Goodbye, Bobby V

It's official. Bobby Valentine is no longer the Manager of the Red Sox. There's no word if he'll stay with the team in the other roles he took upon himself: psychologist, motivational speaker, media manipulator, philosopher, food inventor. We know he won't be filling out any lineups, showing up late to the clubhouse, or forgetting which hand the opposing pitcher pitches with.

Bobby Valentine deserves blame for this 69 win season. Not all of it, not most of it, but a piece of the blame pie sits on his plate. More importantly, any future success will not be likely, and might not even be possible with him as the Manager. He's too distracting and too intrusive. He's a bad Manager. Maybe that's why the Red Sox were the only MLB team willing to hire him since 2002.

Valentine got fired not because 2012 was his fault, but because he's an obstacle to success in 2013.

I don't remember him doing anything smart. He called out Kevin Youkilis, then retreated. He didn't call out players like Josh Beckett. He made game decisions with pitchers, particularly Jon Lester, based on their self-esteem. He brought up subjects (such as Youkilis) with the media, then complained that media was talking about said subjects. It was as if he wanted to make his statement, convince everyone he was right, and move on without any further discussion.

The players didn't respect him from the start and why should they? I didn't respect him. The owners were wrong to give the players an audience for their grievances, but that doesn't change the fact that Valentine is not a respectable leader.

He's a clown. A buffoon. A quack. On a serious note I think he has some deep psychological issues. He has no actual confidence, just a mask of arrogance.

I wonder if he'll show up to Red Sox Spring Training next year wearing a fake mustache.

Red Sox Season Mercifully Ends

After six months of gruesome torture, Red Sox fans are finally free. This embarrassment of a season is over, officially in the books, and let us hope we someday are able to cope with this tragic experience, and move on with our lives.

This was the 14th worse season in Red Sox history. It's their 3rd worst since 1933, and their worst since 1965. 5th place, 24 games under .500, 26 games behind the Yankees, 24 games out of a playoff spot, 4 games behind the 4th place Blue Jays, 3 games behind the Royals, the 3rd worst record in the AL, 7th worst record in all of baseball.

At least that Sellout Streak is intact.

Game #162 was the type of pitiful game that the Red Sox frequently had all year long. Daisuke pitched 2.1 innings, allowed 5 runs off 6 hits and 2 homers. He ends the season with a 1-7 record, and an 8.28 ERA.

I am so full of harmonious joy that this was Matsuzaka's last start in a Red Sox uniform. Sayonara, Dice-K.

I am pleased that next year I won't have to cheer for Josh Beckett. I felt vile when I was happy to see Josh Beckett succeed.

I am thrilled that Bobby Valentine managed his last game in Boston. It's a wrap, Bobby.

So there are some things to be happy about.

Then again, Larry Lucchino's job seems far too safe. I really don't think Ben Cherington is a good GM (Josh Reddick for Andrew Bailey?). Who will be the new manager? Who will be the Opening Day starter? Who will be the closer? How much influence will Lucchino have in answering these questions?

On the bright side, tickets will be even easier to acquire next year. And I really doubt that the Sox will raise prices.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Addicted to Defeat

I think the Sox are addicted to losing. How else do you explain their pathological patheticness? Even when on the verge of winning, they find a way to lose and satisfy their craving for failure. Last night was example #92 of this tragic habit.

Ahead 3-1 in the 9th, you call in your so-called closer Andrew Bailey, and he gives up a 2 run homerun. It was Bailey's 3rd blown Save of the season, which would normally be impressive if he had more than 9 Save opportunities. His ERA is up to 7.04.

As a team, the Red Sox have blown the 5th most Saves in all of baseball. And they have the 5th worst Save percentage. This bullpen has some serious problems that need addressing in the off-season.

So instead of talking about Junichi Tazawa as a starter, maybe try him out as a closer. After all, just being a good mid-reliever isn't much of a qualification for a starter. Let's solve a problem instead of creating a new one.

The crime against humanity known as the 2012 season ends tonight. Good riddance.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Miguel Cabrera's Impending Triple Crown Is a Huge Deal

I stopped paying much attention to baseball when the Red Sox lost their 70th game of the season, so maybe I've just been too unplugged to notice, but it doesn't seem like Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown campaign is getting the attention it deserves. This is a huge, massive deal. He leads all three categories going into the last day of the season.

Only 15 players have done what he's about to do. Only 11 since 1920, when double-digit homerun totals became necessary to achieve it (9 HRs won Ty Cobb the Crown in 1909, 14 won it in 1901 and 1887, and 4 won it in 1878).

It's a tough combination, to be the best power hitter and the best hitter for average.

It hasn't been done for 45 years. It's an achievement that went untouched even during the Steroid Era. Not even hulking sluggers, their veins throbbing with PEDs, could do it.

Then look at the players who have done it. Only the best: Carl Yastrzemski, Hall of Famer. Ted Williams, perhaps the best pure hitter ever, did it twice. Frank Robinson, another HOFer. Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby did it twice, hitting over .400 each time. Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Hall of Famers Chuck Klein, Joe Medwick, and Napoleon Lajoie. The only two Triple Crowners not immortalized in Cooperstown are Paul Hines and Tip O'Neill, who both did it in the 1800s. Hines hit 4 homeruns for the Providence Greys in 1878, and that was good enough.

These are some of the best hitters of the modern era, and this might be the most impressive and most prestigious single-season achievement a hitter can hope to reach.

It practically guarantees an MVP (In 1942, Ted Williams finished 2nd in voting behind Joe Gordon of the Yankees. The media didn't like Ted much), and it can significantly improve a Hall of Fame resumé.

Cabrera looks like he might be on his way to Cooperstown one day. He's only 29 and already has 1,800 career hits, over 300 HRs, some All-Star Games, some Silver Sluggers (at three different positions), and a World Series ring. Add a Triple Crown and an MVP to that list and you're approaching enshrinement territory.

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AP Photo

How Good Is CC Sabathia?

Remember when the Yankees signed CC Sabathia? Remember how Red Sox Nation arrogantly laughed and mocked how much the Yanks spent in the off-season between 2008 and 2009, adding Sabathia and Mark Teixeira? What fools we were.

Since then, the Yankees have made the playoffs 4 straight years, and even won a World Series. The Red Sox made the playoffs once in that same period, losing an ALDS in 3 games.

As a Yankee, Sabathia never wore out and got injured like we in Red Sox Nation figured he would. He's 74-29 in New York, with a 3.22 ERA. He's a 3 time All-Star and finished in the top 5 of Cy Young voting 3 times.

In that same time frame, Josh Beckett won 41 games for the Red Sox. With a 4.21 ERA. Sabathia has also thrown about 200 more innings than Beckett these last 4 years. And even though he weighs around 300 pounds, I'd argue that Sabathia is in better shape than Beckett.

We were so arrogant after 2008. The Sox had won a World Series in '07 and were close to getting to another one in 2008. Maybe the Red Sox as a team were just as arrogant. The players, the GM, the manager, and the owners all thought they had the winning formula in place.

They plainly did not. The Yankees did, and do.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Honeymoon Over for Refs

The real referees have returned, and all were greeted with applause across the NFL this weekend. Until they started making calls. The honeymoon is already over, especially for Giants and Packers fans. Missed calls, game-changing penalties, in other words: human beings being human.

The real refs are experts at game management. They know the rulebook better than those who wrote it. They can still make mistakes, though.

The reaction of some NFL fans to the real refs reminds me of something. You go out with a girl, she's a good woman, but after a while she kind of wears thin on you. Things just don't click. So you break-up with her. Then you go out with someone completely wrong for you, some C word who flirts with your friends and gets really loud and honest when she drinks, and in retrospect you're  ex-girlfriend seems like a goddess. Then you and your ex reunite, you expect perfection, and reality disappoints.

These refs make mistakes. There are 22 moving pieces on a football field, and a handful of officials out there to enforce 122 pages of intricate rules. Let's not get too irate at them for not living up to our unrealistic expectations of flawlessness.

So instead of falling back in love with the zebras, maybe we should just be friends and see where that goes. They're not without fault, they make mistakes, but the alternative is much, much worse.

Milestone Loss for Red Sox

The Red Sox were swept by the Orioles, and ended their September by losing 9 of their last 10. Yesterday they lost their 90th game of the season. They haven't lost 90 games since 1966.

What makes that year important in Red Sox history is that it came before one of the most critical years in the club's history: 1967 (The Impossible Dream Season). Before 1967, this town was not obsessed with the Red Sox, far from it. This town didn't really care about them. Nobody went to the games. 1966 was their 8th straight losing season. Before 1967, the Red Sox were irrelevant.

In 1967, under a new manager, the Sox went 90-72, won the pennant, and lost the World Series in 7 games. They didn't win it all, but they ended a 21 year playoff drought. And they captured the attention of New England.

Is 2012 going to be the reverse of that? This team is so shamefully bad that they're in danger of becoming irrelevant. The Patriots are now undisputed kings of this town. The Celtics are much more likable and entertaining to watch. If Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs were smart, he'd realize that this is the worst time to remove hockey from this market. In business-speak, the Red Sox are losing market-share.

There's a lack of likability on this team. As they end this sham of a season, all David Ortiz seems to care about is getting "respected" by a 2 year contract. Jacoby Ellsbury doesn't want to disclose his injury status. And the puppet GM will now have more people whispering advice/commands in his ear (Jason Varitek, Bill James).

The Sox have gone over the edge and they're falling down the proverbial cliff in this town. They need to hit the brakes and stop the descent.

They don't need to win a World Series, but contending for a Wild Card spot would be nice. They don't need to be loaded with stars, but likable players would go a long way.

Otherwise, they will be as loved and relevant as they were in 1966. When they averaged 10,014 fans in attendance per game. That could threaten the vaunted, alleged Sellout Streak.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Patriots Win in the Air and on the Ground

The last time the Patriots had a pair of 100 yard rushers in a game was 1982. And only one other time in NFL history did a team have two 100 yard rushers and two 100 yard receivers. But it wasn't all gaudy stats and pretty plays yesterday. At times the Patriots looked very shaky.

Let's celebrate the positive before dissecting the negative.

Wes Welker, filling in for injured starting slot receiver Julian Edelman, caught 9 passes for 129 yards. I think this Welker fellow might be able to contribute to this offense, even when Edelman returns. Call it a hunch. He seems to have knack for this.

The Patriots offense started the game with a touchdown drive. The first time they've done so this season. That should be more commonplace. Starting games 7-0 has been a Patriots trademark for half a decade.

Rob Gronkowski also had a big day, he caught 5 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, the Patriots combined for 247 yards and 4 TDs. Stevan Ridley rushed for 106, and undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Bolden ran for 137.

The Patriots scored 45 points in the second half, although the flip-side of that is that they only scored 7 in the first half. Their early drives were incoherent and sputtering. They couldn't string multiple positive plays together, and the Bills did a very good job of covering Brady's targets. Brandon Lloyd was covered so thoroughly that he seemed to be draped in a Buffalo Bills snuggie.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions in the first half, but the Pats were unable to capitalize on them.

The defense made some big plays, and allowed a few of them too. The pass-rush was inconsistent, and in this aerial era of the passer, any QB will find an open receiver given enough time. The Patriots secondary wasn't up to the challenge. The safeties found themselves out of position. And Devin McCourty was able to intercept two passes only because the receiver beat him but Fitzpatrick underthrew the ball.

This team has flaws. We all see them, we all know them. What irks me is when the best players on this team don't play their best. When Brady and the offense fail to take advantage of turnovers. When the kicker misses kicks under 50 yards. When receivers drop passes or fumble the ball.

For several years, the Pats haven't excelled at taking full advantage of the opportunities they have to win games. There have been crucial moments when making one simple play can dramatically increase the chances of winning the game, and the Patriots have fallen short. That worries me more than the secondary or the kicker.

The Pats host the Broncos Sunday evening.

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AP Photo