Random Thoughts

Well it looks like we got the last laugh in this whole Manny fiasco. Because while Manny will be golfing or grilling or staring at the wall tomorrow we'll still be playing baseball. I guess he needed us a little more than we needed him after all.

PS - Am I the only one who felt bad for Nomar that he made the last out last night? Why do bad things happen to good people?

I think I speak for all Patriots fans when I say that my immediate reaction to seeing Monty Beisel fall on a blocked punt in overtime to give the Cardinals a win over Dallas Sunday was "Monty Beisel is still in football?!!!" Honestly, I'm stunned by this news. I had no idea. Beisel was not only THE worst free agent pickup of the Belichick/Pioli Dynasty (at least among those players not named Duane Starks), his only notable Patriots moments were:

1. Getting decleated by Giants (and giant) backup QB Jared Lorenzen in a preseason game while the Giants bench doubled over with laughter. And,
2. Screaming at a Patriots' PR guy on microphone for not protecting him from the super-tough badasses Boston sports media.

Now he's not only a hero, making the play of the week in the entire NFL and putting Arizona into a tie for first in their division, according to SportsbyBrooks today, Beisel is married to Amanda Carraway, a raving smokeshow who's appearing nude in Playboy and some other site. I don't begrudge Beisel his success on the field, but where was this ability to pull tail when he was playing here? Where was the effort? First the Sox start letting the ALCS slip away from them, then the Pats go into free fall, now cruel Fate mocks us yet again.

(Pic of Jerry Thornton) (Pic of Pete Manzo)

Reader Email

 Just wondering if you could post some pics of your office or where
ever you work. It has to be better than my cube.  Maybe some pics of
the contributing writers too.

- Eric

Not quite sure why this guy wanted to see the home base, but whatever.  I'm a servant of the people so per his request I just snapped a couple photos of the old office   Awesome right?   And as far as what we look like I’m assuming you’ve seen pictures of me since I pop up from time to time on the blog.   Jerry looks like Smithers from the Simpsons except older (no joke) and Manzo looks like a young Phil Rizzuto (no joke). Hopefully this answers all your questions.

(The First Lady bought me that divider thing. That's supposed to be my cube. But as you can see I like to sneak out when she's at work and blog from the kitchen table. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.)

(That's my desk and supply closet obviously)

(That's my shirt warehouse)

Boston.com - The flames from the Red Sox' skidding season seem to be spreading. The Citgo sign that looms over Fenway Park caught fire this morning, the plastic partially melting in a small electrical blaze inside the storied sign.  Flames were actually visible from Storrow Drive during the fire, which caused $5,000 in damage, said Steve MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Boston Fire Department.

I can’t tell you how many people have sent me this story in the last hour.  I don’t understand what the big deal is? Obviously the Citgo sign caught fire.  What did you expect it to do?  Just sit there and act like nothing was happening.   It’s fucking pissed just like everybody else.   Don’t worry though Citgo Sign, we’ll be fine.   Just have faith bro.

Can you believe that Joe Madden is pitching Scott Kazmir in Game 5? Thank you very much Joe. So much for killer instinct huh?  Because make no mistake about it, this pretty much counts as a forfeit in my book.   I mean Scott Kazmir has been horrible lately and now he is matched up against the only guy who actually has been able to shut down the Devil Rays this series in Dice K.   This has blowout city written all over it.   Listen, Madden can give whatever rationale he wants, but I see what he’s doing here.   It’s obvious he was afraid to pitch his ace vs. Daiske and potentially lose another tight game and then have to go back to Tampa with his worst pitcher going in Game 6.     Suddenly he could be staring Jon Lester and Game 7 right in the face.   He probably pissed himself in fear thinking about this situation.  So instead of risking it he decided to hold Shields back to face Beckett who has been awful all playoffs and create the dream matchup for the Devil Rays.     It’s actually not a bad plan unless of course Beckett wakes up and becomes Josh Beckett again.    Then it’s lights out Tampa Bay and hello Dynasty.          

Oklahoma-- A Marble City School teacher was accused Tuesday of having sex with a 13-year-old boy and sending him explicit photos and text messages. Stephanie Diane Harris, 27, of Sallisaw was charged Tuesday with first-degree rape and three counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology, according to court records... The boy told police that during the month of June a teacher from Marble City School, identified as Harris, began text messaging him on his cellular phone... Harris text messaged him several times between June 22 and Aug. 14. On June 24, Harris allegedly text messaged the boy, asking him if he would have sex with her. The boy allegedly agreed and left the home he was at when he received the message and began walking down the road. He told police that Harris pulled up and picked him up in her personal vehicle, and took him to her home... and Harris began kissing him. The two then went into a bedroom and began having sex...Between June and August, Harris allegedly sent the boy five photographs of herself in a text message. The boy described photos being of Harris' vaginal area, her nude breasts and one of her breasts while wearing a bra or bathing suit top.

You might be inclined to think that 13 years old is still pretty young for a kid. But one of the tenets of Judaism holds that 13 years old is the so-called Age of Majority, when a boy becomes a man. That at 13, a kid becomes old enough to make mature, rational judgments. That said, what the hell is this kid's major malfunction? I hate to sound like a cranky old man, but I'll tell you one thing. When I was 13, and a horny teacher sent you text messages that she wanted to pick you up and bone you and pix messages of her vaginal area and breasts, you didn't go running to the cops about it. I guess I just don't understand kids nowadays.

The Grades:
Looks: Eeeh... Not horrible, not great. About 12 beers plus a few shots on the Beer Goggle Scale. But a 9 to a kid in the "Drake and Josh" demographic. Grade: C-.
Moral Compass/Bad Judgement: Nothing ups your grade here like incriminating evidence. How was Steph to know boys like to hang onto pictures of vaginas and breasts? Grade: A+.
Intangibles: You have to love Ms. Harris for her signature move: Texting a kid to ask if he wants to get laid. Like there's more than one answer. Grade: A.
Overall: B-. Nice effort, but as always, you can't coach looks. (Thanks to Matthew for the story.)

Boston.com - Keith O'Connor of East Longmeadow regrets not having Manny Ramirez in the Red Sox lineup. "They [Red Sox management] treated Manny as a product," O'Connor said. "So he treated them like a business."

What is this guy a philosphy major or something? Dude shut the fuck up and take the shirt off unless you're sneaky rooting for Tampa Bay or something. Seriously how do you wear a fake Manny shirt to a playoff game? Just dumb. I mean it would be one thing if I wore my authentic Phil Plantier jersey, but a Manny shirt? Like I said it makes it seem like you're either rooting for the Devil Rays or are the cheapest bastard on planet earth. Either way it's a poor choice. Fenway security shouldn't have even let him in the park.

This video has been everywhere the past couple days. Now it's here. Anyway the moral of this story is this is why you don't play games to 2. Hell I could beat Michael Jordan in a game to 2. Everything has to be to at least 7. Everybody knows this.

Click Here For the Answer

Ken Rosenthal on FoxSports: The Red Sox look very white. The trade of left fielder Manny Ramirez and loss of shortstop Julio Lugo to injury left the Sox with a predominantly Caucasian roster. Why bring this up now, with the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series? Well, the free-agent market will open in about a month. The makeup of the Red Sox's roster could be a concern for players they pursue, whether it's this offseason or in the future.

Of the Red Sox's current players in the ALCS, the only African- American is outfielder Coco Crisp. The only Latin Americans are designated hitter David Ortiz, who is from the Dominican Republic, and utility infielder Alex Cora and reliever Javier Lopez, both of whom are from Puerto Rico. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is Native American. Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima are from Japan. Reliever Manny Delcarmen is of Dominican descent, and injured third baseman Mike Lowell was born to Cuban parents in Puerto Rico... a perception has long existed among some African-American athletes that Boston is hostile to players who are not white... The question is whether the Red Sox will lose players they want because of the makeup of their club, the perception of the city or both.

I don't know what to address first: The towering, monumental wrongness of this notion that we're hostile to minority players or the fact that sportswriters are still perpetuating this myth. So I'll take them in order.

Let's try to make sense of what's being said here. The Red Sox are a predominantly white team. Except for all the non-white players in a clubhouse that looks more like the United Nations than one of Tom Yawkey's old rosters. The owners may or may not steer away from signing minority players because the people of Boston are racist. Except for the fact that Papi is the most beloved player in team history, Dice-K is a cultural phenomenon, fans demanded the team bring back Lowell last season and guys like Ellsbury and Crisp are popular way out of proportion to what they've accomplished on the field. But still, we only embrace white players. OK, Pedro's diva-ishness was always more popular than Schilling's know-it-all windbaggery, but still. And the fact that the current Left Fielder is white is because the old, Dominican-born Left Fielder (who was wildly liked despite the 10 million reasons he gave the fans NOT to like him) shot his way out of town doesn't count. We're still guilty. So there's no use in defending ourselves by pointing out the popularity of the Celtics (without Brian Scalabrine Mania gripping the Hub), our utter disregard of NASCAR or the dozens of black Patriots players who love playing here. The Sox owner who croaked 25 years ago was a racist so we all are and always will be. No point in denying it.

But really what this article is is just another death spasm of the old media, who continue to with the same tired old story lines regardless of their merit. Sox fans are racist. Belichick is mean. The Sporting News runs a cover article about Boston and has Dan Shaughnessy write it about curses and Loserville and the Fellowship of the Miserable. None of these old media dinosaurs is capable of adapting to the new environment. It's pathetic. But maybe I shouldn't criticize these guys. After all they're white.

PS - Did I mention that despite all this Ken Rosenthal wrote the exact opposite thing about the Red Sox on May 27th when discussing Mets General Manager Omar Minaya and how he only signs Hispanic players.

The Red Sox are a better example of a melting pot, but they are not just a cultural melting pot. The Sox are a blend of players young and old, gifted and ordinary, wealthy and hungry. The pieces — from Manny Ramirez to Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka to Jonathan Papelbon — could not be more disparate. But somehow, under the leadership of manager Terry Francona, they all pull toward a common goal.

Umm this was from May 27th of 2008! If I didn't read this with my own two eyes I would have said it was impossible for anybody to contradict themselves this much within the span of 4 months. The only explanation is that Ken Rosenthal must have some sort of disease.

Seriously this is why I don't ride the bus anymore. Too dangerous. Apparently this guy was okay by the way which I find hard to believe, but I won't question it.

What I’m about to say is far from breaking news.   But did people know that Mila Kunis is dating Macaulay Culkin?  Yeah Macaulay Fucking Culkin!  And apparently they have been dating for like six years now.  What the fuck?Where have I been?  More importantly how do you go from getting diddled by Michael Jackson to dating this piece of ass? This totally ruins my crush on Mila Kunis.   Seriously can she please dump him already and date an athlete or a good looking dude or somebody who didn’t have Michael Jackson’s dick inside of him?  Is that too much to ask?    Honestly I can’t believe I’m sneaky jealous of Macaulay fucking Culkin.   I’m fucking pissed.

Well if this grueling 7 game ALCS with Tampa Bay has taught us anything it is that the Yankees are totally and completely fucked for the foreseeable future.    Because the Drays aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and neither are we.  So that means the Yankees are always going to be odd man out.  Because there is no way they are better than us and there is no way they are better than them.    I’m talking it may be 10 years before the Bombers are back in the playoffs.    So as much as it sucked for Red Sox fans to sit through games 3 and 4, it must have been twice as depressing for New York fans.    I mean even the most optimistic Yankee fan has to know that they can’t compete in the AL East anymore.   Sad day for Yankee fans indeed.

Oh and as far as the rest of the ALCS goes, wake me up when we lose game 4.   Because according to my records every time we’ve been down 3-1 in the ALCS this century we’ve come back not only that series, but win the whole god damn thing.    In other words now we really have Tampa Bay right where we want them.  And for anybody who says this year is different I say bullshit.   19-8 in Game 3 vs. the Yankees felt much more helpless than this.   This is just like a mosquito bite or something. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

More Angelique here...

Who do you want to Wake Up with? Ub@barstoolsports.com

 More Angelique here...