with both of these statements whole heartedly but don't think Gonzalez should be relied upon to close right now...he's spent all his time in the NL and has gotten hurt quite a bit...I like him, but don't think he's our total answer in finding a closer.

I just think Yankee fans get jumped on for saying stuff here that if any Sox fan said, no one would bat an eyelash. I don't think if I would have said "Oh jeez, this doesn't look good. I'd say if nothing gets done tonight, we can all get in line to return our Matsuzaka jerseys" anyone would have called it a trollish post or gotten bent out of shape about it. It's just a double standard, I think. Boras is the kid's freaking AGENT...that's what agents do; they handle the negotiations for the player. I don't understand why this is so new to everyone.

He said that if nothing is in place tonight, that we can go ahead and return the jerseys because the deal's not going to get done and he's not going to be in Boston. He's 100% correct, IMO. They still need time to get a physical done before a deal can become official, and for that to happen, they'd have to get something done by tonight. And, if the Sox posted high and he didn't get signed...there's no WAY he's going to want to try to negotiate with the Sox again whenever he gets to be a "real" FA.

Fantastic, thanks! I NEVER expected that many points to come out of that game!