BYE BAY

The Mets have signed Jason Bay to a 4 year, $66 million deal. And I'm left to scratch my head. The Red Sox, who spent $51.1 million for the right to talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka, and who allocated $70M over 5 years for JD Drew, apparently couldn't match this 4 year, $66 million deal.

Now, $16.5 million per year isn't peanuts. Especially for a guy as inconsistent as Bay. But I'll say this much; the Red Sox better find a way to spend the $66 million they've saved by not signing Bay, either this off-season or the next. Because 36 HR, 119 RBI guys don't grow on trees.

A look at the Red Sox lineup as of now:
1. CF Ellsbury
2. 2B Pedroia
3. 1B Youkilis
4. C Martinez
5. RF Drew
6. DH Ortiz
7. 3B Lowell
8. LF Cameron
9. SS Scutaro

Once a pitcher gets out of the 1st, the 2nd and 3rd could literally be no-sweat innings.

Source:
MLB

PEYTON MANNING'S DIARY

Dear Diary,
I feel just awful. We lost to that mean fatty Rex Ryan and the Jets. It wasn't my fault! Coach Jimmy made me not play. We were up 15-10 when Coach Jimmy took me out. He told me he wanted me to stay healthy so I couldn't stay in the game.



I like Coach Jimmy, and I don't want any owies to happen before the playoffs, but I wanted to play! Don't tell anyone, diary, but on Sunday, I wished that sour puss Bill Belichick was my coach. He'd never give up on a 15-10 game. But he'd probably yell at me too, and Coach Jimmy never does that. And I doubt Bill Belichick would ever take us out for pizza and orange drink after.



The whole time I was on the sidelines, I was just so angry and frustrated. I kept hoping Coach Jimmy would say "Peyton, you're back in, buddy!" Last night I had a dream that he did just that. But on Sunday, he never did. I even kept my helmet on, hoping he'd put me back in. But he didn't. :-(



That night, I was so upset. Me, Reggie, and Dallas had a good cry in the locker room. But something was missing. This was the first time I've lost and didn't have Coach Tony with me. And that hurt. So when the bus dropped me off at my house, I snuggled into my big comfy racecar bed, and dialed Coach Tony's number.



It was nice talking to him again. He read my a story from his book: Quiet Strength



My favorite quotes from the book were:

"Things will go wrong at times. You can't always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response."

And...

"My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that we don't let the pursuit of our life's goals, no matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose."

After he read me his whole book, I asked him to read me Where the Wild Things Are. It was a bit scary, but I fell asleep and didn't have any bad dreams!!!



Until next time, diary! I love you!

LIGHTNING STRIKE TWICE

It'd be easy to blame luck and the refs for this loss. But I'm gonna take the high road. This game was lost BY THE BRUINS in the 2nd period. Tampa Bay's late goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, did come on a power play. A power play which came from a bad call (Sobotka called for boarding because Lecavalier lost his balance). But that bad call came from good play by the Lightning, keeping the puck in the offensive zone.

Tim Thomas was stellar. But we're back to the pattern of his excellent outings turning into losses.



Marco Sturm's goal was, in a word, nifty. And the Bruins as a whole calmed themselves in the 3rd period. But it's sad how usual it is for the B's to fall behind by 2 goals, and then calm themselves to play solid hockey.

The Bruins host the Thrashers Wednesday night.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara