I’m taking the Saints to win. SML (StartMattLeinart) and MVPork are taking the Colts to crush the hopes of a region that nobody can really hate. Unless your name is Manning, or you are from Indianapolis, you’ve gotta be pulling for the Saints (even if you think they’ll lose by two touchdowns).
Go Saints.
11 days.
Done.
Casey Kelly (who had better be f#$%ing good)
In what has become, to me at least, one of the signs of impending spring, the Red Sox announced yesterday their list of non-roster players who will none the less get an invite to Spring Training. After my annual disappointment of not seeing my name on the list (I’m not quite so deluded to believe that I’d be on the 40-man roster), I took a look and was pretty happy with what I saw. In addition to prospects such as Josh Reddick, Junichi Tazawa, Jose Iglesias and Mark Wagner, all of whom are already occupying places on the roster, Casey Kelly, Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson and Luis Exposito (supposedly the catcher of the future), the prized prospects who the team isn’t willing to give up for Adrian Gonzalez (who I really don’t want to mention again until Peter Gammons says it’s a done deal), will be at least making an appearance at the big league spring training site this March.
I can't believe that our best everyday prospect still has zits.
Notable exceptions are Ryan Westmoreland, who is entering only his second full season of pro ball and some say is the best of the group but isn’t mature enough in his game to go to the big league camp, and Raymond Fuentes, the first round pick who is Carlos Beltran’s cousin and in the same situation as Westmoreland.
The guy on the list that I am most excited about is Randor Bierd. Not because I think he can be a contributor, or because he gives us bullpen depth, but because he is named Randor. He sounds like a character out of Xena Warrior Princess or Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (which was a really weird show that never really hit it’s stride because it didn’t have a big name star, but had a solid concept and not altogether horrible writing).
Doesn't this look like more like a Randor Bierd than the guy on the right does?
I would love to be able to put up the headline “Fear the Wrath of Randor” after he has a great game, or “Randor is the Harbinger of Doom” if he reaches Rudy Seanez level of bullpen failure.
I know it’s not likely that he makes the big club, especially with Boof Bonser occupying the requisite “name that nobody believes is spelled right the first time they see it” spot on the club, but, if he ever does get in there, the options are limitless.
Go Sox.
12 Days.
Done.
There isn’t much to say about National Signing Day that hasn’t already been scathingly reported… It’s unnecessary hype that has been unnaturally put upon a bunch of high school student athletes (tons of which will be busts at the college level) that could only screw with their heads.
We are at an unfortunate crossroads with National Exploitation Day in that it has gained enough mass and independent gravity that it cannot be stopped. The day involves a bunch of remarkably oversized teenagers going in front of a zillion cameras, on the other side of which, is a completely degenerate mob of unorganically conjured viewership.
Eff national signing day.
That is all.
StartMattLeinart
Joba Chamberlain, one of four guys who are vying for the final spot in the Yankees rotation this season, along with Phil Hughes (whose emergence in the eighth inning was one of the primary reasons for their run), Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves (who was a crappy reliever), told reporters what he though of GM Brian Cashman’s offseason moves yesterday, and was generally very kind to them. Except forRandy Winn. (My thoughts in italics)
“I think Curtis (Granderson) is going to be great for us because he’s going to be in a different role than he was in Detroit,” said Chamberlain, perhaps alluding to the possibility of Granderson playing leftfield (Where Johnny Damon had similar numbers to what he’ll put up next year) . “Having Javy (Vazquez) come back and having something to prove, I think that’s going to be big for us, too (Remember last time, When he gave up that grand slam to Damon in Game Seven of the Greatest Collapse in Baseball History?). Nick Johnson being here, a guy that can get on base for us and do those things (if he can stay in the lineup for more than four days at a stretch), and Randy Winn’s been at the game a long time.”
Not Exactly Tim Tebow's Bible Verses
My favorite part of that whole thing was the last part. “Randy Winn’s been at the game a long time.” Not in the game, at the game. And all he can say about the guy is that he’s been around a long time. Like as if he just showed up at a game one day and never left, or he’s Milton from Office Space and they can’t get rid of him. This is the same Randy Winn that was the best player on those awful Devil Rays teams of the late 90’s and has been floating around stinking up the joint ever since. Last year Winn had 2 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .262 average, not bad, except for the fact that the guy he’s replacing (or who his signing shut the door on) had 24 bombs, 17 of those at home, where he won’t be playing any more, 82 RBIs and hit .282. You have no idea how excited I am to see him hitting in the two hole (hey-0) instead of Damon.
It’s good to hear that I’m not the only one who thinks the whole situation there in the New York outfield has been botched. But hey, I hope all those Yankees fans are excited for the dangerous Brett Gardner/Randy Winn duo out there in center.
Go Sox.
15 Days.
Done.
Leinart Reign: No wait... that's just beer.
First, let me just recognize: Kurt Warner has retired. He’s a guy with a really cool story, from bagging groceries to leading the Greatest Show on Turf and even getting crushed by the Patriots in the Super Bowl… he’s a Hall of Famer. PLUS… his wife must know the nipple trick referenced in The Wedding Singer because he has been married to the same woman since entering the NFL, which is worth noting this day in age, especially because she is shades of Frankenwoman.
Matt Leinart: The Anti Tebow
And so fate has opened the door for the career of Matt Leinart, who after he was photographed groping two women (at the same time) in a New York night club after the Heisman Trophy presentation, went on Dave Letterman… not to deny it, but to tell the world the truth: “What? I’m in college and I was wasted.”
When asked of his girlfriend at USC, he indeed confirmed: “We’re not married.“
He’s like… the Christina Aguilera of dudes.
It just gets better.
So that’s the coolest thing that has happened in the world of sports in the last 8 days… there are a few tide-me-over sports going on right now… the Celtics and the Bruins both suck right now… and in an effort to boost ratings for the Pro Bowl, Goodell moved the game to before the super bowl and declared it “Super Bowl Week”… but it just sucks outside. The Pro Bowl in general is just asinine. Not a single one of the NFL players are interested in actually playing the game… and 14 of the selected players weren’t even eligible to be there (they’re in the Super Bowl). They should just announce the Pro Bowl selections and send each one of them and their families to Hawaii for the week.
Chad Ochocinco: Snuggie, bitches.
Colts media day is currently in progress and the most exciting thing hasn’t happened yet… I am yet to see any representatives from the recently formed Ochocinco News Network (OCNN), which has gotten Chad Ochocinco a bunch of press passes and party invitations… He’s freakin hilarious… oddly enough has never won a championship…
With more as the week progresses,
StartMattLeinart
He'll probably be doing this in Minnesota for a long time.
It is with much sadness that I report that Joe Mauer will likely not be getting$12 billion from the Red Sox next winter. John Heyman of SI.com is reporting that Mauer, who has two more batting titles than any catcher in the past really long time, and the Twins (who are the team he grew up watching, so it’s kinda cool) are nearing an agreement on an eight year deal for somewhere in the area of $180 million.
This makes resigning Victor Martinez even more important, as the Yankees are in the market for a catcher after Jorge “The Pear Shaped Bastard” Posada’s contract runs out. The Sox are said to have been already working on an extension with Josh Beckett, but this will add extending Victor to their to do list.
Of course it’s really a disappointment for those of us who had dreamed of seeing Mauer, who may be better at baseball than Albert Pujols and Chuck Norris combined, in a Red Sox uniform. I’m sad, but knowing that he won’t be terrorizing us in pinstripes for the next decade is a nice consolation prize.
So congrats, Minnesota (I’m sure our buddy MN Preacher will find some way to work this into his sermon on Sunday), you win one this time. I hope it makes you feel better until you realize that Brett Favre is the quarterback of your football team (ba-zinga).
Go Sox.
17 Days.
Done.
With the Bruins on a slide, and the Celtics just biding their time until they lose in the second round of the playoffs again (unless of course Kevin Garnett decides to start going all Ozzy Osbourne on everyone who gets in his way), there isn’t much going on around here these days. Due to the extreme ennui (vocab word) that i have been feeling with sports recently, and the lack of activity with the Sox, I’ve turned my OCD to trying to figure out what the hell is going to happen on Lost. Last season kind of lost me, but knowing that everything will be answered in the last 18 episodes brings me right back in. It starts with two hours of awesome on Tuesday, but to tide me over until then, I’ve been reading every nutjob’s predictions that I can find on the internet (including some racy ones that resemble the Bloodhound Gang’s “A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying” more than an episode of Lost). this video though, is by far, the coolest thing I have seen:
This is gonna be freaking awesome, unless they don’t give us all the answers and instead try to con us out of more time money and brain cells by making a spin off (think “Joanie loves Chachi” with Hurley and Sayid. Ewwww.)
Go Sox.
21 Days. (Only Three Goddamn Weeks)
Done.
Just keep saying it……..It’s all gonna be O.K.
Go Sox.
23 Days.
Done.
Pearl Jam Is Great.
What? Nothing happened today, so there’s nothing to write about. At least the Cs beat the Clippers so they aren’t as bad as the Bruins.
Go Sox.
24 Days.
Done.
