PEDRO MARTINEZ: COCK FIGHT ENTHUSIAST

With the Patriots losing on Sunday, Kevin Garnett out for a few more games, Schilling's shoulder acting up, and the Bruins being the Bruins, it's time to look at a lighter side of the sports news.

A video came out on YouTube yesterday which featured Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal as soltadores in a Dominican cock-fight. A soltador is the person who releases the rooster to go and fight. The video was eventually removed from YouTube (awwwwwww), and animal rights groups instantly began formulating a horribly constructed comparison.

Pedro Martinez = Michael Vick

I don't know if anyone knows who Vick is. Used to be an NFL quarterback; tiny, teeny, hardly covered story about him running a dog-fighting ring. Well PETA, and The Humane Society have already started their barking about Pedro.

But let's just have a short education of the differences between Pedro and Vick.

Cock-fighting is legal in the Dominican Republic. Dog fighting is illegal in the US.

Cock-fighting is an accepted part of Dominican culture, like bull fighting in Spain, or American Gladiators in the US. Dog fighting is not an accepted part of American culture.

Pedro's role in the cock-fight was similar to a celebrity throwing out the first pitch of a baseball game. Michael Vick actually ran the dog fighting ring.

People eat chickens! I just had some McNuggets. Very few people actually eat dogs.

Let's be honest with ourselves. If one of our friends - that sketchy friend we all have - invited us to an underground cock-fight; we'd go. We'd have some beer, smoke some cigars, bet on a cock, and enjoy ourselves.

We're all missing the big picture here: YouTube used to be cool. But since Google took it over, it's become legitimate. They took down all the highlights from the Super Bowl at the bequest of the NFL. Then the cock-fighting video with Pedro gets removed from the site. I didn't even get to see the video before they took it down.

All I can do is use my imagination to envision Pedro and Marichal, setting two roosters loose to peck at each other in El Coliseo Gallistico de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Cockfighting Coliseum), pictured below.



And who won the fight? Was it Pedro's bird, or Marichal's?

Source:
Associated Press/The Toronto Star article

SCHILLING'S SCHITTY SCHOULDER SCHTARTING SCHPRING SCHTRIFE

Both the Globe and Herald are breaking stories about Curt Schilling's right shoulder. The variations between the two stories leads me to believe that this story is extremely tentative and speculative. Here are a few things that are clear, though:

Curt Schilling's right shoulder is acting up

He will miss at least the start of spring training

He went to see Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed shoulder surgery on Schilling in 1995

The Red Sox official stance is "no comment"

Curt missed 7 weeks of last season with problems in his right shoulder

He's 41 years old

Tony Massarotti is a sensationalist writer

The Globe's story is more subdued, stating that there are reports of an injury and that Schilling may miss part of spring training. The Herald's story is more doom and gloom. The title of the piece is "Schilling could be lost for season." Of course, there's no hard evidence to support this. If Schilling's injury is bad enough to require surgery (again, we have no idea how bad it is), it's safe to say his season is done. But we don't even know what the injury actually is.

Massarotti's Herald column also asserts that there is friction and/or tension between the Red Sox and Schilling. Apparently, there is disagreement over treatment options. There is also a possibility that the Red Sox have looked into voiding Schilling's contract.

Tony Maz cites "baseball sources." He's a reliable reporter, but I think this story is an extreme interpretation of rumor and second hand talk. Understandable considering the lack of spring training storylines surrounding the Sox.

It is possible that the Red Sox and Schilling cannot come to a consensus on how to treat the shoulder. It's possible Schilling wants to rehab somewhere but the team wants him to rehab in Fort Myers. Who knows?

And as far as the Red Sox taking steps to void the contract: all that means is that the Red Sox have looked into it. If you had a 41 year old pitcher with a shoulder injury, and you were on the line to pay him $8M, wouldn't you see if you could get out of it?

What really irks me about this whole thing is that Johan Santana is currently trying on his new Mets apparel. The Red Sox could have had him, albeit for a price. We had Beckett, then a 41 year old, overweight, bad shoulder question mark. Then whatever the Japanese symbol for a question mark is. Then a 90 year old knuckle-baller with a bad back. Then a bunch of kids with next to no Major League experience. Santana wouldn't be a question mark. He would've been an exclamation point.

Sources:
Boston.com article by Gordon Edes and Nick Cafardo
BostonHerald.com article by Tony Massarotti

Photo Credit:
Associated Press

SHOULD THE PATRIOTS FRANCHISE MOSS?

Yes!

Randy Moss is the Pats' top candidate to receive the franchise tag. Asante Samuel got it last year, but under the condition that he wouldn't be franchised again. Randy Moss is an unrestricted free agent, and after setting the NFL record for touchdown receptions, is the top free agent WR out there.

A franchise tag would give Moss a 2008 salary of $7.84 million, which is the average salary of the top 5 WRs in the League. This would be far below the potential salaries he could garner on the open market.

Other teams would still be able to make offers to Moss. But if Moss signed with them, it would cost them two first round draft choices. That price is a bit too steep, which is why franchising players is such an ironclad way to keep them on your team cheaply.

We can all agree that Moss was a huge part of the Patriots' record-breaking offense. Although he didn't have big numbers in the post-season, that was more of a product of Tom Brady's play, and not Moss. He is the ultimate receiving threat. He's fast, tall, strong, with great hands.

DONNELLY TO CLEVELAND, HINSKE TO TAMPA

Brendan Donnelly has signed a minor league deal with the Indians. The 36 year old righty underwent Tommy John surgery in 2007 and is expected to miss the first few months of the 2008 season. Despite being named in the Mitchell Report, I wanted the Sox to keep Donnelly. The major knock I have on this team is its lack of bullpen depth, and Donnelly could give us some. Although at his age, coming off major arm surgery might make him too much of a risk.

With the acquisition of Sean Casey, the Sox were free to let Eric Hinske go with no signs of a struggle. The 30 year old former Rookie of the Year hit a meager .204 with the Sox last year. He was a hit or miss signing when we acquired him. It was a miss. He signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sources:
Boston.com's Extra Bases
The official web-site of the Tampa Bay Rays

SOX GET MORE INSURANCE

The Red Sox re-signed Bobby Kielty to a one year deal, potentially worth up to $1.1M bsed on incentives. With Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp, JD Drew, and Jacoby Ellsbury; this re-signing makes it clear that a trade involving an outfielder should be expected. Coco Crisp has been the name on the top of the trade list.

PRELIMINARY PATRIOTS 2008 SCHEDULE

In case you can't tell, I'm trying real hard to look ahead toward next football season. Here are the teams we'll be playing, and where the games will be. The order of the games, placement of the bye week, and time of the games has yet to be determined. Each team's record is in parenthesis

Home:
New York Jets (4-12)
Miami Dolphins (1-15)
Buffalo Bills (7-9)
Denver Broncos (7-9)
Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
St. Louis Rams (3-13)
Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)

Road:
New York Jets (4-12)
Miami Dolphins (1-15)
Buffalo Bills (7-9)
San Francisco 49ers (5-11)
San Diego Chargers (11-5)
Oakland Raiders (4-12)
Seattle Seahawks (10-6)
Indianapolis Colts (13-3)

Yes, it looks like we're hosting Pittsburgh and going to Indianapolis...again. One thing you may have noticed is the large number of west coast games. We're playing the AFC West along with the NFC West. That means 4 trips to the Pacific Time Zone. Last year we only had 2 games outside the Eastern zone, and they were in the Central zone. So that should be an interesting challenge.

Overall, these opponents combined for a record of 99-157 (thanks mostly to Miami and New York). Of course the big games will be against San Diego, Indy, and Pittsburgh.

One strange little oddity. The Pats will face the Colts in 2009, as well. Where? Indianapolis, of course. That means regular season road games against Indy for three straight seasons. Are any of us surprised?

PATRIOTS OFF-SEASON BEGINS

What really stings about Sunday's big loss is the fact that for many Patriots, that was their last game wearing red, white, and blue.

Linebackers Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi will probably retire, although there's a slim chance Bruschi may stick around. Even if Tedy stays, it's clear that two new starting ILBs are needed. He simply isn't the playmaker we need in the middle of the field anymore.

Donte Stallworth is gone, most likely. Randy Moss is a free agent and could command a massive salary for 2008, perhaps too massive for the Pats' salary cap to handle. Jabar Gaffney is an unrestricted free agent, but I imagine the Pats will keep him around.

Asante Samuel will also be a free agent. After another great season, he's probably gone to another team for big bucks. Randall Gay and Eugene Wilson are free agents and will probably be allowed to leave. Gay because he sucks, and Wilson because he wants to start.

The most pressing need will be at linebacker. Colvin will be back, as will Vrabel and Adalius. One of them could play inside (most likely Adalius, but I'd much rather have him outside). The Pats could adjust defensive philosophies and become more of a 4-3 team, with Adalius on the end.

Re-signing Moss is the #1 priority for this team, so long as the money is right. He adds another dimension to our offense, especially in conjuncture with Wes Welker. I'd love to keep Gaffney, and move Kelley Washington into the top 5 on the WR depth chart.

Right now, here's my incomplete guess of the Patriots roster for the 2008 season.

Offense
QB1: Tom Brady
QB2: Matt Gutierrez
QB3:

RB1: Laurence Maroney
RB2: Sammy Morris
RB3: Kevin Faulk
FB: Heath Evans

C: Dan Koppen
LG: Logan Mankins
RG: Stephen Neal
LT: Matt Light
RT: Nick Kaczur
OL6: Russ Hochstein
OL7:
OL8:

WR1: Randy Moss
WR2: Wes Welker
WR3: Jabar Gaffney
WR4: Kelley Washington
WR5: Chad Jackson
WR6:

TE1: Ben Watson
TE2: Kyle Brady
TE3: David Thomas

Defense
DT1: Vince Wilfork
DT2:
DE1: Richard Seymour
DE2: Ty Warren
DE3: Jarvis Green

OLB1: MIke Vrabel
OLB2: Roosevelt Colvin
OLB3: Adalius Thomas
OLB4:
ILB1:
ILB2:
ILB3:
ILB4:

CB1:
CB2: Ellis Hobbs
CB3:
CB4:
S1: Rodney Harrison
S2: James Sanders
S3: Brandon Meriweather
S4:

Special Teams
K: Stephen Gostkowski
P: Chris Hanson
LS: Lonnie Paxton

RED SOX SIGN SEAN CASEY

With the collective eyes of New England focused on Glendale, the Red Sox acquisition of Sean Casey may have fallen just a bit under the radar.

Sean Casey is the first significant addition to the Red Sox this off-season. He was signed to a 1 year deal worth $800,000. This brings up a multitude of questions.

#1: Why Sean Casey? Don't the Sox already have Youkilis and Ortiz, why get Casey?

The Red Sox biggest offensive holes in 2007 were short-stop, right-field, center-field, and catcher. So why get another first baseman, which was already the deepest position on the roster?

Unlike Ortiz, Casey is a good defensive first-baseman. Unlike Youkilis, Casey is left-handed. And perhaps most importantly: unlike Ortiz, Casey didn't undergo knee surgery in the off-season.

Casey is an insurance policy. We have no idea what kind of player Ortiz will be post-op. Having Casey gives the Sox a viable option at DH, one who can hit around .290 and knock out a few homeruns.

Casey may also provide insurance for another position. This is mere speculation, but is it possible the Red Sox might shift Youkilis to right-field if Drew continues to struggle? Youk played 18 games in left-field two years ago. He's be no Vlad Guerrero, but he'd get by out there.

But let's say Ortiz is fine, and Drew hits like he's supposed to; what does Sean Casey do then? He becomes a good pinch-hitter. He becomes a lefty replacement for Youkilis in certain situations. He becomes a defensive replacement. He won't push the Sox over the top, but he'd still be a positive addition.

#2: Why would Sean Casey want to be an insurance policy?

Three words: World Series ring. I wouldn't be surprised if Casey's agent went out to contending teams like the Red Sox, trying to see if there was any interest for his services. The abbreviated contract length and low money total was the bait that lured the Red Sox in. So the Red Sox get some flexibility and insurance, and Casey gets an opportunity to play for the best team in baseball. It's win win.

#3: Why is Sean Casey nicknamed "The Mayor?"

He got that monicker in Cincinnati. He's known for talking to every single baserunner that stops by first base. In 2007 he was voted "friendliest player in baseball" by his fellow players. He's also deeply involved in numerous charities. In fact, he and Conan O'Brien co-founded Labels Are For Jars, an anti-hunger charity in Lawrence, MA. So he's generally a nice guy.

#4: What does this mean for the 2008 Red Sox?

It means the Red Sox have some insurance. If Ortiz or Youkilis gets hurt, then Casey can fill in for them. If Lowell gets hurt, then Youkilis can play third, and Casey can play first. If Drew struggles, then Youkilis can play right, and Casey can play first.

This acquisition also gives us a good bat off the bench. Last year we really didn't have anyone to plug into a late inning game-changing situation. If Julio Lugo was up with 2 on in the 9th, there really wasn't much we could do about it. Casey gives us more options.

And you can't beat the price. $800,000 is a lot of money to you and me, but to the Red Sox, it's a pittance. And for a guy who has a career .301 average and .366 OBP, it's a bargain.