Since Neither of Us Posted in a Week...

Well the title says it all. Since neither of us posted in a week I feel the need to throw something up. I am going to totally rip off the Sports Guy here (you know, kinda like me and Greech do on a regular basis) and steal his Random Thoughts column idea. So here goes nothing:

-Congratulations to Mariano Rivera for yet another standing ovation at Fenway Park during last weekend's series. At this point, he could end up in the Hall wearing a Sox cap. I believe it's now 12 blown saves against the Beantown Bombers. Got to watch the latest one at Gillian's in Boston and I'll tell you this; seeing Crisp and Cora drive in the tying and winning runs was great. Seeing Hideki Okajima stand up to the Big Bad Yanks and close out the 9th was indescribable. That was a make or break moment for Okie, and he showed he can be the other go-to guy in the 'pen along with Pap.

-Have to say, one of my favorite moments of the weekend was Dice-K throwing at A-Rod and Jeter. One word describes it: balls. You have to love a guy that has no problem throwing at the hottest hitter in the game, and one of the most notoriously clutch hitters of the past decade. And I read a column today about the two ABs. Dice-K tipped his cap to A-Rod after hitting him, but did not tip after hitting Jeter. Now for those who haven't seen "Mr. Baseball" the tipping of the cap is a symbol of apology to the hitter saying it was not intentional. Basically what Dice was saying was "up yours Jeter". And since apparently no one else gets it, PITCH A-ROD INSIDE. Look at almost all of his homeruns. Middle of the plate and outside. He owns the outer half right now. Throw one up and in and he panics. And then when he panics, Jeter panics a little. And when Jeter panics, the entire Yankee organization falls apart right down to that guy that sings God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch.

-Back-to-back-to-back-to-back homeruns for the Sox. Ouch. And none of them were even questionable. You knew they were gone the second the left the bat. For the record, Chase Wright has been sent down to the minors, and probably won't be seen again until the episode of 60 Minutes that focuses on his mental breakdown that ended up with him institutionalized.

-For those who care, Danny Mac had a stronghold on first place for the past week and a half in our fantasy league. To no one's surprise, that stronghold is gone. I blame it on Nick Swisher for pulling a hammy, and Rich Harden going on the DL. They are easily the heart and soul of my team. Also, thanks to David Wright for his current 2-for-23 slump. Great 2nd round pick on my part there.

-Take a look at the AL East standings if you get a chance and lemme ask you this; when's the last time the Yanks were behind the Jays, O's, AND D-Rays all at the same time??

-On a quick serious note, R.I.P. David Halberstam. I was pre-journalism so I know the impact Halberstam had on America. He won a Pulitzer for questioning the entire U.S. Government during Vietnam. And then for the hell of it he went into the sports writing field and rattled off a few classics. I haven't read "Breaks of the Game" but everything I hear say it's a must read for NBA fans (heads up Greech and Hemi). I did get the chance to read "The Teammates", about Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky, which I can highly recommend. And my first Halberstam read was "October 1964", a look at the 1964 World Series between the Yanks and the Cardinals. Search the 'net folks you'll find some great tributes to Halberstam and the impact he had on America and the sports world.

-And now let's go to my "almost favorite moment of the weekend". Sitting at Gillian's on Friday night for the Rivera blown save, in the 8th inning there were 2 on and 0 out with Pedroia coming up. I looked at my buddy Sean and said pinch-hit Wily Mo. He laughed, I explained the whole "either K or HR theory to avoid a DP." The move was made, I texted Greech at the game saying BALLGAME...Wily struck out hackin'. What no one realizes is that some poor guy outside the Prudential was about 18 inches away from being killed by a screaming game-winning line drive. And this leads me to my theory on Pena, one which I've explained to the boys: Wily Mo just needs some Rec Specs. Think about it. Swings and misses by 3 feet, but when he connects he kills the ball. Can't judge a fly ball for his life. Put some Horace Grant goggles on him and start carving his name on the MVP trophy.

-Another big Sox/Yanks weekend coming up, this time in NY. I haven't looked at the pitching matchups yet, but unless the Yanks have Whitey Ford, Catfish Hunter, and Roger Clemens making their returns to the Bronx, don't be surprised if another sweep happens. Well, unless Tavarez is one of our starters then we pretty much forfeit one. Luckily, I see Jon Lester up in the bigs before Memorial Day, so the rotation will be that much stronger soon.

-Our boy Leps made a great point the other night; Dice-K (along with most of New England) hates Julian Tavarez. Watch next time the show Dice-K in the dugout with his translator. Julian does not leave him alone. Always right by his side joking around, and Dice looks like he's getting ready to boot him Chan Ho Park style. You can almost hear Dice asking his translator "who the hell is this guy, what the hell is he talking about, and what the hell language is he speaking, and can we please get him traded now??"



Thats all I got for now. I'm sure Greech is due to bust out a post soon so stay tuned. Little trip to the Electric City this weekend to see our boy Lee, so there might not be anything new 'til early next week. As usual, if you wanna drop us an email, we're at thesportshub@gmail.com