Time to thaw out the old blog

It's mid-March which means the snow is melted, spring is around the corner, and the sports world is putting us to sleep right about now. There really is no lull in pro sports that matches this time of year. Seriously, it's no coincidence that I started this blog around this time in 2008, revived it in 2009, and am picking it back up here in Spring 2010. It's the only time of the year that I find there are more questions then answers in the world of sports.

What is the Red Sox lineup going to look like on Opening Day? Are the Patriots really going to go into the 2010 season with the same porous defense and shallow receiving corps (I'm being nice here)? Will the Celtics stop playing
like a team that is resting for the playoffs in time for the beginning of the playoffs?
WTF happened to the Bruins and why can't they seem to ever turn a
corner as a franchise, when this city so badly wants
to be a hockey town again? Is Vermont
REALLY going to be the only
New England school
invited to the
Big Dance.

????

Ahh yes, March Madness indeed. If we weren't obsessed with asking/answering these questions, we wouldn't be Boston sports fans, and if we knew the answers, we wouldn't read blogs and listen to sports talk radio 24/7. But these these questions are small in scope, and the answers will really only come in time. I prefer not to join the ranks of the seemingly ever-increasing talking heads here in Boston who scream and shout their predictions and projections at anyone who will listen. I find myself asking if these "personalities" really even believe what they saying, or are they just making bold and dramatic statements to get ratings? (Ex: "Michael Felger said WHAT??!") Does it really matter who bats 6th against lefties for the Red Sox on April 5th? I'd rather take this blog in an entirely different direction; I'd like to think big picture. My goal is to simultaneously play the role of GM for all 4 of Boston's professional sports teams, explaining the roster moves that each should contemplate/make to bring glory back to the (sports) Hub. Let's be honest, the name "Titletown" harkens back to a time long, long ago, when Boston teams could do no wrong, and championships were as much a sure-thing as Martha Coakley being elected to the Senate. Oops. How times have changed. The change in fortune for our Boston teams, and the change in direction of this blog has forced me develop a new working title...

Keep an eye out for my GM reports for each of the four Boston franchises in the coming days...

Celtics are walking wounded...

The Celtics are now playing without two starters (Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo) and three key bench players (Tony Allen, Glen Davis, and Brian Scalabrine) and I can't help but feel a little responsible, as I've featured both KG and Rondo wallpapers at work over the last couple of months. So what is a worried Celtics fan to do? I found the answer this morning on www.inanemusings.com, another quality Celtics blog I read. They originally posted this last May during the playoffs, but I think it's time to pull it out again. If we have any chance of having homecourt advantage in the playoffs, it's probably going to take a LeBron James injury. So buy a voodoo doll, or at the very least, set this as your desktop background for a few days. I'm going to give it a few days on my monitors at work, and if King James goes down then I'll know there's something supernatural going on here. 

Manny rejects 2 year, $45M offer from Dodgers

Wow. Before I could even blog about how stupid the Dodgers were for essentially bidding against themselves and upping their offer for the 37 year-old malcontent, Manny and his agent Scott Boras ripped up the overly generous contract, leaving many wondering if Ramirez will be on the field for any team on Opening Day. 

I've hated on Scott Boras before, but now I'm really beginning to wonder if he's completely lost his touch. Sure, he secured huge contracts for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, but both of those players were in their prime and coming off of big seasons. Besides, he only had to deal with the Yankees who have no problem overpaying. 

Boras seems to be having a hard time adjusting his clients' expectations to fit within the current economic climate, which has lead every team besides the MF'in Yankees to tighten payroll. In the cases of Jason Varitek and Manny Ramirez, the expectations have far exceeded the actual offers. 

Varitek ended up taking a 50% paycut. Whether Ramirez will even be employed this season remains to be seen. 

Luckiest shot ever?

If you didn't see this play, prepare to be amazed. 

With 1.8 seconds on the clock, Devin Harris receives the inbound pass, takes 1 dribble, and attempts a heave from about 65 feet. He's fouled pretty obviously on the play by Iguodala (no call), the ball comes loose, bounces off of both players' chests and somehow ends up right in Harris' hands again. In one motion he regains possession and tosses in an absolute swish from halfcourt.  Wait, why am I giving you the play-by-play? Just watch for yourself:

"Softball Guy"

If you've ever played in a men's softball league, you probably played with/against at least one guy like this, who just took things way too seriously.  If you happen to have "that guy's" email address, tell him he better start getting ready for the season, because the real diehards already have!

 

This video makes me wish Southbridge Softball Association would serve hot dogs at the games and allow beer drinking in the dugout!

Don't mess with Christian Bale

This isn't the sort of news I typically cover, but I heard this on the radio this morning and I thought the world needed to hear this. Someone working on the "Terminator Salvation" set captured this audio of Bale berating the director of photography for apparently walking onto the set during the filming of a scene. I imagine these sort of mistakes happen once in a while during the many months required to film a movie of this magnitude, but judging from Bale's reaction, only an unprofessional, no-talent hack would EVER dare to interrupt one of his scenes. 

The audio runs 3:45, but you'll probably get the point after the first 30 seconds. All I can say is what a douche bag. Simma down nah Christian!

He's baaaack!

So sometime between last night and this morning it dawned on Jason Varitek that he had no other offers out there, and that if he didn't accept the Sox offer, he was going to make exactly $0M this season. 

Boston.com is reporting the Sox have signed Varitek to a one-year contract with an option. Varitek will earn $5 million in 2009, with the club holding a $5 million option for 2010. If the Red Sox do not pick up that option, Varitek has the choice of remaining with the club on a $3 million deal. 

He'll be overpaid in 2009, but not nearly as overpaid as he was in 2008. And this signing will give the Sox time to find their catcher of the future. Hopefully Jason doesn't come to camp with a chip on his shoulder, or with his tail between his legs feeling sorry for himself. If Jason wants to perpetuate his image as the consummate professional, he will turn down the opportunity to discuss the contract negotiations entirely, and bust his ass to get into great shape for the start of the season.