Here are some highlights from the interview:

What do you do if you’re the Red Sox this offseason?

If I’m Boston and I have money to spend, I’m going to sign Bay and trade for Felix Hernandez or Halladay.

The beauty of [Halladay] is, from Boston’s angle, and I’m not as versed in this … If I’m Boston, I would end up at the trading deadline package, because I think that’s a slight dump for them now. And I don’t want to get into a bidding war with prospects. I would give them three foundational players to bring a Halladay in here, because I think that makes you a perennial 100-win team and a potential October lock with the three of those guys.

Halladay makes all the sense in the World. What would you give up for him?

I think it’s going to take three marquee, franchise prospect names. I think you’re looking at a Buchholz, a Kelly, somebody else. I don’t know how they feel about them. … I think what helps right now is [Jed Hoyer] being in San Diego. … I think it’s an advantage and a disadvantage for both sides, in that he understands the value that Boston has in its prospects. He knows exactly who to ask for in a potential deal for Adrian Gonzalez.

But I feel like you’re moving potential pieces around to make that happen, as opposed to a Bay and a Holliday filling in some holes. If you bring Gonzalez here, you’re looking at moving Mike [Lowell] or DHing him. I’m not sure you want to platoon Ortiz and Lowell at the DH spot, the third base spot, and all the things that go along with that.

If the Sox don’t re-sign Bay, Boras — the agent for Matt Holliday — will have the hammer.

This is [Boras’] Super Bowl. He milks it for everything, obviously to the benefit of his players. But the benefit of his players is not always to the benefit of the game.

Where will Bay end up?

It really depends. I will never in my life discount the Yankees from anything ever, again. The hard part, when they get into the bidding, is not necessarily the dollars, but it’s always the years. They always seem to be willing to go one more year than anyone else. I think Theo has made it very clear that they don’t mind paying market value for a player as long as they’re not paying for that player longer than he’s useful to the club. They feel the years are a much bigger piece of the pie than the whole dollars thing.

On Matt Holliday

I don’t agree that Matt can be the player in the American League that he was in the National League. I put a lot of weight in the fact that he didn’t perform as well [in Oakland].

A big ballpark, to me, couldn’t affect your batting average as much. Obviously, there’s more foul territory there and it does have some impact. But I don’t know that he’s the impact player with the numbers that he was in the National League over here in the American League.

The Sox know what they have with Bay. Holliday is unknown, and introduces the Boras factor.

If I’m going to go out and spend the years and the money that we’re talking about spending, I don’t want to have any questions. I would argue that the slump Jason went through last year was every bit an aberration. I’ve seen him. I’ve competed against him. It was an unusually long slump for many different seasons. I don’t think you can expect that, year-in, year-out. At the end of the day, I’m looking at a guy who I know is playing in this market, who can perform in October, who at the end of the season is going to be 30 and 110. I’m confident that offensively he’s going to be a better player next year than he was last year.

The transcript follows. To hear the interview, check the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

You knew before that game began that Pedro was in trouble, didn’t you?

He was going to have issues.

Against that team, it was going to be tough.

In October, yes. It’s such as tough time for a guy who has become more of a contact pitcher to keep things down. Obviously, he didn’t have anything last night. And it was a struggle.

Put last night into some some of meaningful context for us … as distasteful as that may be for you to do.

Oh, Jeez, let’s all cheer up because A-Rod’s come full circle now. He’s got his ring, he’s complete, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Listen, they’re used to it, and they have to accept the fact that no one outside New York is even remotely happy today. OK, the Yankees won. Move on. When does spring training start? When do we sign free agents? I don’t know. … That’s [Derek] Jeter’s fifth ring, wow, that’s impressive. Johnny [Damon], who I think everybody wrote off early — “That contract is going to be a bad one” — it’s turned about to be a situation now where he might end up getting a multiyear deal again from the Yankees. He certainly had an impact year in the sense that it’s going to have some impact on the Jason Bay thing and whether New York becomes a serious player. But beyond that, no. I love to see Mariano Rivera, I’m a fan. And Eric Hinske as well. So, it’s a personal thing for me. I think for players maybe. I don’t know that I’m really friends with anybody in my life that wants any team in New York to ever win anything.

Dissect for us if you can the phenomenal success and longevity of Mo Rivera.

On one pitch. It’s unprecedented. I think anybody can comfortably say that he’s the greatest closer in the history of the game. And to be the greatest closer in the history of the game on one pitch, it’s just one of those things that’s really hard to quantify and explain.

We were reminded of how much fun [Pedro] really was and how entertaining he really was. And I decided it’s a shame we had to bring you to Boston and run him out of town. Why did you do that?

Here’s the thing about that, though. This is from a player’s perspective. I’ve played with a couple of guys in my life that were first-ballot Hall of Famers, Pedro being one of them. And he wasn’t a player that etched that Hall of Fame monument when I played with him. But as a player, you see that funny-ha-ha stuff and the from-the-heart stuff in a different light [because] you’re living with these guys every day. And there’s things that happen behind the scenes that aren’t fun and cool. And you watch people that you care about and people that you know respect the game get disrespected. You guys remember, when Pedro was here, Pedro played by different rules. And Pedro, to a degree, earned the right to play by different rules. But players that play by different rules and take advantage of those, that’s probably the only reason I ever had issues with Pedro. And it was not a big deal, I know people are going to make it a bigger deal than I’m making it. But the amount of respect and admiration and the loyalty and friendship I have with [Terry Francona] … I saw some things, from Opening Day leaving the ballpark in Tito’s first game here. There’s just little, crappy, dumb stuff. But you know what, you never questioned the guy’s heart and commitment and the fact that he was going to leave it on the field every fifth day. As a teammate, that’s all I ever asked from anybody I ever played with, and there are very few guys I played with that didn’t give me that.

By and large, was it how Pedro treated other people, or how he expected to be treated and have his own set of rules and show up for a start whenever he wanted to show up, that kind of thing?

I think you guys know, I always felt like with Pedro it was how he was treated. I think it would be hypocritical of me to get on that when you’re talking about a guy, and a bunch of guys, you’re talking about Dominican players, who come from a very different environment. I read something he said yesterday or the day before about that Latin players or Dominican players grow up in a world of survival. I’ve been to the Dominican and played winter baseball. While it certainly has changed, it is a very different life there. These kids, it’s baseball, or crime, or an incredibly low … So, they go through and endure things to get to the big leagues that none of us could even dream of. So, I certainly can’t comment to his mindset and mentality as it relates to that. And that’s a lot of what shaped Pedro, and it’s a lot of what made Pedro great. I mean, he still had a chip on his shoulder for [Tommy] Lasorda and the Dodgers his entire life. Them trading him was an immense sign of disrespect. It was also one of the stupidest trades in the history of the game.

Could you win 12 games in the National League right now?

No, maybe next April.

Why would any free agent go to the American League?

That was probably as big a factor as anything [for Pedro]. When I got traded from Philadelphia, the initial deal that I had gotten traded from Philadelphia for was to Cleveland. It was for [Jim] Thome, [Brian] Giles … and I actually ended up going back and nixing the deal. It had nothing to do with Cleveland. I did not want to go to the American League. I wasn’t ready mentally to go to the American League. At the same time, when I left Arizona, I hesitantly put the Yankees as the team I was mostly thinking about leaving for with a couple of other National League teams, thinking that the National League teams would be the players. When it became clear that it was going to come down to Boston or New York, for me it was like, “Oh, no.” I had to dig through that a little bit. Once I knew that Boston was going to give me the resources to prepare, I felt better about it. But it’s night and day. It is not even remotely close from a talent standpoint. No disrespect to the National League, but there are no lineups … You look at the worst team in the American League every year and they could compete to be .500 club in the National League in most years.

If J.D. Drew hits eighth here, what would he hit [in the NL]?

He’s a 2-3-4 hitter in the National League. He fits best in this league, in this lineup in Boston … especially if it’s the 150-game-a-year J.D. Drew, which is hard to get sometimes, and he’s putting his numbers up, he’s a middle-of-the-lineup hitter. But he fits in this Boston lineup in the 7-8 hole.

What keeps a guy like Pedro … consider coming back when he knows he can’t pitch and be the Pedro that he used to be?

I was asked that question a lot of times. It’s a no-brainer for me. But I can totally understand how it can be a no-brainer in the other direction. “OK, what do you want to do next year?” “Well, let’s see, I can go play professional baseball, and travel around the world on charter flights, and get paid five or six million a year to play in big league stadiums, or I can go sit under the mango tree. Having the choice, I made my choice and thank God I had the ability to make the choice I wanted to make. He does, too. If he wants to play, so what?

But what you didn’t add to that first scenario was “and perhaps embarrass myself.”

You guys all spent six months talking about Brett Favre the same way.

He’s got a half-a-season to go.

It doesn’t matter. There’s nobody that was crucifying Favre that thought that [the Vikings being] 7-1 was even a remote possibility.

What do you mean, “you guys.” What did you say?

No, you and I actually talked about that. Listen, the Brett Favre is a media whore/attention whore story is because that’s what the media reports it as. He didn’t call his own press conferences.

[Favre] put himself in the perfect position to succeed. I think Pedro did the same thing. He went to the best team in the worst league. … If he could do that again next year, why wouldn’t he do that again?

The one scenario I possibly had contemplated was coming back for the second half of this year and pitching. What I realized early in the year was I could pitch again and I could be better than I was in ‘07. I had to sit down and kind of go through the mental checklist at home. And there were no checks in the “for” box. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to. I was laughing because I was sitting around thinking about, “Jeez, I don’t want to go out in the middle of the season and work to get a job for a team if no one needs pitching,” and it turned out in the middle of the season every team I ever played for needed pitching. Once Pedro signed in Philadelphia, I thought, “Wow, that’s cool.” It played out perfectly. It was good to see him do that. Pedro brings a lot to the table when he’s committed to something, even when he’s not pitching. And I’m sure he had an impact and some influence on the young Latin players on that team, as well as the young pitchers.

Should Red Sox fans be worried about [David Ortiz' attitude toward working out in the offseason]?

No one ever questioned David Ortiz’ work ethic before April, May and June of last year. You guys always talk about the fact that, “He’s a little heavy here. Boy, he looks big there,” but no one ever questioned anything he ever did until he had that three-month absence for the most part. It depends on how much of a free pass you’re going to give him. It’s going to be an individual thing. He’s going to come back in April and he’s going to have done the work. I always felt David was always ready to play when the season started, when spring training started, so I never questioned his ability or his desire or work ethic in the offseason. And I won’t do it now. I’m sure that he earned as much about himself in that three-month stretch as anybody. And he’s going to spend this winter trying to make sure that whatever he did last winter that he thinks might help cause that three-month hiatus to go away, because the last couple of months of the season, he was as good as anyone in the league.

Do you think Charlie Manuel should have yanked Petey in the third when [Hideki] Matsui stepped up there with the bases loaded?

I don’t think it matters. It didn’t matter. So, in the third inning, they would have been going to the one thing everybody was recognizing at as a weakness, as opposed to the fourth inning. I don’t think they had a bad bullpen at all, I think they just had a bullpen that was throwing very badly at the worst time of the year.

Wouldn’t you rather have a strong J.A. Happ, who was warm?

You can question all those [decisions] you want. I don’t think it would have mattered last night. I think the Yankees were going to get the hits they needed to get, and they were going to pitch the way they needed to pitch to win that game. For [the Phillies] to come back and win two games, they needed Pedro to give them seven last night, because that bullpen was going to be the issue.

Would [the Red Sox] bring [Johnny Damon] back here? Would it be a good move?

I heard someone talking about, and I’ll go where some a couple of other people have gone: I don’t care, I don’t know, maybe, yes, it doesn’t matter. I would just love to hear that press conference. I would love to hear the, “Why did you go to New York when you said you weren’t going to go, and why the hell are you coming back here.” Knowing Johnny, I have no idea what he’d say. That would probably be as fascinating as any question ever asked at any press conference.

Should Cliff Lee have started three games?

I’m still a little puzzled by that one. But the fact of the matter is he didn’t want to. I’ve been in enough situations to know that when your ace is saying, “I want the ball, I’m good to go, I can do it” on three days’ rest, you don’t give the ball to somebody else. Not in October, no way. I think had he wanted to, he would have. But I don’t think it was something he wanted to do.

What were you thinking when you watched that [Yankees postgame celebration] last night?

I did not watch it last night. I couldn’t. But I always watched [opposing team's celebrations] for that effect alone. I wanted to first of all give respect to the guys that did it. It’s a big deal. But secondly, to remember it’s painful to watch. It’s something when you’re going home in the winter and you’re pushing the sled or you’re on the treadmill, you’re thinking through those things. There are things that push you to make sure that they don’t happen again. And that was always the reason I ended up watching any, if I watched it at all.

That’s the mindset I always felt worked for me in October. You do whatever you have to, whenever you have to, to have one more run than the other team.

From a starting pitcher’s standpoint, three days’ rest in October was never an issue, because from the time you’re 5 years old, doing that “World Series” replay in your back yard, it’s the game, the innings, the at-bats you’ve always dreamed about having the ball in your hand for.

I’ve always appreciated the respect pitching on three days’ rest in October got you, but go back to 2001, go to 2004 and beyond, and when you look at anyone pitching on three days’ rest you realize there were far bigger goings-on.

Yes, in 2001 I started three games in nine days, and, to be honest, thanks to masseuse Russell Nua and his therapy I felt better over those 48 innings than at any point in the season. But the far bigger story was an almost 40-year-old, 6-foot-10 pitcher coming in, in relief, the DAY AFTER he pitched seven innings.

In 2004 you had Keith Foulke who pitched in pretty much every single game, in insanely high-leverage innings, the entire month.

At the end of the day short rest is all about the player and his makeup. CC Sabathia? Does anyone question this kid’s desire? Goals? Motivation? After what he did in Milwaukee last year, you can’t. But this year he’s only reinforced that for me. He’s a stud, and he’s an ace. Aces take the ball on three days’ rest and make sure you — the media — understand it’s a non-issue and should be writing about more important stuff.

I always felt the other teams thought that they were going to be getting a “lesser version” of me on three days’ rest. The Yankees said as much after the 2001 World Series. I thought that gave me a huge advantage. Before they could figure out I wasn’t “less,” and didn’t have diminished stuff, we’d be in the third or fourth inning.

I guess for me it comes back to the player. I always felt the need to make sure the manager KNEW I wanted to do it, and ya, I’d put up a fight to get the shot to be able to do it. If as a player you don’t assert this, you leave the manager sitting there in a no-win, really. If he does it, and you don’t do well, it’s his fault for pushing you. If he doesn’t do it, and you lose, it’s not your fault because he didn’t ask. That’s the easy way, I think, and I’ve watched guys take it more than once. Being the “quiet type,” I never could. You may never be there again, and the belief that in October I could not be outpitched, regardless of whether it was true or not, made me push to get the ball in my hands if at all possible.

I mean, it’s the World Series, there are no more games after this, right? Nine innings in October can change the lives of every person in the organization. How cool is it to know that power rests in the ball being in your hands? Scary? Hell, yes. But that’s why it’s so damn fun. On the biggest stage, with the most on the line, let the rest of the world shrink back or cower — me? I’m good with letting it all hang out, and letting the chips fall. I’ve done my work, in the weight room and the video room, now it comes down to execution.

Sitting on the bench before heading to the bullpen to start warming up for Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, I was sitting next to Jeff Matuzas, our bullpen catcher and a good friend. In my head I’d just had a conversation with my Dad, who passed away suddenly when I was 21. I was nervous, scared as hell, really, and I can remember his voice popping into my head.

“What the hell are you afraid of? You’ve worked your ass off, you’re going to go down, get loose, and then you’re going to take the mound in front of billions of people for Game 7 of the World Series against Clemens and the Yankees. All that fluff aside, after the first pitch you are doing what you’ve loved, what you’ve done your whole life. You’ll bust your ass, give it everything you have, and hopefully you win, but at the end of this night you’ll have nothing left to give.”

When I finished the thought I was smiling, sort of laughing at how casual he was about what many consider high-stress situations.

Tooz’ looks at me, he’s literally sweating, “Dude, what the hell! How can you be smiling right now?”

“What? What’s not to smile about, man? I am starting Game 7 of the fricking World Series against Roger Clemens and the New York Yankees? How cool is that?”

He replies, “Schill, I’m the f-ing bullpen catcher and I can’t breathe.”

We laughed, got up, strolled down to the ‘pen and had a hell of a night.

Click here for the full audio and read below for some highlights.

How good was Cliff Lee last night?

He was decent. [Laughs]

What worked for him last night?

Well, you know, everybody talks about first-pitch strikes, but I learned a long time ago first-pitch strikes are great. The necessity is the strike within the first two pitches. The biggest swing in batting average against is from 2 balls, 1 strike to 1 ball, 2 strikes. You need to be 1-1 on every hitter if you’re not 0-1, and he was strike one [or] if not, ball one, strike one. I think he had more swings than misses last night than in any other start last year which says a lot. He pitched exactly how you have to pitch that [Yankee] lineup and they were swinging out of the zone a little bit more than I am used to see them do, but that’s a testament to how good his stuff was.

What is a spiked curveball? How is that different from a normal curveball?

It could be grip and by spiked your front finger is, you’re literally putting your knuckle on the ball, it’s also called a knuckle-curve. Generally, a spiked curveball is one that if you look at it from the side it kind of has a spiked trail to its movement.

Would you have pitched Pedro [Martinez] tonight in Yankee Stadium?

Hell yeah! Yeah, I mean this is good stuff. Pedro’s right. Sometimes things happen for reasons unbeknownst to us. This is poetry. He’s going to soak it in in a very big way. The thing you got to always love about Pedey is that he speaks from his heart.

A lot like you, Curt.

Well, he does and you appreciate that. You get tired of just hearing the cliche guy and they’re a necessity for some media outlets, but give me the guy who’s going to speak from his heart because that’s the guy I know is going to leave it out on the field every single time and you could never question Pedey’s commitment to what he did for a living and he’s one of the best that’s ever done it. If you talked to him two years ago when he was with the Mets and said, “Hey, two years from now, you’re going to pitch against the Yankees in the World Series,” he sure as hell wouldn’t have thought about being with the Phillies. It’s good to see, it’s exciting. It’s good for the game. It’s turned this into a kind of must-watch World Series. [The Phillies] winning last night was huge. It was huge for the television ratings.

If the Yankees win last night, 6-1, I don’t think anybody’s watching it. Tonight’s going to be a huge number because everybody’s going to be rooting against the Yankees and for Pedey.

Well, yeah, there’s a lot to the subplot of this. Players don’t hate the Yankees. There’s individually some guys you could do without. I like CC Sabathia, I’m a huge fan of his. I think he’s a great kid, he’s obviously a very good pitcher. There’s a lot more guys to like than dislike on that team, so I certainly wasn’t bringing the hatred to the game for the Yankees. I think they’ve done something pretty cool. Unlike, I’m sure, 99 percent of the fans in Boston. There’s a reason to watch now and you got a lot of New Englanders who are going to be die-hard Phillies fans for the next five, six, seven games.

So, what’s your prediction especially with A.J. Burnett?

You could get seven innings, 14 punch-outs and a hit out of A.J. tonight. You could also just as likely get 3 1/3, 7 walks, and 5 runs. He is that combustible. That’s the reason I don’t pay 85 million dollars for a guy that can give me five, six starts a year for three-four innings and that has always been the knock on A.J., was you didn’t know. I know A.J., I love him to death. I always thought from an arm standpoint he’s as good if not better than anyone in the game, but he’s never gotten to that next level. Tonight could be one of those times where he can turn the corner and become somebody for the next couple years, but against that lineup it’s going to be very hard if he’s not throwing strikes early in the count and that’s not his forte, it’s going to be very hard for him to go deep into this ballgame.

Is that the biggest thing when a guy’s got great talent, but he can’t get it?

Absolutely. I played with so many guys coming up from A-ball to the big leagues who I always look back on and say this person has far more talent than I’ll ever have and they are working 9-5’s for some point before ever getting to the big leagues. The game of big league baseball is as much, if not more about what you do outside-the-lines as much as in them because everybody has that 2-4 hours of 9 inning game time or 4 quarters of game-play. That doesn’t change for anybody, it’s those 20-22 hours between those games what you do with yourself. A lot of it for me was very much mental. I could visualize hundreds if not thousands of times before I was on the mound because baseball was everything to me. I could remember sitting at a red light at Christmas Eve in Arizona thinking about how was I going to pitch to Vladimir Guerrero next year because I spent the whole year pounding [him]. That’s how I thought. You get guys like Cliff Lee who played baseball his whole life and this is not a pressure-packed situation. This is what guys dream about. This is what separates guys in October.

If Pedro pitches the same way against the Yankees as he did against the Dodgers will that be his approach?

Pedro’s approach is Pedro is going to pitch the way he wants to pitch and the thing that separates Pedro is that he is one of the few who could ever do it, he could adjust in between pitches based on the hitter’s reaction and what he saw. I never had the perception or the ability to be that aware on the field, to watch a guy move a foot or so in the batter’s box. There’s an awareness on the field for a player that Pedro possesses. Greg Maddux was one of the other guys who could do it. I couldn’t do it. He will be a guy who will come out with a game plan, the skeleton of the game plan will be put together and he will adjust based on his stuff, the weather, how the hitter is reacting early on and whether they are aggressive early in the count or timid early in the count. Not only will he adjust, but he will adjust and execute and that’s a big difference. There are a lot of guys that can’t make the adjustment. Some of the guys that can make the adjustment can’t execute. He can do both.

What Charlie Manuel’s approach in his bullpen now hasn’t throw in 7 or 8 days?

There’s no limits on anybody in the World Series. Everybody’s available on every night, whenever you need them. I think what he’s hoping given that the weather is going to be cool it’s going to help Pedro in some ways, especially having a change-up in cold weather as opposed to a breaking-ball being a primary pitch. He’s going to hope to get six or seven out of Pedro at the most. That lineup can chew you up from a pitch count standpoint and Pedro’s going to have to have command from his fastball from the outset tonight or he’s not going to go deep in the game.

Does Cliff Lee have to change what he did in that game?

No. I think being used three times in nine days, I never changed anything about what I was doing and I remember being stunned by the post-game comments from them talking about first game they were going to wait me out and work the count and I was a first-pitch strike guy the entire year, like I was going to change all of a sudden. Second game they got aggressive and I worked off the play a little bit more. Third game they waited me out again. I was the same pitcher three games in a row and they adjusted three different times. It’s a psychological thing in October. I would argue that the World Series can be won tonight. I don’t doubt that for a second. If Philadelphia wins tonight, I cannot envision the Yankees beating them four more before the Phillies win two.

Give me an order of guys you would want on the top of your staff.

[Roy] Halladay, one. I wouldn’t even deal with any of the other ones. I love the other guys, but if I am going out at the trade deadline and if you look at the players they are going to have to give up in those deals, it’s kind of the same mix and you’re adding or subtracting a player or two in that mix, but I’m putting a horse at the top of my rotation because of Halladay, [Josh] Beckett, [Jon] Lester. You’re looking at a 115-win season. I don’t care what division you are playing in.

Is he going to use [the heat from Yankee Stadium] to his advantage?

Absolutely. I think he’s at a point, place, and time where he will be good with it. For me, that was every bit as motivational as the hometown team standing up and yelling and cheering was hearing Yankee people call me names. I enjoyed that, I loved that. I would imagine you’ll hear “Who’s your daddy?” once or twice.

How does [Brad Mills] leaving affect the Red Sox or does it at all?

Well, it’s hard to overstate what he did. Here, they [Terry Francona and Mills] run the organization from the first day of camp until the end of the season. Terry’s a great communicator, but you always have to have that guy that’s walking around the clubhouse saying, “You’re in tomorrow, you’re not playing tomorrow.” I think that’s an enormous asset Brad got exposed to being able to coach under Terry, it’s going to serve him well in Houston. It’s going to leave a gaping hole. Having said that, there’s a couple of guys in the organization and a couple of guys around the league who have an interest in coming here.

Mark McGwire. He resurfaces as hitting coach and reports are coming out that McGwire used performance-enhancing drugs. If he was trying to get away from the attention he might create, isn’t he putting himself right in the think of it?

I can’t answer it. I know Mark and I’ve always enjoyed my relationship with Mark. I assumed he was gone forever from the spotlight and I assumed that’s what he wanted. He was always a very quiet, shy guy to begin with. I don’t know. He’s obviously got reasons and my only hope and I don’t believe that’s the case either is that he’s not doing this because he has to, but I don’t know.

On Drew’s status as a run producer, and the fact that the outfielder had a relatively low RBI total in 2009:

First of all, I can tell you this. As someone who worships at the alter of statistics for baseball in preparation and approaching hitters, I can honestly tell you that not once in 19 years did I consider RBIs a relevant statistic in how I approached a hitter.

I think one of the more relevant statistics, and I think in the next five to six years it’s going to come into prominence, is RBIs per opportunities. There’s some guys that have driven in 110 runs and you can claim they had a horrific year, based on them driving in runs 35 percent of the time that they had runners in scoring position. You get guys in some offenses when literally half their at-bats in a season are with guys on second and third and less than two outs, and they should drive in 150 runs, and they end up driving in 102. And we say, ‘Oh, he had a good year – he drove in 102.’ But from an organizational standpoint, he failed far more than he succeeded.

They have statistical formulas to document everything, so that when Theo Epstein tells you he’s a tick above, I promise you, whether you like it or not or agree or not, I promise you he has data to back up the argument that makes J.D. Drew offensively, defensively and on the basepaths is worth every penny of every dollar he’s paying him. At the end of the day, his opinion is the only one that really matters.

You get a guy who hits 24 homers and hits 58 runs…He might have only had an opportunity to drive in 75 runs over the course of the season.

Did you view other power hitters as a bigger threat than Drew?

Not at all. Not at all. I’ll tell you why.

His career has been built around getting on base. You make that argument, ‘I don’t want a guy taking a walk with a runner in scoring position.’ On-base percentage is what drives … I never wanted to face the guys who were .370-plus percentage on-base guys. Generally, for the most part, those guys don’t strike out a lot. J.D. strikes out more than most. For the most part, those are the guys who, their value isn’t necessarily just getting on base every time. It’s just as much the fact that in their 0-for-2 night, they’re going to draw two walks and make the opposing pitcher throw 24 pitches, as opposed to Vladimir Guerrero, who’s going to go 0-for-4, draw no walks and make me throw five pitches. There’s a deeper value. I promise you that the depth of the statistical analysis that they do on these players to identify their dollar value is far different and far more unique and probably as off the wall as anything you’ve ever heard.

That’s what this system does when they go out to value players, and put a true, I would call it, Red Sox dollar value to a player.

What will Jason Bay be worth this offseason?

A lot. A lot. I’ll tell you why.

I know I’ve heard that from the defensive metric system that he’s got a lower value, but in Fenway Park, that’s minimized. That’s where you play 81 of your games, so it becomes less of an issue, so he becomes more valuable. You go to Yankee Stadium, you know what? That might change a little bit. I’ve always thought he was a really good athlete. I would guess that his lower defensive value has more to do with his range than anything because fundamentally, he’s a very, very good outfielder. He hits cutoff men. He doesn’t have a super-strong arm but in left field you don’t have to. In Fenway Park, that defensive metric is probably not as significant as if he was playing in Anaheim.

Take a guess about what he’ll get this offseason.

Four times 15, 16 probably. I don’t think [the Red Sox] will go that far.

Is Drew one of the top two or three outfielders in the league?

In my perception? No. But again, I don’t pay him, and No. 2, you’re talking about different value systems.

For 100 years, that was how scouts drafted players: he looks like a baseball player, he’s built like a baseball player, he’s got five tools.

Fred [Smerlas], how many guys did you play with [in the NFL] who, in the weight room or on the 40 time, you were like, ‘Oh my God,’ and then when the ball got snapped, you wanted no one but that guy next to you?

The best example on the planet are the guys playing first and second base on this team. You would not look at either of those guys before their big-league careers and say, ‘This guy is a perennial All-Star.’

On whether staying on the field is an issue for Drew.

Unequivocally, without a doubt, absolutely, yes. And it’s not just the manager. It permeates to the clubhouse. And I will tell you from having played with J.D. – listen, there’s nobody that probably was more outspoken against J.D. Drew than I was when he got drafted – I said a lot of things I should not have said. When I look back on it, it had nothing to do with J.D. It was Scott Boras.

At the time, I meant it.

I wanted them to throw batteries at him. Until I met him. He’s a guy that shows up. I’ve played with a lot of guys who I couldn’t identify with, because in their minds, they had to be 100 percent to go out on the field. And I realized when I was 22 that the last time I was 100 percent or ever would be was when I was 17. And there are some guys, they can’t play. They will not play. They don’t believe in their hard work, that they’re going to produce if they’re not 100 percent. He’s not one of those guys. But there are other guys, walking down the stairway, they can pull a muscle.
But when he’s on, you’ve seen when he’s on. He can carry a team.

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Alex Speier: The Market for Jason Bay

I knew I was going to start, but had no idea how I was going to pitch. The ankle, after having been sutured the night before, was holding up a lot better than we’d thought. I was surprised at the amount of bleeding that occurred overnight, and I am sure the maids were a bit worried when they changed my sheets that morning.

I didn’t do anything really abnormal in the day leading up to the start. I did a few more windups in my hotel room than normal, to try and push it a bit to make sure it wasn’t going to pop.

The thing I most vividly remember from the hours leading up to the start was hitting the top step in Yankee Stadium. When I went out to pitch Game 1, when I hit the top step to walk to the bullpen, my ankle buckled and the tendon popped out of place. That was the first time I knew I might have a problem.

It was about the 50th time I had faced the Yankees that year, and I knew it would be the last, so I came out of my bullpen having done some things different. Whereas I usually made sure I had fastball command and my split, I worked my ass off in that pen to get a feel for my curveball and slider right off the bat since I wanted to use them for all nine innings, instead of here and there.

In Game 6, there was no specific moment when I knew that I would make it through the game. After pitch one, I never really thought much on it. It held up I think because I never favored it, or at least never felt like I did. In watching some highlights I do notice I limped, but I never thought I was limping.

I only realized the ankle was bleeding for one reason. I received multiple Marcaine injections from April on, each start, and as the season wore on I started needing to get in-game injections as well. This game I needed to have it done again, and the Marcaine made the outer half of my foot numb (which was a whole other problem).

In doing so it made me feel as though my shoe wasn’t on right, so I kept pressing down on the bottom of my shoe to move my foot side to side to try and “feel” as if my foot was firmly in my shoe. That’s how I noticed, in about the fifth or sixth inning, that the sole of my shoe and my sock were soaked with blood. You ever walk in the rain in your socks? That’s how it felt. Problem was that it was cold out, too, so that made the blood cold and I could feel it on half my foot.

In looking back on it, the main thing I take away from that game was my mental ability to overcome anything. I got past the ankle pain and into a state of mind that had me completely focused on the game.

I probably did more damage to the ankle than I would have liked. When they opened my ankle up after the season they told me that my peroneal tendon, in addition to being dislocated, was split, lengthwise, for about five inches and wedged over the ankle bone. In a way that was a good thing because it sort of locked itself down.

I made it through seven innings, and when I was done, I sat on the bench. I’ve often talked about the spiritual experience that entire two-week period was, and after I came out of this game it really hit me hard.

I had prayed hard, never once to “win” but just to be able to compete. I couldn’t do that in Game 1 because in a spiritual and physical sense I had tried to “go it alone.” Before Game 2 I had prayed with Mike Timlin and Tim Wakefield, and I prayed ONLY for the ability to compete. I prayed for that with the belief that with the eight guys playing behind me, and my ability to pitch, I could beat them on one foot if I could just compete.

Looking back on it five years later, it was a much more meaningful event from a faith and spiritual standpoint than from a performance standpoint. I am proud of what we did that night, but I am far more excited about what I was able to experience in my relationship with Christ that night. I knew, postgame, when I started the press conference off by thanking the Lord and the entire media contingent rolled its eyes, how they were going to report it. Whatever they did, I knew they couldn’t come close to conveying what I had experienced.

My lasting memory of that game — more than anything that happened while I was on the mound — is of Keith Foulke. Every memory I have of that postseason has Keith in it. He pitched every stinking game and dominated, on fumes.

You build your team to win at home and on the road by having strength and depth in your pitching staff. Yes, you need a deep offense, and the Sox have that. But you shore up offensive weaknesses by running four to five starters out there, backed by a bullpen of setup men in the middle and closers on the end, that can pitch your team through offensive slumps. Slumps will happen. They happen to everyone. But they happen less to teams focused around offensive players who get on base.

Guys that walk 100-plus times a year will slump, the difference being that when they slump they’re still getting on base via the walk.

When talking with young pitchers, especially ones struggling early, the hardest thing to make them understand is the difference between a strike and ball four.

The OBP of a walk is 1.000, the OBP of a hitter hitting a 3-1 belt-high fastball is anywhere from .350 to .450, right? THROW STRIKES! When you have a staff of pitchers with some strikeout guys on both ends, you win more games than you lose for the most part. If that staff is backed up by a lineup of six to eight guys who generate OBPs of .340 to .350-plus, you present major problems for the league over a 162-game schedule.

Look at the Angels. They did what I didn’t think they could in shutting down the Boston offense. Lackey came through huge; so did their other starters.

But in my opinion, the series-changing player was Abreu. Having played with Bobby for a few years in Philly, it certainly didn’t shock me, nor do I think it shocked Tito. This guy is and has been a VERY good player for a long time. He gave their offense a dimension it NEVER had in years past and even just one hitter in that lineup with his makeup changed EVERYTHING from an approach standpoint. Not only that, but he had a phenomenal series.

I do think Jason Bay is a huge piece to the Sox being good again, but at the same time, cementing that staff will ensure they are good again. They’ll put an offense centered around Petey and Youk out there again, and with Jacoby improving as much as he has, there isn’t a ton left to fix there. Victor will now sit in the middle of that lineup as well. If they can run that offense out there with an emerging Lester, an ace in Beckett, they’ll be good, real good, again.

1. Umpires that are in consistent spats with coaches, players.

Both coaches and players, for the most part, understand the job is hard as hell while hoping they (the umpires) know it’s the height of competition, adrenalin and testosterone during a game. The REAL good ones — Ed Rapuano, Terry Tata and a few others — they know that and they ALWAYS give you a chance to calm down and back off. The Greg Gibsons of the world are LOOKING for ANY chance to confront players. I’ve always felt it had more to do with a small [man] mentality than anything. These guys HATE players — Gibby does anyway — and they make sure to let you know that ASAP in any way they can. They will LOOK to make an impact call to draw attention, never getting that no one is there to see them, ever.

(FWIW, I don’t think C.B. is that guy. I don’t think C.B. is trying to draw attention to himself, I just don’t think he’s a very good ump and in his tenure in the big leagues has not improved even a little.)

2. When both hitters and pitchers are bitching.

Look, I loved, LOVED big strike zones. I never game-planned for one, but I sure as hell loved balls being called strikes. When I got them, great. Hitters are the reverse. Where we never differed was in our desire for consistency.

Large or small zone, my ONLY ask was that Strike 1 be Strike 3. You have the human element, and everyone understands that, that’s why I always knew that umps like Joe West were NOT going to give me a makeup call, they made their mistakes and moved on. Some others you KNEW for a fact would make up a bad call as soon as they could, both ways.

The MLB umpiring system is the most flawed thing in the sport. There is very little oversight or demand for a major league level of performance. Their out has been QuesTec and its scoring system, which I think most know my thoughts on.

I have an immense amount of respect for Sandy Alderson, but I think he’s failed horribly at implementing a system to FORCE umpires to improve their performance in the major leagues.

You can find the full audio here.

Are the Angels 0-5 all time in Game 1 of the ALDS because they do not have the killer number one guy and they are going up against killer number ones?

Yeah. I think that is the bigger piece. Last night was I think and important and reinforcing example for anybody that doesn’t believe it. Chris Carpenter, who is arguably one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, potentially going to be a Cy Young award winner, is a contact guy. At the end of the day he is not strikeout pitcher, he is a power-sinker, ground ball guy and we saw what happened last night with LA. You have to be a pitch-away-from-contact, strikeout guy to dominate in October. You can have your occasional good games.

You have a 162 game season and are dead tired at the end of the season – snap one of the playoff season and it’s like the first day of the year. There is an adrenaline and an energy that comes, nobody how tired you are, that I felt gave me an enormous advantage as a power pitcher going into the post season.

So, if your power pitcher is better than their power pitcher, it is much more of an advantage.

Yup, it really is. The power pitching, the strikeout guys. And if you look at those first five Game 1 losses you are not going to see a power guy starting for the Angels.

How important is it for Beckett to pitch well in this series. Can they win without him?

Yeah, but it is incredibly important because they are trying to win the World Series. I am not worried about Josh not doing well, I really am not.  I would be stunned if he doesn’t do well, but, as I said earlier on WEEI.com, watch the first time around the lineup . . . and I say the first time around the lineup because I don’t believe the Angels starting pitching is going to be able to exploit a first inning run to the point of winning this series. But, watch the Sox first three starters in Jon, Josh and Clay, their fastball command the first time around is going to be probably a telling sign as anything.

Is the Angels speed that big a factor?

Are they? Because they haven’t in the past. Look at the series we played them in ’04 and ’07 and they didn’t run. I mean, they didn’t have a ton of base runners, but when they did they didn’t run. Opportunity, obviously, has to present itself. And, it is a different lineup this year because you do have a Bobby Abreu, who, Bobby is a four at-bat, 30 pitch guy through the course of a game and they haven’t really had that guy. Before they had Garret Anderson and Vladdy back-to-back, and you could literally face those guys through the game and pitch 10 total pitches. Whereas Abreu is 10-12 pitch per about.

Their lineup is a little bit different this year, I heard somebody talking about how much more patient they are this year, and if Jon is commanding his fastball and Josh is as well, that could be a deadly combo for them. Because patient lineups in October who are patient against power pitchers with command, it is generally the fourth of fifth inning before they say ‘hey, we should probably get more aggressive early in the count.’

Game 1 is important

If Game 1 is crucial in a seven game series, in a five game series it can decide the series, so to speak. I think if they go out there and they get beat by the Red Sox tonight there is no possible way those guys aren’t going “here we go again, oh my god.” You can’t help it, it is human nature, you can’t avoid it. I think a Red Sox win tonight will be a much bigger momentum swinger than an Angels win would be for anybody. Because I think they proven it, the Boston clubhouse, that ‘hey, that one is over, let’s go get them tomorrow.’

Runner on base important to pitcher psyche?

I never cared. In my mind the guy wasn’t going to score anyway. The difference is that for a lot of teams you have to get two to three hits to get a guy in from first, in Anaheim, over 162 games, a walk, a stolen base, a bunt, a sac-fly. That works over 162 games because you are going against rotations and bullpens that you are not seeing in October. You don’t manufacture a run in October and have that run stand up the whole game. Especially against the arms on the mound to back it up.

The biggest piece here . . . in ’04 and ’07 they ran crazy. They did not run against us and if you count on that to be a key part of your offense the entire season and suddenly come October you don’t have that piece, it would be like you run a two-back tandem [in football] on offense and both of them are power guys and you give them equal carries, then you go to the playoffs and put one of them on the bench. It changes the complexion of your offense.

Have you ever head of a running itself through the playoffs? You can pitch your way through the playoffs, you can hit your way through the playoffs, which they didn’t. In 2002, when they won, they hit.  They didn’t run, they hit. I am not trying to downplay them, they are a great team led by a great manager. I think they have a little bit different team this year with Morales and I think Vladdy is hitting better. Bobby Abreu is going to be a big piece to this. Because Chone Figgins, you know, there are a couple guys in that lineup that are fast but they are guys who I didn’t worry about their speed because they didn’t hit like they were fast. They were early count jump on the ball guys who unlike guys who use speed to their advantage are seven to 10 pitch guys.

They really don’t have a true ace.

That is the be all, end all here for me. John Lackey is a very good pitcher, I really like Joe Saunders, I think they are making a mistake pushing Kazmir back that far. I would have him running out early and often in this series.

If I like him [Kazmir] in Fenway, I love him in Anaheim. I think he is the one power guy in their rotation that they can put out there. If you don’t have a power guy you are going to be at 100 pitches after five innings against this lineup.

What do you think of that bullpen? Fuentes has blown seven saves and Bulger is a little beaten up.

Here is where you are going to see that manifest itself. Listen, it is what it is, he is going to close, Arredondo and some of those guys are going to set up, but to me how it is going to manifest itself is how he manages their offense in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Instead of, if you got a Papelbon, you do push for that run to make it a 4-2 game instead of 3-2. If you got Fuentes and you are not confident moving that runner over to get that extra run. You are hoping for that big-bopper to give you that three-run, four-run lead. So, I think it will manifest itself in the offense. Cause listen, the cards are played, are you suddenly go with the guys who are your set-up men? You are going to go with the guys that got you there. It is almost like the Fergosi, Mitch Williams in ’93. Williams was burned out, he had pitched far beyond his means but to his credit he was taking the ball every night but at the end of the day Jim Fergosi brings in his closer and his closer blows the game. What’s he supposed to say, “I brought the guy in who I used all year.” It hasn’t [worked] in the past.

Fuentes is a closer who is scared. They say they fixed some things but I would be worried.

That is probably a big an impact on the guys standing out in the field as anybody. You get Pap in there, you know he is throwing strikes, you are on your toes ready for a ball in play as opposed to maybe a guy, Brad Lidge this year, where you are sitting in the outfield saying ‘jesus just throw the ball near the strike zone.’ From a focus stand point there is different mentality when your closer is on the mound when everybody is saying “is he going to get three outs before he gives up five runs?”

Is it possible that Beckett is requesting Jason Varitek to catch in Game 2?

I don’t know. If I were to go out and say that then everybody would say “he said that Josh said that.” I don’t know. I can give you my word that the guy [Terry Francona] is going to put the nine players on the field that gives them the best possible chance to win every night. He will pinch hit when he want to pinch hit. You do every thing you can do to win three games before the Angels do.

I can tell you that I never cared what my catcher did at the plate. I wanted him to get four hits so he could feel good about himself but I never cared what he did offensively because I wanted him to be . . . I figured I could out pitch his offensive capability if that were the case. I guarantee you that Josh has all the confidence in the world. He is taking the ball tomorrow, if it were me I would have a little bit of grudge that I didn’t get the ball Game 1 and would be looking to ram the ball down the throat or put it in somebody’s backside pretty badly to prove that I was that October guy.

Does Kevin Youkilis really rankle that many people that a player would “refrain” from making comment in the Jackie McMullen piece in the Globe yesterday?

You can say what you want about Youk but here is the deal. The guy plays 100-percent everyday he can play. He plays his ass his off offensively and defensively and he acts like a nine-year old when he makes an out. I don’t care. Listen, I guarantee you he is no more or less annoying than other guys, especially a guy like me.

I played with Greg Jefferies and Greg Jefferies was headed for the Hall of Fame but could not understand that you are going to make 300-400 outs a year. And he has proven me wrong because I told him that if he keeps this up you are going to be burnt out by August. Well, obviously he wasn’t and hasn’t been. I love guys who play every game and every at-bat like it was the last out of the World Series and he does that. Appreciate it for what it is. If a teammate says that, that teammate is not as good as Youk because he is the best player on the team, so I don’t really care about what they say.

Have you seen the umpiring crew? Joe West, C.B. Buckner and Greg Gibson. Does it worry you?

It is embarrassing. Listen, Joe West, I think he is an ass and I have had problems with him forever but here is the thing – Joe West is a pretty decent umpire. Greg Gibson and C.B. Buckner? They suck. They’re horrible, horrible and they are not the only ones. The first thing that comes to mind is, on a merit system or an achievement  system to be in the postseason.

It is a fraternity, because, in the postseason some of these guys make more than they do in the regular season.

Listen, Joe West hates the Red Sox. I never wanted Joe in Fenway. He called Game 6 of the ’04 playoffs. Behind the plate he called it pretty consistent, he’s good. He’s not big, he’s more of a hitters ump. Unless he doesn’t like you as a hitter. I would make it a point to find out the guys that Joe West doesn’t like as a hitter because I knew that my strike zone was 34-inches wide no matter who was up.

The thing I have with Greg Gibson was that he was having an argument with Tito and he said “Tito, do you realize you are arguing with the best young ump in baseball right now?” Dead serious.

1) Lester/Beckett fastball command — Look at their first time through the lineup. If Josh is commanding the outside corner to right-handed hitters, and Jon is commanding the inside corner to right-handed hitters, they’ll win. It won’t take that long IMO, but give them one time through. Normally I wouldn’t give them nine hitters, but I really have issues with seeing any starter from LA shut down the Sox lineup to where one first-inning run loses a game.

2) Ellsbury — He’s more dangerous on the bases than any Angels player, and if he’s on and causing problems for Angels starters, it adds a worry I don’t think they are considering as they head into the series. The Sox have 6-8 guys who can take you deep. If Jacoby on the bases is an issue, it could wreck all sorts of game-planning by Angels pitchers against Sox hitters.

3) Seventh and eighth innings — Yeah, you love to have a ‘pen full of options, but in October few teams have, or use, multiple pitchers out of the bullpen before the closer. If Oki can find a partner in Bard or Saito, or if Wagner is throwing strikes and has his usual stuff, the Sox could literally shorten games to six innings.

ANGELS KEYS

1) Team speed is useless if you don’t get on. It’s a double-edged sword. Team speed works when your hitters are patient and work counts. If you do that, and Josh and Jon are commanding their fastballs, you lose.

2) Someone in their rotation must show shut-down capability. It’s a staff-wide thing. If they get pounded in Game 1, that stuff steamrolls a rotation. I’ve been on both sides, and they don’t have a power arm to stop the Sox. Game 1 is going to be huge in either enforcing or changing the “Here we go again” mentality

3) Mike Scioscia — Team speed is useless if the manager doesn’t use it. I never felt the Angels were aggressive in October. It almost felt like their season-long formula of manufacturing runs stopped when the calendar turned to avoid having “outs” being made by the manager. Likely not true, but I will be interested to see if they push it. I don’t think they have any choice but to run, run fast, and run often. The only bat that you might worry about for every game is Morales.

ATTACKING THE ANGELS LINEUP

The key to beating them is literally there before the game starts. If you can get the ball to home in 1.25 seconds or less, you can stop many running situations. Taking away team speed is like taking hitters OUT of the lineup.

Obviously: “You can’t steal first base.” Walks, or lack thereof, will be HUGE this series, depending on who you are talking about. The OBP of a walk is 1.000. When the BEST hitters put the BEST hitter’s-count pitches in play, they still make outs 50-75 percent of the time. If you can understand that approach, you stay within the strike zone and great things happen.

To be honest, one of my biggest fears is the umpiring crew. This is about as bad a crew as I have ever seen assembled. Joe West, for all his pomp and circumstance, can ump a game. C.B. Buckner? Greg Gibson? Not so much. I’m blown away that A) They made the postseason and B) They are umping what I think will be the most-watched series. If I HAD to put them on the postseason roster, I’d try to hide them on the outfield foul lines of Colorado. Look for BOTH to have game impact in this series.

From the standpoint of shutting down the Angels hitters, Sox pitchers know pitch-by-pitch, AB-by-AB and situation-by-situation the best possible plan to get these guys out. The entire staff knows it. I won’t put game plans in here. Not that the Angels hitters don’t know what they are going to see, but I don’t want to help if I don’t have to.

It will come down to execution. All three guys – Beckett, Lester and Clay Buchholz — will thrive on the same thing. Josh’s curveball, Jon’s cutter and Clay’s change and curveball will ONLY be huge pitches if they are commanding their fastballs. Never is that more important than October, and at no time is it more important than that first time through the lineup.

You generally don’t get a second time around if you are lacking fastball command. Hitters, good ones, are at peak performance (with the exception of guys who suck in the postseason), and you don’t get a second chance to make a mistake.

I know there are tons of people worried not only about the health care bill, but also what appears to be the ramrod process pushed by those who know it’s going to get crushed the minute the details become public.

This administration, time and again, has done the exact opposite of what was promised. Transparency, accountability? This is the EXACT OPPOSITE of both. Anyone wonder why that is?

Don’t you find it odd, but totally understandable,  that Democrats are lining up AGAINST making this stuff available to the public prior to the vote and Republicans are not?

No coincidence, none at all.

If you don’t care how I feel, leave now.

Let me get this straight. The man in charge of the 68,000 American men and women putting their lives on the line, as well as the 100,000-strong NATO force in Afghanistan, is in trouble.

He’s in trouble for speaking his mind and telling us, the American people, exactly the truth as he believes it to be.

Basically, he tells us that the half-assed efforts being considered, the ideas of military stalwart Joe Biden to use Special Forces strike teams and unpiloted drones, will lead to an unfavorable result.

We’re being fed two different stories on every front now. The media rants, the government rants when “leaks” lead to even an ounce of unfavorable press. Yet, the second a leak sheds a positive spin on anything governmental, it’s splattered from coast to coast.

An adviser to the administration said: “People aren’t sure whether McChrystal is being naïve or an upstart. To my mind he doesn’t seem ready for this Washington hard-ball and is just speaking his mind too plainly.”

Is that possible? I mean he’s not speaking Joe Biden plain and giving away national defense secret locations, but he’s speaking as the man in charge of all allied ground forces in theater right? Don’t WE want him to speak plainly? Speak the truth where no harm can come to our soldiers? In fact, isn’t he spelling out in pretty plain words what he believes our politicians back home need to do to allow our men and women the best chance to A) survive and B) win?

Then we have this nugget:

He went on to say: “Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support.”

Which, if you read the article, is followed with this:

He will hold at least one more this week, but a decision on how far to follow Gen McChrystal’s recommendation to send 40,000 more US troops will not be made for several weeks.

I completely understand the need to NOT knee-jerk and not overreact, but at the same time lives are being lost with every full rotation of the clock we see. This IS life and death, this IS real. It doesn’t get more real than this. That’s not to even speak to the fact that the war in Afghanistan has been pushed to back page news except when Americans and NATO soldiers are killed. Yes, we have domestic issues that must be resolved, but that should in no way impact the process, speed or timing in which the president of this nation allows the men charged with military action and planning to do their jobs, right?

He added that it was highly unusual for a senior military officer to “pressure the president in public to adopt his strategy.”

This offends me in so many ways. This highly decorated “senior military officer” is the EXACT man I want pressuring ANYONE involved in decision-making, ever. That’s what he does, that’s who he is. If you are stupid or ignorant enough to think you know better — or have the “right plan” — than the man with boots on the ground over there, well, you’re lost.

Finally there is this:

“They want to make sure people know what they asked for if things go wrong,” said Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense.

Critics also pointed out that before their Copenhagen encounter Mr. Obama had only met Gen. McChrystal once since his appointment in June.

Here is where I, as a citizen, have some huge issues. Brilliant military men, men tasked with leading this nation’s military, already are recognizing this administration’s desires, and smart people are recognizing this for what it is. They know they don’t or aren’t going to get this government’s backing WITHOUT the public completely aware of the score. Why would they do this? Is political capital so valuable that you’d put lives at risk? Is a political campaign, four years away, that valuable to people in our government? Is it? Is that out of the realm of possibility?

And lastly, how is it possible that the president of the United States has only had time to meet face to face with the commander of allied forces in Afghanistan only once since June? That’s four months. I am not naive enough to think they both don’t have ridiculous schedules, but if the president hadn’t thought the Olympic bid so important he wouldn’t even have been in the same hemisphere to have this meeting, right? If the War on Terror is such a huge priority, why has this not happened sooner? I know that they can “talk” from anyplace on the planet at a moment’s notice — I assume they have before this, but I don’t know. But if they know, and they did, that a face-to-face meeting was as much for perception and support as it was for substance, maybe more so, why didn’t that rate higher on the priority scale?

Here’s the reason this bothers me so much. Spending 10 days in theater was the most eye-opening and rewarding thing I’ve ever done. No, it didn’t make me an expert, not even close, on the war over there. What it did do is explain to me that the soldiers, the privates, the men patrolling hostile territory 24/7, living and dying, are truly bothered by the fact that the media on this side of the ocean was NOT reporting on the war they were fighting. Far from it. The lies and BS we were, are and will be told are often times quite the opposite of the facts in play.

Anyone following the news knows there was a MASSIVE earthquake and an ensuing Tsunami that has taken an incredible toll in lives and homes.

Rarely in life do we get a chance to give back so meaningfully to the men and women who offer the ultimate sacrifice for us, in service of our nation and freedoms. I don’t need to, but I will anyway, tell you that Sale is about as fine a man as you could ever hope to meet. Decorated service in the War in Iraq with a new baby to come home to when he returned.

Sale has listed the two ways to help below, if you can please give in any amount possible.

From the bottom of my heart for any and all that can help!

God Bless,

Curt

You could do either one of the 2:

1)  Send a check to:
 
 AIGA FOUNDATION:

c/o George Malauulu

re: AMERICAN SAMOA RELIEF FUND

3133 San Francisco Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90806

2) Wait until the helpsamoa.com site puts up their paypal account on www.helpsamoa.com.

Was the decision to withdraw personal or was it related to Scott Brown?

Totally internal. I didn’t even get a chance to push the outside pieces and figure out where they fell. I can’t commit the time. At the end of the day, if I wasn’t going to have the chance to be literally all-in from a commitment standpoint, there was absolutely no chance I was going to do it. Maybe it’s naïve or ignorance, whatever you want to call it, but I was going in with the thought that I was going to win this thing and what that would mean. I don’t think that would have made my marriage and my relationship with my children better. If you want to talk about external forces, first of all, I could care less who’s running. If I was running, I was running with the thought that I could kick everyone’s ass who’s in it. I’ve got some friends who are going to be out and about and involved in the next round of elections, both in state and in government. I’ll do what I can do when I can do it.

I talked to Sen. McCain. I had a really good chat with him. I wanted to make sure he heard it from me first, because he’s been someone I’ve talked to repeatedly through the process. He’s been somewhat of a mentor over the last couple of months. It’s interesting, because I was going to announce it and then I was going to follow it up immediately by talking about potential people I was interested in being involved in, and he said, ‘Do me a favor, and do yourself a favor. Do not mention anybody else’s name until you’re 100 percent sure that you’re going to support that person and that person stands for the things you believe in.’ I took that piece of advice to heart.

What were the family considerations?

If you really sat down, and I did this, and started to write down what it might mean, you’d quickly come up that you’d better have an open slate for the next couple of years. Open meaning: you’re not committed to raising kids, you’re not committed to being at home, you’re not committed to being around for your wife and family. We did that for 19 years.

Did you figure out the cost of running?

I was led to believe it probably wouldn’t cost me anything if I wanted to [run]. There was enough support financially. That was one of my big dilemmas. There was enough support financially for me not to run on my dime. I talked about this earlier. I don’t know the intricacies of campaign financing from the standpoint of what you can and can’t do. I know you can’t take checks from special interests – or you can take checks from special-interest groups, but you just can’t let people know about it. I was going to be able to do this probably without cutting a check for anything. In this day and age, with the financial situation both locally and nationally, I wasn’t sure that would have been the responsible thing.

Were you concerned that fundraising for your campaign would lead to tradeoffs with fundraising for ALS research and the SHADE Foundation?

I posted on my blog yesterday, one of the concerns and one of the things Sen. McCain said, was maybe down the road you’ll decide to do this, but right now focus on the things you guys are committed to, which is your wife and your kid, and ALS and the SHADE foundation. That’s about 24 to 28 hours of work a day already. So it becomes easy when you start to lay those cards on the table and realize what playing them means.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me and voiced their support of my potential bid. I received just an enormous amount of support. I’m incredibly appreciative of that. I think it was legitimate, in the amount of hate mail I received, that people were honestly concerned and worried. That made me feel good as well.

Will you campaign for and support Scott Brown?

I have intentions of supporting somebody. Right now, I’m doing my due diligence. I have received the information I’ve asked for from the people I’ve asked it from, to go through their platforms, to understand what they’re trying to get done. When my choice becomes clear, I’ll make that public.

Given the amount of things going on, I cannot in good conscience even consider running for the open Senate seat here in Massachusetts.

While I sincerely appreciate the outreach and the kind words I’ve received, I think at the end of the day it would be the wrong decision for all involved for me to attempt this.

I wouldn’t have even considered it if I didn’t think I could win. I don’t think I possess the experience I would want, or the time needed, to commit to doing this.

This state is in desperate need of someone new, someone fresh, someone completely dedicated to the constituents of the Commonwealth. While I think I would be all three, it’s a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year job, and 38 Studios, my family, ALS and Shade are the things that I need to commit my time to right now.

To those that have extended offers of help and encouragement, I sincerely appreciate it all.

Click here for Part 1 of the interview.

Click here for Part 2 of the interview.

ALS, today, is still 100 percent fatal. However, in the past 19 years Lou’s name has gained notoriety and recognition in many positive ways.

His life story has been written about many times over. This is the best book I’ve ever read on it.

Why is this relevant? For two reasons, really. The first was the nation becoming aware of Lou during the previous decade, when Cal Ripken broke Lou’s consecutive game streak. Cal did it with a blue collar work ethic unmatched in anyone I ever played with. Knowing Cal’s father, it was easy to see how and why he was who he was.

The second reason occurred this past weekend. On a rain-soaked evening in the new Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter lined an opposite-field single for career hit No. 2,722 and became the all-time hits leader for the New York Yankee franchise. The event got some good PR and some decent coverage, but it’s far more significant than the coverage it’s been given, to me anyway. This isn’t the Nationals or Padres we’re talking about, this is one of sports’ oldest franchises and home of the game’s greatest all-time players.

Red Sox fans are pretty much in agreement that Jeter is a player they love to “not like.” I don’t say hate because real Sox fans — dyed-in-the-wool Sox Nation members — can’t hate the guy. You can dislike him immensely, and much of that is due to the pinstripes, but there is nothing we know of that would give pause, rhyme or reason to not having immense respect for what he’s done on and off the field.

His early career was marked by trend-setting numbers at a position defined by defense for the past century. Well, that and four World Series rings in his first week or two in the big leagues, it seemed.

But beyond that there are two things that stand out to me.

Derek Jeter has always been above the fray. As someone who’s wallowed in it, “foot-in-mouthed” it hundreds of times, said dumb things and backed up dumber ones, it’s refreshing. He’s shown up, played, and turned in a first-ballot Hall of Fame career in the hardest environment in sports to do any/all of the above.

That, in and of itself, is an accomplishment.

More importantly to me, though, was this. I enjoyed competing against him as much as anyone I ever faced. Derek was that guy who was going to hit his way, regardless, with enough talent to still get hits when you made your pitch and hit your spot. One of my favorite memories was stepping onto the rubber for Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, being as locked in as I’ve ever been, looking into home plate and looking into his eyes, and us smiling at each other, knowing what we were getting ready to experience. By the way, I should never have thrown the fastball away in the seventh inning, I had him if I’d just kept pounding the ball in …

I have no idea how he felt about competing against me, or about me as a player, but I know competing against that guy, for the decade or so we matched up, was what made the Major Leagues the Major Leagues for someone like me.

So, congratulations Derek, you earned every ounce of respect and accolades thrown your way, and you’re one of the few men I ever competed against who is worthy of having his name mentioned with the same reverence and respect as Lou Gehrig.

Are you running?

I don’t know. I have no idea. I’m very intrigued, for  a lot of reasons. How many opportunities are you presented with in your life to change the world, to make a difference, on a global scale? That’s an awesome thing – an incredible responsibility. It’s a commitment beyond description. It’s a 365-day-a-year job. That requires a massive commitment of time and energy from not just the person running but the family, which is a lot of the discussion that would have to happen.

What have you done so far? What’s determining factor? Doing polling, seeking donors?

Sen. McCain has contacted me. I’ve received a couple different phone calls from a couple different people, expressing, doing some Q&A on whether I was interested. I know there’s some interest in running some legitimate polls to find out if it’s worth doing. I recognize that, I think, if I were to enter the race and ever if we did a half-assed job, it would have an effect, and that might not necessarily be a good thing, on who gets in.

I could be giving myself far, far too much credit, and I could walk in there and get two percent of the vote and it would be a joke. If that’s the potential, I have no interest. I have no interest whatsoever in being involved if I don’t have a legitimate chance to win.

If the data were to support that I had a chance, then I would literally get in it to win it.

Are you doing that now?

I am not doing anything. There are people that are doing some stuff. I’m not going to comment. I’m not exactly sure what the right and wrong thing is to comment on. So for the first time probably in my life, I’m not going to comment.

Looking at the field, does that influence thinking?

No, not at all. I think it’s a very personal thing. If you have to get into office due to the ineptitude and problems of other candidates – and I’m not saying that have those, but you run on your own merits – I’m just saying you run on your own merits and you run on your own platform. If you’ve got to run and rely on other people sucking at it, then don’t do it.

You have the support of McCain and the Republican party.

That doesn’t carry a lot of weight here (laughter).

You can’t run as a Republican. How do you run and raise money from the RNC?

One of the many things to consider. My understanding is that the RNC picks and chooses how they dole out their dollars. I’ve actually had some conversations with them to that effect. I’ve made it very clear, one thing that is going to happen, if I were to run, I would not run on the taxpayers’ dollars, not in this day and age, not with the economy being what it is. I could not possibly do that and legitimately stand in front of people and talk about trying to make this place a better place to live.

You would be to the right on most issues, correct?

I wouldn’t say most issues, but go ahead.

If there is a Democratic nominee, a Republican nominee, and you as an independent, is it safe to say you would drain votes from the Republican?

I think if I were to go in and go with the assumption that that was the best possible outcome, I probably wouldn’t run. If I was going to run, it would be to run and believe that I had a legitimate shot to win. If I didn’t believe that wasn’t possible, I wouldn’t do it.

You guys have known me long enough to know that the business in Maynard, 38 Studios, is the priority. Financially, that’s where I’m committed. That kind of precludes me from funding my own campaign.

Isn’t this Teddy Roosevelt draining votes from Taft?

It’s very relevant.

Any votes I quote-unquote was draining, in my mind, I would be getting to win the seat. I certainly wouldn’t be going in to play a political game or to get my candidate in office. I’d be going in to win.

I’m not going to change my comment from earlier in the week. The chances are very remote that it would happen.

I’m unbelievably flattered, beyond some of the jokes and the punch lines, that people have seriously thought or think that they would support a run at this for me. But a lot of things have to happen.

Have you moved at all closer towards running in the last week?

Honestly, it  hasn’t moved in the last seven days.

You understand to some degree the life I’ve lived for the last 23 years, which was committed to the game of baseball, and how much your family has to give up. I look at this as a far bigger sacrifice for a family to make. Having said that, this is the state that I’m hopefully going to live the rest of my life in and raise my kids in. And the opportunity to effect every person living in this state is an enormously powerful thing. I think of what could be done on a state and national level as a senator for ALS and skin cancer awareness and autism, and all of the things we’ve spent our lives being involved in, and that is an incredible draw. For every plus, there’s been a minus and a neutral.

I’ve talked to a couple different people. I talked to the Governor, I’ve talked to multiple elected officials. I’m treating this like I treat the game of baseball from a preparation standpoint. I’m talking to everyone I can that has gone through the process to get a feel for the true sacrifices that need to be made, what it’s like, how your life changes, what it means to your life, and not just now but in the future.

One of the things I don’t want to do is have this be a joke. Lord knows some outlets would spin it that way, and I’ll probably throw some comments out along the way that would facilitate that. But this is a deadly serious thing. There’s never been a time in my lifetime where this country has needed people in elected office that are more hell-bent on doing right by the people.

You would ciphon more votes from Republicans than Democrats.

It depends how you believe the independent vote in this state is. There are more independents than Republicans and Democrats combined. It depends on how that body would vote.

Based on your beliefs, and the liberal nature of the state, would you have to alter any of your principles to run for office here?

There’s probably nothing I’m going to alter from a philosophical or belief standpoint. As I say this, there are issues, I’m confused by this, I believe in the right to life and all the things that go with that. But I don’t believe that any one person has the right or mandate to enforce on people. I believe the state that you live in should be directly responsible for the laws you live under in cases like that. I don’t think it’s on any one person to say, ‘You know what, the state that I live in is pro-life or pro-abortion or one’s right to choose.’ That’s a personal thing to me. It’s not something you impart on a state of people. We’ve gotten so far from that, I think, as a country, much less a state, I think people are confused.

Name three issues that matter to you where you think you could impact dialogue and legislation as a senator.

First and foremost would be stem-cell research. That’s one of the things I’ve been passionate about. It was one of the things that I obviously opposed Pres. Bush’s stance on and that I had a chance to talk to him about. I believe that medical science and research has gotten to a point where we don’t need to use embryonic and fetal stem cells to get results. That’s one of the things I’m incredibly passionate about and incredibly involved in.

I don’t know about going deeper into some issues. Obviously, one of my biggest concerns as someone who’s paid an enormous amount of taxes over my lifetime, is compensation to the police, the firemen, the education system. I believe Boston is in the upper echelon of compensation for police officers. I don’t know where we are with firemen. There are a lot of things, there’s a lot of stuff, that I have to do a lot more homework on.

But you would have to reconcile that compensation issue with the recession/economic climate – how do you solve the problem if others are getting laid off?

Here’s the one thing you and I cannot do. You and I cannot, I don’t think anybody, short of the people with their eyes on it, can honestly talk through a resolution without getting a look at the books. I am blown away by the fact that I can’t go five miles on the road without paying an enormous toll in this state. Hey – everybody pays it, it’s fine.

But it seems to me that this state should be in no way, shape or form in a deficit, and we’re in a staggeringly huge one. And I’m confused by that. I would argue that, what I want to see happen, whoever it is, is I want to make sure that the next time a $3 billion Big Dig type of event is brought to the table, that the state looks inward and decides how incredibly stupid something like that is.

If you think about what this state could have done over the last decade with $16 billion spent inward, I shudder to think what we could have done and what we could have accomplished.

You have impact and influence over all of those things sitting in a chair like that in a position like that.

Pointing the finger and blaming people isn’t going to help solve the problems we’re sitting in today.

I believe the people have lost a lot of faith if not an enormous amount of faith in the ability for elected officials to make a difference in our lives. That, to me, is probably the most heinous thing in all of this.

Is Josh Beckett back?

I thought he threw the ball really well the other night. It’s one of those nights where if we score 11 runs, nobody’s saying anything.

He was in the strike zone and outside the middle of the strike zone a lot more consistently. It was just the wrong night to give up a three-spot. I’m going to say this and I’ve said it before, I’m incredibly comfortable with Josh Beckett in Game 1 or in any game where the date starts with October. He’s proven it. I can tell you, a light switch goes on for the few people that find a way to ratchet it up in October. It’s just the way it is.

What can Daisuke do?

I don’t see it happening. One of the things he’s going to have to do is he’s going to have to be on a pitch count. If he’s coming up here on a pitch count in a month when you can ill-afford to spend your bullpen, you’re putting yourself behind the eight-ball for the next three, four, five, six games. You’re taking yourself out of a series if he’s on a 70-pitch count and he ends up going through 55 of those in 2 1/3 (innings). This has been, obviously, a hugely disappointing season for a lot of reasons that shouldn’t have happened. But I don’t think you interrupt the flow of things right now by trying to find a way to squeeze him into the rotation.

It’s that time of the year when if there’s some major changes for everybody, and Wake can’t go and you’ve got to plug Daisuke in, you could be looking at 6 innings from your bullpen.

As a father of 4 kids I cannot, and pray I never have to, fathom the pain they have endured. Their third child Mark, a student at UMass Amherst, is hoping to become a candidate for a double lung transplant. Cystic Fibrosis is a killer, the Palermo’s need your help. Please, if you can, be it time, money or awareness, reach out and help by using this website!

I have zero experience in passing a piece of legislation. I have zero experience in writing a piece of legislation. That matters to me, only if I thought I’d enter and win this race, and do it alone. You don’t, no one does and anyone that says they do is a liar.

People, many people, point to my support of former President Bush as the only reason they need to support “whoever he would run against”. Obviously that’s your right, and freedom. However it appears to me that as an Independent, which I will always be, I’ve always tried to vote for the right team more so than the right person. I believed in Dick Cheney, I believed in Colin Powell, I believed in Condoleezza Rice. I voted as much, if not more, for the team President Bush had assembled as I ever did for the man. It’s the reason I voted for his father, it’s the reason I voted for Bill Clinton.

I was not even remotely active in the political scene until far too late in my life to sit on a pulpit and preach about history tells us this and history tells us that. That’s not a good thing, but it’s the truth.

Taxes? Sure I’ll pay them, regardless of the number. Would I prefer lower taxes? Sure, who wouldn’t? But I’ll pay, whatever they are, because that’s the cost of being able to live in this country and I’ve never had a problem with that.

Having said that I live in a state where I can’t drive 1/2 of a mile without a torn up road, or on a major highway without paying a toll, a large toll. How in the hell is this state broke? How in the hell has a state with supposedly as intelligent a voter base as Massachusetts allowed itself to be run into the ground by entrenched and often times corrupt ‘me first’ politicians? How did that happen? All the way down to the community level our papers are littered with stories, daily, of unethical behavior, scandal and outright criminal acts, BY OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS!.

Is there a larger breach of trust outside the family bond than that? Why have we allowed it to get this far, and why would we even consider allowing that to continue?

You want my opinion on ‘issues’?

I’m pro-life (with exception to rape, incest or terminal consequences to mom or child during birth) and against Gay marriage. However, let me be very clear on both of those issues. Those issues are so far beyond the scope or responsibility of one person to legislate it’s laughable. The state you reside in should be the body that determines BOTH of those laws. Because I’m pro-life should have nothing to do with your belief or your opinion. The constituents you work for should be the people that decide those laws in the state they live in, period.

So you understand something else about me. Because I believe something and you don’t, means very little to me. Charlie Baker is running for Governor of Massachusetts. I am a huge supporter of Charlie. Charlie Baker is very much in favor of Gay marriage, I’m not. That doesn’t make me feel one ounce different about Charlie, because I understand there is no perfect candidate and no one exists but yourself, that’s going to align perfectly with your opinions and beliefs. This state needs good people above all else, and Charlie is that. I’ve known that since meeting him years ago and watching him rejuvenate Harvard Pilgrim into a thriving business once again.

I am absolutely for the 2nd Amendment. But I also think this country has become so beholden to special interest and lobbyists that we have completely sacrificed the safety and well being of the individual American citizen. Why should our Police Officers have to worry about automatic weapons? What logically thinking human would think it’s ok that a ‘citizen’ to carry a weapon capable of discharging 1000 rounds a minute? I understand one thing, that’s big business, and big business is what we’ve allowed to take over in far too many places and in far to many areas that the people need to take back. I also think we need to put some ground rules out there as it pertains to rights here. Commit a felony? Sorry, you have no right to EVER bear arms.

To be clear I have no ambition to enter into a life of politics, or to be a career politician, none. I am flattered that some people felt I’d be the right person for this. None of that means I would, or will, attempt to run for the vacant Senator’s seat here in Massachusetts. Were I to even consider this it would be for 1 term and 1 term only, and then only to do everything in my power to rid this state of the tired an unethical people that have run it into the ground and help it begin the healing process, and once again become a thriving state to live and work in.

A run for the Senate is a massive undertaking, both personally and financially. I’m not even close to a Rhodes Scholar or Ivy League graduate, but I also know I’m watching many people with those exact credentials run this state, and this country, into the ground. You don’t need either to serve the people of the commonwealth, what you need is an unbridled and unattached passion to change peoples lives for the better. You need to not be beholden to all of those groups that offer the ‘we pay now, you pay later’ handout.

I have no idea if I’ll even do this, but if by some slim chance I do it won’t be a joke, and it won’t be for laughs. These are deadly serious times at home and abroad and this country absolutely has to elect public servants who don’t head to Washington with an “Out of sight out of mind” approach to us living back home.

Please read this article

When did health and the well-being of United States citizens become a “Strategic Decision”? How the hell did we let people into office who look at us in that way? Aren’t they SUPPOSED to work for us?

This line really just hammers home what the people we have elected think of us…

“When you have (lawmakers) go back (home) and listen and see what the reactions are and also have an election coming up…I think they get a little cold feet.”

What? Really? You mean when lawmakers face their constituents — you, me, us, the people — and we voice a dissenting opinion or outrage at legislation we do not want they get cold feet? So the answer is you should “ram it home” BEFORE you face the people, that way there’s nothing that can be done about it? Nice.

I mean that really does work right? If you live in the Ukraine or somewhere in the Middle East….

PART 1 – Curt Schilling on D&C

PART 2 – Curt Schilling on D&C

Are you contemplating a run for the vacant Massachusetts Senate seat?

I’ve thought about it.

Most dread the idea of campaigning and debating – the fight.

The fight would be fun. The whole spotlight/media crap, not so much. But the fight would be a lot of fun, because pretty much anyone you’re fighting against who’s in office right now doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on. There’s nobody who can stand up and say, ‘Look at what I’ve done over the last two, four, six, eight, 12, 20 years.’ Because those are the people who the pitchforks and torches are out for.’

What are the pros and cons of running?

There’s a massive amount of cons: family, time, commitment. My family’s been exposed to the public life, my kids for their entire lives, my wife for the last 20 years. Part of walking away from the game was walking away from that. That would be right back in the mix. There’s just a lot of cons. At the same time, there’s a lot of cons in office. There’s a lot of pros. It’s not nearly as easy as it might be had I not opened the studio and run this business.

What are the pros?

The ability to change the world. Big pro. I spent 20 years in an industry where I got what you’d call famous and celebrity and all the stuff that goes with that, and the financials that come with that, so none of those would be incentives for me to run, which I think cuts away at a lot of the reason behind why a lot of other people do it. I think there’s so much broke here that the fixing piece, I don’t think you’d have to look very hard to find a piece of debris and start reforming and fixing it.

You would probably speak your mind in office.

Which is probably one of the reasons why it wouldn’t work out real well for me. You can make an argument that everybody wants fresh blood and somebody who doesn’t know how to play the game. But what people say and what actually happens are often two very different things.

There are people who have called to say they wouldn’t support you. Why not? (Co-host interjects: No experience.)

I supported Bush. I supported Bush is the No. 1 reason. That’s the reason people wouldn’t vote for me.

Bill Bradley was elected a senator after going to Princeton, being a Rhodes Scholar, playing in the NBA. But he ran without experience. What did he have on you?

What’s the opposite of a Rhodes Scholar? A degree in Papelbon? I’m kidding. The no experience thing, if it’s used right, is an enormous asset. There’s nobody who you’d go against who you couldn’t probably drag out a laundry list of stuff and say, ‘This person has already proven that they’re status quo, that they’re business as usual, and we need anything but in everyway way, shape and form moving forward.’

There are absolutely zero ties and attachments and special interests on my end. Again, that might be one of the things that would make it just impossible to happen…Those are a lot of the reasons why we find ourselves where we are.

Where do you go from here?

I don’t go anywhere with it. It’s turned and blown up into this epically huge thing…

I did an interview yesterday where I said, ‘Yeah, I’ve thought about it.’ But if you listen to the full interview, you understand very clearly that what I’m saying is that a lot of things would have to align themselves. The chances of it happening are slim to none, but they ran with, ‘I’m thinking about it.’ So it’s just gone nuts. The easy thing would be to say, ‘Absolutely not.’ But I’d be lying. It’s not an absolute certainty one way or the other. If there’s the potential and possibility and some things align themselves on the home front, ultimately it comes down to the conversation between Shonda and I – the wife and the kids. I’m pretty sure it’s not something she’s remotely interested in, even though we haven’t had the conversation to any degree.

Have you thought through how it could unfold to give you a chance to win in the election?

Oh yeah, yeah.

I would not even remotely consider it if I wasn’t planning on winning. There would be no reason to do any of this if I didn’t believe I was going to win. That being said, there’s a lot of stuff that comes into play, a lot of personal stuff that comes into play. I have another huge advantage in that I’d walk into this race with my closet open, and all the things that go with that.

All of the things that have been looked on as pluses, as we wade deeper and deeper into this quagmire that this country is in, that all those things we wanted and assumed our politicians needed aren’t really positives.

The first question if you won would be what credentials you have to take the seat.

It’s a legitimate question, and a question everyone would ask. My credentials are that I have no baggage. I have no special interests and I have no ties. I would be coming in to help this state get back to what it was, what it should be and what it can be. It’s a state, there needs to be an immense amount of focus inward. We have one of the best education systems on the planet in this state. It’s something that we should be trumpeting and parading around. We’ve got an immense amount of special interests in this state that are doing everything and anything they can, that have no interest whatsoever in the working man. The person that works nine-to-five for crap dollars is getting spat on. It’s becoming a state that’s next to impossible to live and prosper in. I think it was anything but when it was founded. My credentials, I wouldn’t call them so much credentials as advantages.

You’re running a business in this state – you learn about how things work.

I’ve put millions and millions of dollars into this company and into the state economy, and done so gladly. The 38 Studios, every program we have for our employees is top of the line. It’s expensive – incredibly expensive. But it’s the price you pay to do business in this state. I’m not saying that’s a good or a bad thing. It could be better. Again, I go back to the fact that this state is looked on probably next to Illinois as one of the most corrupt, laughable political scenes in the nation. It should be just the opposite. It’s embarrassing and sad and pathetic in many ways. That’s not to lay a blanket over all of the politicians in this state. The good ones, they know who they are. The people who are getting pissed hearing me say this, they know why. We’ve turned into the butt of the joke in a lot of circles. That’s embarrassing and sad.

Have you had any contact with operatives about a run?

I have actually talked to quite a few people, yes.

Do they think there is traction for this candidacy?

I think some do, sure. Just take solace for the fact that I wouldn’t hire Gerry Callahan as my campaign manager.

People have long held the belief that this is something that I crave. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The fight is against the establishment. The status quo sucks. The status quo is not working. This country is a mess. I really don’t enjoy talking in broad generalities, but there’s so much wrong, and so much going on, that we are in desperate need of new blood and people who can walk in and make change and not have connections and ties to the old guard, and the old school, and be beholden to them. The state and the people deserve better.

If anyone says you’re not a serious candidate, you can just cite Al Franken.

Exactly. That should give hope to anybody. It really should.

When will you make a decision and what will it be based on?

I don’t know. I don’t know. It will be based on a lot of things. There’s a lot of process that has to happen from a timing standpoint. There has to be some things done by specific dates. I’m not sure of all the rules and regulations because I haven’t looked into them. We’ll think through it and when the time comes to talk about it, we’ll do that as well. Obviously it will have to be in relatively short order.

What about coming back to pitch for an NL team or the Red Sox?

Not so much. I’m feeling David Wells-esque.

It hasn’t hurt Brad Penny, who threw eight shutout innings against the Phillies in his first game with the Giants.

I’m thinking what I’ve always known. The American League is a lot harder than the National League. Always has been. It’s a huge disparity. Huge. It really is.

You look at our lineup, when you’ve got Martinez in the lineup, what are you saying if you’re the pitcher?

If Gonzalez is struggling, I’ve got maybe an out, hopefully, at the bottom of the lineup. But otherwise you’ve got eight guys that are .300, 20 homer guys. You look at the bottom third of the lineup. You literally have a breather for an inning to an inning and a half every time through the lineup (in the National League). That’s three, four, five outs a time. Those lineups do not exist even on the worst teams in the American League. It’s totally different.

If the Sox are in the playoffs, would Beckett or Lester be Game 1 starter? Would Francona give the ball to Beckett because he’s a bigger diva than Lester?

I can tell you that diva has nothing to do with October rotation and how you line it up.

Sure it does. You’re saying Franona didn’t consider Pedro’s pride in 2004?

No. I got the ball in Game 1 because he felt that I gave us the best chance to win, I think. I think he’d do the same thing here. When the calendar turns, and October comes around, you can scoff at it, smirk at it and mock it all you want, but people change. And Josh changes. It’s going to be hard to convince you otherwise, but what he did last October with the physical situation that he was presented with and in, is about as amazing as his shutout in Game 6 of the World Series in ’03. He is a guy whose game raises up a notch. I would argue that if you plan on getting to the playoffs, which I think they do, you’re going to have a different Josh Beckett than you have now and between the end of the season anyway. He’s struggling right now. Here’s the thing to hold onto with Josh. He’s struggling right now, and he’s giving up the long ball. And he’s struggling a little bit with the home run. But he’s not walking people. He’s been incredibly wild in the strike zone.

Would he be better off walking some people?

Yes, he would. He wouldn’t as long as he wasn’t giving up some home runs. He’s wild in the strike zone right now. You would prefer it didn’t go three, four starts in a row. And generally it shouldn’t. But it happens. The fact of the matter is that he’s wild in the strike zone, and that can correct itself in literally an inning or in a game. Obviously, you’re still waiting for it and want to see it. For them to make the playoffs, it will and has to change, and I think it will. You’ll have that ace guy going into October.

While my family is obviously the priority, and 38 Studios is a priority, I do have some interest in the possibility. That being said, to get to there from where I am today, many many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen. I am not going to comment further on the matter since at this point it would be speculation on top of speculation.

My hope is that whatever happens, and whomever it happens to, this state makes the decision and chooses the best person, regardless of sex, race, religion or political affiliation, to help get this state back to the place it deserves to be.

What a shame, what an embarrassment this entire thing is. If you are someone who believes in this country, believes in the men and women who have given their lives in service of the freedom we so callously throw away at times, please write, call or email someone that can do something about this.

On what Billy Wagner gains by staying in New York: I know that they’re probably not going to pick up his option, which I don’t think is the problem. I think arbitration is the problem here (in Boston).”

On Wagner’s alleged comments on “his desire to end the year healthy for the future” and that “he has a better chance lasting a month in a non-competitive environment”: I’ve known Billy Wagner a long time and I can absolutely believe that. I can believe that comment.

On Wagner being “nutty and a little strange”: No, not as much as you think. He’s left-handed, which makes him goofy to begin with.

On whether he and Papelbon could get along: They’d get along fine. Paps is Paps. There’s just not a whole lot of forethought there, and I’m one to talk. But if Billy Wagner if setting you up in the eighth, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to get a few more save opportunities than you otherwise might. He’s always been a nightmare for left-handed hitters and when he was up around 100 (MPH) he was a nightmare for guys on both sides.

On whether he buys into the claim that Wagner was a righty at birth but broke his arm and switched to lefty, ultimately developing the ability to throw 100 MPH: I heard that story a long time ago. He says that it’s true, but I’m still calling it BS.

CLICK HERE to listen to the complete audio segment on The Big Show.

Here are a couple points from the audio segment:

- Schilling: “The big thing for me is that Jason (Varitek) is here. If he is not catching everyday, he still has an impact and I think that gets lost in the shuffle…his interaction with Victor..his interaction with the pitching staff.”

- Schilling: “One of the reasons that this organization (the Red Sox) has an advantage in mind, over a lot of clubs when you get to the postseason, is the network of scouting and the depth of scouting that this club does. The information that is available to me as a pitcher and a player going into a series…they go above and beyond in a lot of different ways to present you with information and data that you can use going ahead. Jon (Lester) and Josh (Beckett) have both, to their own extent, have gotten to be guys that use data”

- Schilling: “Jason (Varitek) is and always has been a team first guy. I think if he acted in a way that was contradictory to that, I would be one of the more shocked people on the planet.”

- Merloni: “I can tell you that (Jason) Varitek has had a shoulder for about a month and a half and the neck for about month. This has been bothering him now for the last month and he has been playing because deep down he realizes, just like last year, my offense will struggle, but I can still bring things to the team defensively when I catch these big guns.”

I never pitched in front of a player that had a better defensive season than Alex Gonzalez did when I was in Boston. Not sure what the defensive statistics say about that year, but I know as a staff we were all in love with the guy every day he was at SS.

Great shortstops, much like great center fielders, take athleticism to a new level, Alex certainly did that. Pokey Reese was another one. Their play in and around the bag, their ability to go into the hole, do things other guys never attempt, effortlessly, is one of the magics of the game of baseball.

Pitchers are selfish in this sense. I never EVER cared whether Jason got a hit or not when I was pitching. Sure I wanted him to go 4-4 and hit 4 bombs, but if he didn’t it did not matter to me. I just needed to know, had to know, that he was committed to every pitch he was putting down. He always was.

The same thing applies to defense in the field. Sure you want everyone to get 4 hits a night, but that’s not going to happen. So recognizing that, what I wanted above all else was that guy who took as much, if not more, pride in his glove work and defense as he did in hitting. That’s Alex.

In addition to being a fantastic teammate, he can flat out play defense as well as anyone I ever suited up against, or played with.

It may not get the coverage it deserves, since he’s not hitting 350 and doesn’t have 20 HR’s or 100 RBI’s, but he’ll win games, he’ll make the staff better, and he’ll make a difference.

Getting both he and Kotchman (even with Youk being a Gold Glover) reminds me of bringing in Cabrera and Dougie M in ‘04. Theo understands the dramatic shift in approach an above average defense can give a team.

I can remember pitching TO the left side of the infield with Alex and Pokey out there, same with Orlando. That’s huge. You cannot quantify it in numbers, but it has a direct impact on pitchers that control their fastballs.

Here it is, if that drink nails you as a positive, then so would water.

It won’t, and it hasn’t.

FWIW the taste isn’t all that bad, it gets better the more you take it and it does help a hell of a lot with sleeping through the night.

This event is NOT political but rather a chance to simply say thank you to people that deserve our thanks.

It will be held at the Myriad Ballroom in Mendon, Mass. on Friday, September 11, 2009.

If you know of a Gold Star family or a family that should be invited please send contact information to Michael Shain, 15 Virginia Drive, Milford, Ma 01757 or email tomatt4@verizon.net

If you wish to donate to the event please send to “Thanks to Yanks, c/o Charles River Bank, 70 Main Street, PO Box 740, Medway, MA 02053.

Ann Coulter might be extreme, but damn the woman is intelligent in ways that piss so many people off. You have to think that with as much anger and hatred as she elicits, she has to be hitting too close to home for some.

I disagree with some of what she says, I do wish she was more subdued so more people would listen to the actual content of what she says, but she has an opinion and really doesn’t give a damn what people think, there’s something admirable about that….most of the time.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. There were ironies abounding that day, as well…

Dan Gabrielle, Mike Carista, Todd Pratt and I were sitting in the Double A clubhouse in New Britain. That morning (we had a doubleheader vs. the Mariners that day) we talked about the rumored trade for MIke Boddicker for the first and only time. I don’t think any of us ever considered being part of a trade, but we openly talked about that very thing for the first and only time that morning.

Gabe was a No. 1 pick, incredibly talented and a great guy. Mike Carista was the most talented pitcher I had played with to that point, and Todd was catching, coming off a Rule 5 spring with the Indians.

It was both funny and ironic that we went around the room and talked about everyone’s chances… but mine. I never even considered being included, nor did anyone else. We thought we knew Brady was going, but we were trying to figure out which guy would make the other piece.

We talked about Gabe, but that he was a No. 1 pick we didn’t think they’d trade him. We all thought Mike was one of, if not the best prospect below AAA. No way they’d trade him. Todd was coming off a Rule 5 draft and seemed a logical choice if there was going to be another big prospect.

It was a simple 15-minute conversation, nothing more really.

I was slated to start Game 2 of the doubleheader and was in the clubhouse watching TV. The Double A clubhouse had the square footage of a mini refrigerator so there weren’t many options for roaming while waiting to get ready for Game 2. A big screen TV, training room table, a table for the hot dogs (post game spread) and not much else.

So I am sitting on the chair watching ESPN, and along the bottom of the screen scrolls

“Red Sox acquire Boddicker……..”

“Boston acquires RHP Mike Boddicker for minor league OF Brady Anderson and minor league RHP Curt Schilling”

Um, what?????

Talk about stunned, shocked, reeling, everything you can imagine.

That’s how I found out. That was how I was informed.

I walk out of the clubhouse to the dugout, Todd Pratt is on deck, I call him over, he leans to the screen and I whisper

“Dude I just got traded to Balitmore”

“No f’in way dude!”

“Yep!”

“Ok bro, watch, I’m going to hit a bomb for you”

I laugh. He proceeds to walk to the plate and launches a 450 foot homer to dead center (for anyone that doesn’t know the field at New Britain only Hercules and the Lord himself go dead central at that park).

I laughed, went inside, got a phone call I cannot for the life of me remember, and pack my things.

I flew to Orlando to meet the Charlotte Knights, the Double A team for Baltimore.

I ended up starting the next day. I was nervous as hell thinking “Man they are going to release me if I don’t pitch well, they are going to think they traded for a pathetic player!”

I got my ass handed to me, Chip Hale took me deep, too.

Not a great story, but man I remember every bit of the little stuff surrounding that morning. Little did I know 16 years later I’d get a shot at wearing the uniform of the team that had drafted me.

Is this more shocking than any other revelation? Given David’s public statements about the need to show that people can succeed “the right way” in ‘06, and his calls for punishment this spring, is this more surprising than other sluggers who have been caught?
I am not sure about anyone else, personally I am in no way shocked anymore. David’s statements make me think that the guys that did test positive do not know or have not been told — until these leaks come out.

As to the second point, I mean come on. Our stinking President had sex with a woman half his age in the oval office and looked straight into the camera in his best Rafael Palmeiro impersonation and said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” No, his comments don’t make it more surprising.

Should any of David’s subsequent accomplishments be judged by this?
That’s for you to decide. It seems to be an area of immense debate, but I am not sure how this could/should/will be resolved. Whatever you do you need to do it for anyone now, and if you do do something, make sure there is some detriment for anyone caught going forward. Given that so many people live on their accomplishments or stats, taking one or both away would be a decent way to deter some guys, I think.

Should any of the Sox’ accomplishments in ‘04 or ‘07 be judged differently because of this?
This makes me laugh. I have already seen the bandwagon fans start the *04 and *07 threads and remarks, people with teams who are far deeper into this than most other teams — as if this makes it all OK. Every team going back 10-15 years needs an * if you want to consider giving it to anyone. The hard part is that it’s turning into a situation where we are seeing every single GREAT player in the past 10 years caught, and they’re dragging what we thought were the majority, and are now turning into the minority, down with them.

Can David leave this controversy behind? Can the team? How does it affect the clubhouse?
Today’s game will certainly lessen the initial hammer, but it’s going to be near impossible to escape this given who he is and where he plays. It’s something the team certainly could do without, that’s for sure. My hope is that he owns up, says he did it, doesn’t put disclaimers or addendums to any of the confession, and moves on. If he does that I think it goes away far quicker than a  “I just did it once” or “I had no idea” defense. If that happens, it will only serve to prolong what is already going to be a very painful series of events.

What can be done by MLB to move on? Disclose ALL the positive tests? Anything else?
If this is going to continue, MLB and the game would be far better served by just rolling them all out, right now. It wasn’t fair when Alex was outed on his own, and neither is this. It’s a field day for sports journalists with no talent, because their story is written for them.

THE DAISUKE PROGRAM

–What is your perception of the situation with his throwing program? When you saw his between-starts work in ‘07, did you consider it fascinating, insane, something in between?

Daisuke is no different than any other pitcher I’ve played with from the Far East. They are taught at a young age to throw, throw some more, and when you’re exhausted, throw some more. That works well in some cases because their schedule is different. One thing that cannot be stated enough is the fact that they work in what amounts to a six-man rotation over there, which is worlds apart from the five-man. Their strike zones are bigger, they throw less pitches per start as well. BK Kim was a great example. Young kid, phenomenal arm, burned out. The quality of his stuff dropped dramatically because he refused to listen to anyone explain to him that sort of regimen could not maintain his arm strength through this much more rigorous and demanding schedule.

–What kind of teammate is he?

Nice kid, quiet. I can’t imagine the hurdles and challenges someone faces coming to a country where everything is foreign. I was surprised to find out he knew a lot more English than he ever let on and part of me thinks that was due to him wanting to know more of what was going on than he let on or people expected. It also, IMO only, presented him with the opportunity to say “I don’t understand” when he actually might have. He was always smiling.

–What’s your sense of the reason underlying his time on the DL this year: WBC, need to return to his lifelong shoulder program, poor conditioning, other?

I think he showed up to spring training in horrific shape based on what I heard and saw. When weight goes up, and body fat as well, it’s a clear indicator that work wasn’t being done. If he’s allowed to ‘do as he pleases’ he’s peaked and IMO he will not get better. If he is allowed to throw to the extreme volumes he wants you are looking at a starter who will need a few breaks during the season, and someone who will not remain a power guy for long.

–Will he be a useful piece this year?

I don’t think so. Any logical assessment of where he is, and where he needs to be to get major-league hitters out leads me to believe at the very best he might be able to give you some innings in September, but certainly not many and often.

–Inside a clubhouse, how is this sort of stuff perceived? Does this sort of controversy affect anyone else?

It’s looked on as it is, the guy didn’t do the work needed to do his job. This is one of those things that has far longer legs outside the clubhouse than in. You play games every day, there’s far too much to think about without worrying about stuff completely out of your control.

The far more important thing here is the destruction of trust. I watched this team acquiesce to everything in year one. They did any and every thing they could to make him comfortable. No one told him NO, or YOU CANNOT, but there was a large group of people working with him to make him understand the game here is far different from the one he’s been playing, and that is going to require change. The lack of accountability is sad to see as well.

He is where he is because of no one’s actions – or inactions – other than his own. This team, especially the manager and pitching coach, have busted their asses to do what is right by him, at every turn; and to be honest why wouldn’t they? It’s in their best interest for Dice to be as good as he can. The hard part was persuading someone who was every bit as much an icon as Michael Jordan was here, in Japan, that he needed to change. He obviously, regardless of what he’s said, doesn’t believe that’s the case.

If he doesn’t listen to John, and he is allowed to do his own thing, he won’t remain a top line starter in the big leagues.

SMOLTZ

–It seems like fastball command has been his chief problem. Is that the last thing to come back after labrum surgery?

It wasn’t for me. The last thing I got was consistent velocity. I talked with John a few weeks back about coming back from labrum surgery and told him that for me it was about eight weeks into my big-league return when things started to get back to normal.

My first eight weeks my velocity was incredibly erratic. I pitched a game in SF, had a three-pitch first inning, 83, 84 and 85 mph fastballs, all three pop ups in the infield. Second inning on I K’d 7 in a row and was throwing 95. I had to ‘hang on’ in every game until my velocity showed up.

The HUGE plus I have seen in John is the ‘stuff’ is there. His velocity is more than good enough, and his other stuff is too, it’s really boiling down to one simple thing, fastball command. That will come, and when it does he’s a top of the rotation guy. Right now he’s wild in the zone and getting killed for it.

–You made the transition from a guy who used the fastball down and away to someone who worked both sides of the plate. What are the challenges of that adjustment? How does diminished FB velocity force a gameplan change? Does it become necessary to concede diminished velocity and dial back in order to gain greater precision?

It affects everything. Remember though – he still has a power pitcher’s fastball; I didn’t. He can blow one by anyone if he’s commanding it and his slider is working. The key is recognition of the change, and internally adjusting. He just needs to have better command of it right now and he doesn’t.

The HUGE plus for me though is that it IS something that can literally show up overnight, unlike many other adjustments or pitches, fastball command is as much a state of mind and belief as anything mechanical.

THE TRADE MARKET

–As a veteran, how do you perceive the value of prospects versus All-Star caliber veterans in the trade market at this time of year? In clubhouse conversations, do guys care about long-term shape of the organization, or would the idea of Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez, Adrian Gonzalez, etc., come with a make-the-deal, screw-the-prospects sort of response?

Depends on the player. As we have talked about in the past, this is a different place. Everyone here knows the team will do whatever it can to make the club better, and to make the club a World Series contender. For the most part that means everyone is on the table and available. With the exception of Josh, Lester and Bard, Petey and Youk, I don’t imagine anyone on this team is untouchable. Theo won’t screw up what he’s worked to build the past 5-6 years, but if he has a chance to get Doc or Gonzalez and not deplete the entire system, I think anyone that knows him knows he’ll do it. If he believes he can sign Doc, keep Josh, I guarantee he will do it.

As far as value, it really boils down to perspective. What are the chances of any pitcher they have in their system having the year Doc might have next year? Slim? None? If you can sign him then the argument gets even more lopsided.

Gonzalez means moving Lowell, which I wouldn’t do given his value on and off the field. I have no clue where or what Victor Martinez would do, and I am having trouble seeing that move happening without some major shake up. Not that it won’t, but that’s a tough one to play out. Do you go with three catchers? Put a below average glove at first over a Gold Glover, moving him to third? Moving Lowell where? Who catches Wake? You don’t trade the prospects it might take to get a guy like that and then only plan on him being in the lineup 4-5 days  a week, right?

I’ve known Charlie for about 5 years now, and I’ll state right up front I have not dug into his policies, or his agenda, but the one thing I do know is he’s a man of his word, and a man of integrity. Two things that are too often left off others resumes.

So while he may stand for some things, or done some things I don’t agree with, like I said I need to do some homework, I’ll vote for him. I’ll vote for him because he’s someone that has always appealed to me as being out for the greater good above all else.

This state is in dire need of exactly that right now.

Here’s a link to a more relevant site for anyone wanting to get involved.

Curt Schilling answered a number of questions about the game for Alex Speier’s article, “Red Sox Independence Day.” Here are Curt’s recollections of that day:

You started the night before that game – when the Yankees won, 8-7, to take a 9.5 game lead in the East. You took a 4-2 lead into the sixth, the Yankees scratched five runs off of you and Timlin (two infield singles playing a huge part in the rally) to take the lead, then after the Sox tied it in the eighth, A-Rod hit a game-winning single off of Foulke in the night. Afterwards, you said that if the Sox played that hard every night, you’d win the World Series. What do you remember about that game?

If I remember right that was one of the hardest regular season losses I suffered here. Was in total control of the game and it just slipped away. Giambi HR? Tough loss.

It was a micro version of the season. We battled, that team ground it out every night. We never conceded and we had the personality and makeup to say that attitude wasn’t [B.S.]. It was real, it was who we were.

Was there any despondency about that big a hole in the standings, any sense that the playoffs – let alone World Series – might be slipping as a legitimate goal?

We never looked at it that way. One of Tito’s strengths has always been his ability to get the team to focus on the nine innings ahead of you, regardless of what has happened.

Given the strength of the team in April (MLB-best 17-8 record), what explanations did you guys have for the weird run (35-36 through that game) that followed?

We just weren’t consistent, and we were playing in a very tough division. This league is as hard a grind as anything you could imagine. There were no real patsies. There was no stretch of games where you looked at and said “ah, we should go 7-3” because even when we drew a Seattle we’d get Hernandez, Baltimore would always have Bedard and it seemed we NEVER missed Halladay.

At that point, many questioned Terry Francona as a manager (an article in the New York Times on July 24, 2004, asked how Joe Torre would handle the Red Sox). How was Francona’s handling of the club during that period? Was he wearing the team’s struggles?

He was the same, he always is. Sure he’s human and some times are funner than others, but he never brought that into the clubhouse. I remember hanging out in his office often, just chatting. I’ve known him longer than anyone here and I know him well, and there are times, especially that year in dealing with Manny and some of the Pedro stuff that I knew he needed to talk to a player.

The next day, the weather was brutal. There was a rain delay (54 minutes) and most folks anticipated a rainout. What was the clubhouse attitude like prior to that game?

We wanted to play, the front office did not. They were very concerned about the ‘gate’ and we were dead set on playing. I remember a “[Expletive] that, we want to play” response when they came and told us they wanted to bang the game.

Do you recall whether there was any sense that a rainout was going to happen?

We thought they were wanting to do it, and we knew we wanted to play.

Was there any sense of desperation about the need to beat the Yankees at that point? Or is the 162-game nature of the season such that there are no such things as “must-wins?”

No. That team never ever acted or felt desperate. We were in holes, we had to climb some mountains, but we did so never being desperate. We were able to focus on the game at hand as well as any team I had ever been on.

Bronson Arroyo, as a first-year starter, was the guy on the mound for you that day. At that point, any concerns about how Bronson might handle that sort of spotlight game?

That was never a concern about Bronson. He was never a guy you worried about getting rattled. You hoped he was awake some times, but you never worried about him being rattled.

Top 3: Yankees, already up 2-0, push across another run (Bernie double, Jeter single, Sheffield run-scoring DP) to go up 3-0. Then, Bronson hits A-Rod.

How would you describe the tensions between the Sox and Yankees entering that year and that game? Obviously, you parachuted into the middle of the thing, following the ‘03 playoffs and all that came with it… Was there a sense of outright hostility between the teams, or was that a creation from outsiders?

Far more animosity in the stands than on the field. Though some things happened that year that were weird and uncomfortable. Pedro walking through their stretch at Yankee stadium, goofy stuff. But we never ‘hated’ them or anything like that, not as a team anyway. We certainly didn’t like some of them more than others.

What was the perception of A-Rod in the Sox clubhouse at that time?

Probably as disliked as anyone in the game. Profound respect for the on the field talent, but there was so much weird [expletive] that always was present. We always looked at him as someone forcing himself to look comfortable when he clearly wasn’t. It was weird. There was almost pity in that we watched the immense effort he would put out to make himself appear like ‘one of the guys’. We had a bunch of guys that knew him, and some that had played with him, so we knew the guy.

What was the scouting report on A-Rod in ‘04? How were you guys trying to pitch him in that series?

His major weakness is the strike outs. That many K’s always meant there were holes. There was no one way to pitch him, but you knew and know he was a HUGE guesser then. You could watch his K’s and know that.

Was Bronson trying to hit A-Rod?

Stupidest thing ever, no chance. Look at the score, count, situation, no chance.

Was it fair game for A-Rod to yell at Bronson?

Fair had nothing to do with it. The guy was SCREAMING for a situation to ingratiate himself there, and it presented itself, sort of. The yelling BS though, that was funny. The only thing between a hitter and the mound is air and opportunity, he had both….

What role did Jason Varitek play in escalating the situation? You’re probably aware of the legend — myth? real? — that Jason said something along the lines of, “We don’t hit .270 hitters on purpose…” Any truth to that? Was Jason simply looking to help a teammate, or was he looking to spark the team?

No. Jason told him to shut up, and go to first. Then the exchange of F bombs, then the Wilson sandwich.

You were the first guy in from the dugout — how did you see the thing unfold? Where were you trying to go on the field?

I was trying to get there first for two reasons, make sure Tek didn’t end up on the bottom, and that no one on our team got hurt in the melee.

What are the details of the brawl that you remember from inside of it? Nothing remarkable, a lot of shit talking, nothing more. What are the details that you learned while re-watching it? Anything – whether the Sturtze/Kapler, Sturtze/Ortiz/Nixon, anything – that was particularly insane?

That was the minute we realized Sturtze was a 6-foot-8 inch puss. The sucker BS and all that, no place for it. We were all wishing some how, some way, Trot would have had a cleaner, clearer shot. That would have been worthy of some sort of cage fighting highlight. We also went nuts when we saw Jonesy (first-base coach Lynn Jones, who tried to pull David Ortiz out of the scrum with Sturtze) grabbing our players. You never grab your own guys in a brawl.

How, if at all, was the dugout/clubhouse a different place after you guys returned to it? Do you see blood on guys? How would you describe the adrenaline of the situation?

Huge adrenalin surge on our end, then the normal scenes, everyone running back to the clubhouse to check out the video and see who did what, who said what, who kicked who’s ass and any sucker punches.

Among brawls you’ve been a part of, how — aside from subsequent history — was this one different, and how similar to others?

Not much really.

The game resumes. A-Rod, Sturtze, Tek, Kapler, Kenny Lofton are thrown out. The game goes all over the place. You guys score four runs to go up 4-3 by the end of the fourth. Yankees score six in the sixth, go up 9-4. Four for Sox in the sixth, 9-8 game. Yanks score another in the seventh. What do you remember about the course that the game took from the brawl into the ninth?

Nothing but the ending really, it was all a blur.

Any concern, in the sixth, that a five-run lead is hopelessly large? Any concern that you’ve missed out on a chance to build on a major event that could have built momentum?

No

What is the dugout chatter like during the game?

Like every other time. Wondering about retaliation, guys saying they are going straight for so and so if we clear again, no ONE, and I mean NO ONE, is not in the dugout from that point on.

As much as you guys had done to get back in the game, does Mariano Rivera’s entrance (with two outs in the eighth) change the dynamic?

Everywhere but here. Mo, and there is ZERO disrespect intended because he’s the greatest ever, but he never intimidated or set us back mentally. Mo was who you had to beat in late game situations and we had done that enough to know we could. We didn’t need ‘that guy’ at the plate, we had many guys who were and are ok facing him.

Bottom nine. Mo’s in. Nomar doubles. Trot flies out. Millar singles (10-9). Bill Mueller. What do you remember?

It was movie script like, really. That game injected a HUGE amount of momentum. You come to the park different every day for the rest of the season. Many times it’s not immediate, but it has huge impact, and that carried into October for us. We REALLY didn’t like them after that series, bordering on ‘beat the (expletive) out of them dislike” whereas before it was ‘beat them’.

The obvious disclaimers: you guys went 3-3, then 5-5 after the brawl game, and there was a little trade about a week later. That said…what was the role of this game in what happened over the rest of 2004?  Do you guys get to the playoffs without it? Are you able to come back in the ALCS without it? What was the significance of that game?

I think it had bigger implications in October than the regular season. I look at that team as one that would have made the playoffs anyway, but that’s now, I can’t remember it then, but I do know I heard more than once in October that game, being referenced.

–What stands out about how Halladay approaches pitching – either on the mound or between starts – that has allowed him to excel?

It’s the entire package. Same situation as a Beckett or a Lester. I know I am getting a guy that hates losing so much that he’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it. I also know that he thrives on working with and helping young pitchers that are receptive to it, and there are quite a few of those guys here. I also know that he is a further insurance policy for my bullpen. The amount of innings I can project on him is far more than most other starters, which means I am projecting less innings from my bullpen.

–Based on what you’ve seen, what, if anything, do you feel the Red Sox need between now and the July 31 trade deadline?

Health, period. A healthy Mike Lowell is huge, maybe the biggest piece. They don’t need anything if they have health because in my opinion if they stay completely healthy they are going to run away with the division. No team can match their staff 1-5 and certainly not in a five- or seven-game series.

–How, if at all, does the clubhouse atmosphere change during the weeks between the All-Star break and the July 31 deadline?

Depends on the players. In this clubhouse, not a lot changes simply because the usual change in other clubhouses is from some semblance of normal to frantic, and it’s always frantic in Boston so it really doesn’t feel any different. The major difference, and I would argue advantage, is that you never walk into this clubhouse worried that you may be seeing your team trading its way out of contention. Now remember I was in this clubhouse as a veteran — it’s different for young players who have heard their names on the block.

–What is Jason Bay worth as a free agent?

Whatever you can lock him up for, for the next four to five years, obviously within reason and what the market is dictating. Locking him up now requires two things in my opinion.

1) The team accurately projecting market value, knowing the player, and then figuring out if they can obtain that player for less than the market value

2) The player accurately projecting market value and being willing to accept something less than that. No team pays a player market value at this stage, when they can do it six months from now. And no player accepts less than market value at this point unless it’s money that is somewhat close, they aren’t going after every last penny, and they are playing in a place they really want to remain in.

I do think Jason wants to play here, and I do think they want to keep him here. How much of each side’s desire there is, I don’t know. It’s a perfect fit in the clubhouse I think, simply because he’s a very good teammate and a genuinely good guy. He’s as perfect a fit on the field as you could ask and has proven the market is not going to affect his performance in any way.

July 9: “Roy Halladay makes every team in the game better”   — LISTEN

July 13: What is Halladay worth in prospects and money? — LISTEN

Has it really come to this?

Donald Fehr took over as head the MLBPA almost three decades ago. The men he was appointed to lead saw their income rise by almost 600 percent, he stopped the ownership of his constituents from colluding to keep salaries down, winning a judgement of almost $300 million, fought for and won pension and benefits that are unsurpassed in the modern day working world to name just a few things.

And Mr. Sheridan would have us believe the Don is responsible for the lack of integrity, ethics and morals now prevelant in the game.

Really?

It’s Donald Fehr’s fault A-Rod stuck a needle in his ass? It’s Donald Fehr’s fault Manny took a female hormone to regulate his testosterone levels? It’s Donald Fehr’s fault that ‘allegedly’ the greatest players of our generation cheated their asses off because being great was just not enough?

It’s Donald Fehr’s fault that we players stood in front of Congress and either lied our asses off or didn’t ’speak our minds’ about the catastrophic and illegal conditions we players willingly chose to work within?

It’s Donald Fehrs fault that owners paid salaries to a level that has driven the “common fan” away from the bleachers?

It’s Donald Fehr’s fault that the sports media, like eveyrone else, took the 1997, ‘98 seasons at face value, and believed in the huge biceps, skulls and stats as honest and hard working gains?

That ’saving the game’ during that period of time was anything but stupid men, with insane God-given talent, choosing the wrong path at almost every turn?

So Phil would have us believe that in addition to running the union, he was supposed to visit each player individually and parent them to make the right choices for the good of the game? Isn’t that what parents are for? Isn’t that what society is supposed to do????

We LIVE to give people a second chance. Short of murder (and even then we sometimes are OK with it) and crimes against children is there really anything a human being can do and NOT get a clean slate?

That’s not a bad thing, but it sure as hell isn’t Donald Fehr’s fault that major league ballplayers, GROWN MEN with wives, children, pets and homes (oh, and hundreds of millions of dollars) made stupid and in some cases illegal choices with which to live their lives and perpetuate fraud on the fans.

Donald Fehr did what he was paid to do, and he did it pretty damn good too.

We, the players (well former player here) are the ones completely and totally responsible for the lack of ethics, integrity, and morals so prevelant in sports today. Drugs, spouse abuse, animal abuse, DUI, DWI, vehicular manslaughter, murder, rape, extortion, gambling, last I checked Mr. Fehr had never been accused of any of those crimes, but there are police blotters around the country with athletes names on them.

A name often dismissed in the last 10 years is Rick Helling. Check him out. As someone who played with him I can attest to the fact that he was everything nice anyone could say, and honest to a fault. If more of us had acted on the feelings we had, which he did, things could have been different, things could have changed. We didn’t, and for that our generation, the generation we played in now defined as the “Steroid Era”, got it’s name.

That’s on us, the owners, and the Commissioner, but it sure as hell isn’t on Don Fehr.

Thanks for the hard work Don.

Patience is not a virtue to me. Hell, it’s not something I’m even remotely familiar with.

I sat by the phone all morning long, into the afternoon. I waited, waited, and waited some more. I had known all winter I was on ‘the list’, but I had no idea who’s list, and where.

My roommate (and eventual JC Player of the Year Brian Deak) was a sure-fire pick, and a high one at that. I skipped classes (a not all too uncommon occurrence for me back then considering I knew if I was drafted in the 400th round I was signing) on draft day, sat by the phone and waited.

Worst part is I can’t even remember the phone call. I know it came in the afternoon sometime, and it was the Red Sox. Red Sox??? Damn, I was hoping like hell my favorite team (the Pirates) had drafted me.

Ray Boone, the scout who recommended me, called me, I think. I am not sure I can remember or explain the feeling, but I know it was a good one. The Sox had taken me in the second round. This was the same
winter draft Jeff Shaw went first, and Moises Alou was drafted. We went on to have a storybook season, getting all the way to the JC World Series in Grand Junction Colorado. It was one of my favorite teams and years of all time.

Deak was JC Player of the year, hitting 40 HR and driving in like 200 runs. We had Brad Hebbets at first, Tim Stanley (funniest man ever and a future Montreal Expo) at second, Pat Swift at SS (was the guy on 2nd when Deak hit the walk off HR to win the regional tourney!) Paul Wegner, Albert Mendibles at third (gold glover), Danny Diaz, Kelly Clairmont, Bradi Brogni (still a close friend and one of the most talented players I ever
played with. Also the longest home run off me and has the biggest nose ever…) and one of my best friends ever, Ty Van Dyke. Ty was the guy who went to Iraq last year with me. In 23 years of pro ball I still talk to fewer teammates than I do from the JC team. It was that fun.

Paul Wilhemlsmen, tallest LHP ever (including RJ!) Gary Weems, Danny Rodriguez (who had the plaque) and some other incredibly talented guys.  We were coached by “Coach Kemp” — great guy and someone who didn’t think I was as funny as I thought I was — and managed by one of my all time favorite people, Dave Dangler. A man who came along at a huge time in my life and inserted just enough discipline to keep me out of jail for that one year away from home. He basically told me that winter that I was “pitching for dollars” and it was no longer just a game. He was right. I’ll be forever thankful of his mentoring me at a time when I needed it.

So we had this great year, went to the World Series, and lost to Brevard in the semi-finals in a rip off… a sham! Then lost to eventual winners San Jacinto.

I’d love to tell you this long drawn out story about negotiations, but it didn’t happen. Baseball was all I knew, and all I wanted. I signed less than an hour after the game ended. I vaguely remember Mr. Boone
calling me and letting me know they were going to offer me 15K to sign, and I came back and said I wanted 25K, and he said “Good luck in college next year.

That was the extent of the negotiations.

I signed right then, right there. We bussed home to Prescott the next day. Deaker and I drove home
to Phoenix that night (and ran out of gas about an hour from home) in the “new” Jeep CJ7. I bought it from Ty, and it was a heap, but it looked cool!

The next day I was packed, and on a plane to the lovely city of Elmira, New York, and my career began about two weeks later in my first professional start of my career, against the St. Catherine’s Blue Jays.

Not really all that glamorous, but man it was to me.

Question: What do you think of the way the Braves dealt with Tom Glavine?

Me: Incredibly sad to see someone who played his entire career in one place and do what he did, to have it end that way. But it’s another reminder for those fans who scream about player loyalty to remember clubs, pretty much 99% of the time, are about dollars and cents and results, like any other business

Question: What’s your opinion on Steven Strasburg?

Me:  What’s not to like? BIG kid, mechanics are a lot more refined that I expected, ridiculously live arm, polished with more than 1 pitch, unfortunately he’s going to Washington, or the Independant League this summer…

Question: How do you feel about Bob Watson handing out suspensions to both Beckett and Burnett for intentionally throwing at – but not hitting – the batter? Is this setting a good precedent for the future?

Me: Bob Watson was the GM in Houston when I was there, so I know and like him, but I have felt that he’s horribly mismanaged, HORRIBLY mismanaged the ‘policing’ of the game. As someone that played in the era he did, on the teams he did, there is a very popular opinion that the man forgot what the game was like as a player. THere is literally ZERO logic to fines and suspensions, horrid inconsistency as well. 

Question:  What do you think about Laird bunting in the sixth inning of a no-hitter last night, having had Ben Davis do the same thing to you a few years back?

Me:  Please remember, and refresh yourself if need be, I NEVER, EVER commented on Ben’s bunt other than to say I was surprised by it, never. It was a 2-0 game. The Tiger game was 4-0 and I don’t know Gerald Laird at all so I don’t know how or what his thinking was other than to think he felt he couldn’t do much to put the ball in play, so he took his best shot at getting something going.

Question: Curt, shed a little light if you could on how the Sox pitchers might feel right now w/ the less-than-stellar defensive play from the SS position to date this season…

Me: Totally meaningless, not something you ever think about when you are on the mound, at least I never did.

Question: What do you think of Randy Johnson’s 300th win?

Me:  Pretty impressive, and I think it’s going to be the last one we’ll ever see, unless the game and mentality on pitching and pitch counts, and conserving arms changes, which it likely will not.

Question: What’s the deal with Dontrelle Willis? The guy is a shell of his former self.

Me:  That delivery with that amount of effort is a major factor in losing ’stuff’ quickly. Ken Hill was the same way, though he lasted longer. You put that much effort into throwing the ball that often, it’s very hard to keep your stuff IMO, but I thought that after I saw his first start in the ML.

Rob Bradford:  Producer Brett has been walking around the halls of Entercom Boston pretty confident about the wager regarding David Ortiz hitting 20 HRs this year. Are you still confident he’ll reach 20?

Me:  I keep expecting him to bust out, and it’s not happening. I think there is something else going on, something we don’t know or can’t see

Question: After missing out on Mark Teixeira this past offseason, do you see the Sox making a push for Joe Mauer with the timing of his contract expiring as well as V-teks?

Me: Yes, I thnk the Sox will be in the Mauer hunt but I see the Yanks grossly overpaying for him, pricing him above the Sox value point. But the bigger part to that is what kind of kid he is, if he’s a small town Minnesota boy neither may get him.

Question: How was E3?

Me: E3 was spectacular, it’s returning to its former self, which is cool.

Question: Do you think John Smoltz will be effective this season?

Me:  If he’s healthy, yes.

Question: Going back to Ortiz, did you know of any other hitters who identified vision as their problem and turned things around?

Me:  No.

Question: Who does Smoltz replace in the rotation if Penny doesn’t go?

Me: I don’t think anyone. I think they find a way to work in 6, or alternate starts with someone. But I also think they’ll need him

Question: What’s the thinking behind the Big Huge Games acquisition? Looking for a revenue stream?

Me:  Thats certianly part of it. The bigger piece was jumping ahead 3 years in dev and about 35m in cost of a PS3/X360/PC single player RPG based on the copernicus IP

Question: Do you think Theo will eat Lugo’s money once Lowrie comes back?

Me:  Hypotheticals work worse here than anywhere, and you all continue to think or believe status quo will be maintained, haven’t we all learned it never works out that way:)

Question: If you were Tito, how much longer would you give Papi to get things straightened out before you started platooning him or seriously looking for a viable Plan B for DH?

Me:  Whatever the result the Sox will be as perfectly positioned as possible come Aug 1

Question: What do you think about the new lineup?

Me:  I am not in that clubhouse, and thats a HUGE part to anything like that, any thoughts about what ‘you’ would do. You don’t know what’s going on, nor do I, but rest assured Tito will do whats best for the team. I remember you all hollering for blood in 04 when Millar was hitting like 076 with 4 Rbi’s in June, and Tito kept running him out there, how’d that work out? Trust that he knows better than you what’s going on and who its going on with. Did they win today? Ya? Then I like the new lineup…

Question: How do you believe the Josh Beckett contract situation will play out? Can you see him working out a long-term deal to finish his career in Boston?

Me: If the money is right yes. Tito and Jon F will be HUGE pieces to that IMO

Question: Who do you think would be a better fit in Boston, Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Both good players, obviously

Me:  Bay Mon-Sat 2x on Sunday. He’s a star, plus Rob will draft him and trade him to me next year.

Question: Any thoughts on the criticism BC’s Mik Aoki & Texas’ Augie Garrido have taken for letting their pitchers go as long as they did in the NCAA game this past Sat? Are people like ESPN’s Keith Law going too far?

Me:  Nope, and yes. Keith Law has never stood on a mound trying to decide what’s best for his team and player while hearing the player demand to be kept in:) But he’s right, there are some serious long term issues that could present themselves after that. It’s a business now, all the way through to High school.

Question: Do you think Ellsbury will ever become a patient hitter? He is hitting .313/.351 obp but with a slump could be .280/.318 I think that is why the Sox dropped him in the order. Drew is only hitting .253 but with a .374 obp and they prefer that type of player.

Me: I never really knew what to believe before money ball, but in 23 years the one thing I have rarely, ever seen a hitter ‘learn’ is patience, because it’s a mindset to me, and not a skill

Question: Curt,do you pass on any of the info you have collected on hitters you have faced to other pitchers if they ask or are you opposed to doing that?

Me: I haven’t spoken to a player since January I don’t think, so no:)

Question: Do you think manny should play in the all star game?

Me: No. And you idiots shouldnt vote him in, those that voted for him.

Question: Youk learned patience, didn’t he?

Me: No, he was always that way.

Question: Why can’t managers/players pick the All Star team? Have the fans select the final 2 instead of 1 to each roster? Manny getting in is absurd.

Me: Because the game is for the fans, you vote on who you want to see, not who deserves it all the time, plus players put value to other players in ways fans/writers don’t and wouldn’t.

Question: Is the tribute to Gehrig coming up?

Me: It is, July 4th, every major and ML park in the country

Question: What did you think of MIT when you visited Sloan?

Me: Me and MIT? Felt like a whore in church….

Question: What are they doing for the Gehrig tribute, do you know?

Me:  Celebrity’s and Heroes reading his speech, uniform patches I think, lots of other stuff, local ALS chapters are all putting events together.

Question: Curt you seem to be someone who doesnt have to filter what the truth is, can you tell us why Orlando Cabrera didn’t work out here? We have all heard rumors but I dont understand why we never re-signed him.

Me: The Sox had ‘issues’ with his ‘lifestyle’ away from the park, and lost a stud. He was an AWESOME teammate who showed up and played his ass off every single day. I loved him to death, not to mention he was one of the best SS I ever threw in front of. Oh FWIW they had issues with someone who did far less away from the park than a butt load of others.

Question: With Remy out sick, and the fill in patrol helping D.O. out in the booth, what are the chances we will see you up there doing color for some games this year?

Me: I’ve been asked 6 times, and been 100% HAPPY to say no each one. I have ZERO ambition to do that, but I LOVE Orsillo, he’s awesome.

Question: Speaking of charity events, will we see you on the mound at the 100-inning baseball game this year? 

Me: I’ll come to the event, but probably not pitch

Question: Curt, your thoughts on Rodney Harrison retiring and him working in the media. I’m sure you’ve learned, a good media member can’t be afraid to criticize, meaning great things to come from Rodney. Also, thanks for 2004, it meant a lot to me and my father before he passed away!

Me: Thanks! Rodney should do well

Questionn: I know Wakefield has had some very good starts but also some very bad ones. And overall a below average year (4.50 era career 4.33) Do you see him being the odd man out at some point this season?

Me: Can’t see it, at his age, and with his body I can’t see him going to the pen and being able to pitch enough to warrant the move, not to mention who would you bump in the pen?

Question: What was your all time favorite team you played for? And by the way, Justin M thanked you for 2004 but I want to thank you for 2001. It couldn’t have been done without you.

Me: Favorite team? 1986 Yavapai Roughriders, 2001 DBacks, 04 Sox

Question: Curt, what are your thoughts on Brad Penny this year? He’s gotten a bad rep from the people in LA, but seems to fit in nice with Beckett, etc. and has pitched well. I think it’s foolish to simply trade him away to make room for unproven others.

Me: It will all work itself out. Brad is a great kid and Larry Bowa is good for 2-4 stupid quotes a half. I love pee wee but he’s another guy who forgot how hard it was to play the game sometimes, Love him to death and could play for him anytime, but he’s a red ass of the highest order and sometimes says stuff, but he didn’t feel Brad worked hard enough, and said it, I respect that he never holds back but not sure how true or untrue it was. Some players hate to be told the truth and Pee Wee isnt afraid to scream it.

1. Do you think there will ever be another 300-game winner?

Never say never but I am not sure the game is situated for it to happen again. First off you have to have hall of fame talent, and there are certainly a lot of guys out there with that. But the other things MUST fall in line:

A. Play on a winning team EVERY year

B. Miss VERY few games due to injury

C. You basically need to win 15 games a year for 20 years. I think

Maddux is the only guy to even sniff something close to that. Otherwise you need to win 20 for a few years, hard enough in and of itself, and have a ton fo 17-19 win seasons, and sprinkle a few 23-25 win seasons in there as well.

2. When did you realize RJ had what it took to reach such a milestone?

After I watched him pitch his first game, in person.

3. When he went to the Yankees did you think that was a bad fit, and why do you think he had such a hard time there?

I never thought it would work out for a ton of reasons off the field. I certainly thought he’d win, and he did, but I didn’t see him enjoying even a minute of being there. He’s very much an introvert most times, and the RJ I knew had major issues with ‘publicity’ away from the ballpark that wasn’t controlled, and NYC is the king of unwanted publicity away from the field.

4. What is one of your favorite RJ stories?

Nothing really funny, but my favorites were watching him stroll out of the bullpen for relief in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, the night after throwing 100-plus pitches in Game 6. Watching him strikeout 20 vs the Reds, and get a no-decision.

5. What is your second-favorite RJ story?

The fact that after three years I took about 100 shirts from him in golf, to his 1.

Question: What should the red sox do with their abundance of starting pitching?

Me: As far as Penny, Smoltz and the gang, if they keep the two vets, there is no reason to think they can’t go 6 man later in the year to keep eveyrone fresh. I don’t trade ANY pitcher right now, too much can happen, too many days left to start thinking like that, plus if you float that now and don’t trade him, or can’t, you end up with a guy in your rotation that knows you tried to trade him.

Question: How close were the Sox to going with a six-man rotation last year?

Me: It was much closer to reality than people think, I tihnk if I had not been hurt it might have happened a time or two.

Question: How do you explain Jon Lester’s early-season struggles?

Me: Inconsistent. Fastball command is again his main issue. Stuff looks fantastic, he looks very healthy and he’s getting that red ass you want your top of the rotation guys to have. he’s always had that, but it’s showing more now, which is a good thing. He’ll be ok, pencil him in for 15-16 by years end and a few more in October.

Question: Jim Rice suggested Ortiz could snap out of it and hit 25 home runs. What do you think?

Me: If there isn’t a hidden health issue, which I don’t think there is, and he’s able to focus on baseball 100% he will come around, but based on what I saw last night he’s still having trouble and I think he is having a major confidence crisis right now. One thing David could ALWAYS do, is crush Fastballs, from 88-98, and right now he’s having trouble. He used to see 3-4 FB strikes a game, now guys are just pumping one after the other, a David Ortiz with his focus and confidence crushes them.

Question: What kind of advice can you, as a pitcher, give to Ortiz to help him with his slump? Do hitters normally listen to pitchers thoughts?

Me: Sometimes, as I think the case is right now with him, less is more. Mags is the perfect guy to help him because he’s as intrusive, or elusive, as hitters need him to be. If David keeps grinding it out he should find a way out of this.

Question: Do you think Lester’s issue is lack of focus late in his starts?

Me: No, lack of focus is far from a problem for him. Sometimes he overdoes it, he’s still young and learning that Maddux philosphy of ‘less is more’ is hard. When the hitter, fans and umps all know the pressure is on, you as the pitcher dial ‘back’ a bit, let hitters get themselves out, instead of forcing the issue every pitch, that’s a hard lesson to learn as a young pitcher.

Question: Curt, what do you think of the fact that Manny and A-Rod are doing so well in All-Star voting?

Me: It’s an embarassing testament to society and what we say, and what we do, are two very different things.

Question:  Are you saying once a player is suspended (like Manny) or admitted (like ARod) in the course of a season they shouldn’t be eligible for the All-Star Game that season? Or Post-season awards?

Me: Yep.

Question: I’m sure you saw the Carlos Zambrano meltdown … in your experience do umpires hold grudges after something like that or do they let it go?

Me: Umpires ABSOLUTELY hold grudges, and I’ve experienced and watched them take out vendettas DURING games.

Question: Do you have any stories?

Me: 1992 Bob Davidson: Cincy-Bob is mad at Darren Daulton behind the plate, pissed that Dutch is still mad about a called third strike.  I can’t throw a ball if I want to, command is awesome, Bob makes a bad call and then calls 3 balls in a row to walk a guy, when I approach him he says “Dutch is pissing me off, I’ll get back to the game and making better calls but he needs to chill out….”

Question: Do you think that there is any way to somehow make the strike zone with umpires more consistent? It seems every game can be so different.

Me: The only true way to make a consistent true strike zone would be electronically, but if you did that, and ruled the strike zone by the book, the batting champ would hit about .275.

Question: Is there anything you would like to see the MLB change to improve the game?

Me: Yes, I would like to see the games umpires held to a stricter code of conduct, fitness and ethics, as well as having them enforce rules uniformly rather than personally.

So in the interest of urgency, here are a quick look at the last match-ups for the first round…

Cy Young Region

8.Billy Pierce vs. 9. Jim Bunning

Walter Johnson Region

8. John Smoltz vs. 9. Dennis Martinez

Lefty Grove Region

8. Bret Saberhagen vs. 9. David Cone

Christy Mathewson Region

8. Don Sutton vs. 9. Kevin Brown

Are we at the point now where that has morphed into, “I hope he didn’t,” or, “I’m sure he did,” and both sentiments carry as much validity and weight as the initial belief? I’d sure as heck love to think not, but what possible defense could I offer up that would carry an ounce of weight?

Oh and before going any further, please spare me the “That taints your two World Series with the Sox!!!” emails. A larger load of crap I have yet to hear.

Because if you honestly think that in the last 10 years one team for even one season had NO PLAYERS using Steroids or HGH you’re kidding yourself. As horrifying and pathetic as it sounds, players cheated their way to a level playing field of a different sort. Please save the, “Oh but this guy only did it for one year,” and, “No one knows how long he was doing it.” Save that.

The only thing sadder than the continued “revelations” of new names and new drugs are the excuses following them. Female Estrogen? I didn’t know what I was taking? I had no idea it was steroids? Every one makes me appreciate Pettitte, Segui and the men that made their peace and moved on even more.

Do you honestly for one second think ANY player, ANY professional athlete who has been caught up in this allowed a cream to be rubbed, a needle to be stuck, or a pill to be taken and wasn’t aware that the substance was or was not a steroid? Really? I do believe one guy. I think J.C. Romero did buy an over-the-counter substance that contained something that got him in trouble. I could be completely hoodwinked but as far as I know he’s the only guy that’s actually done something to legally rectify the situation and clear his name.

I’ve never taken steroids, I’ve never taken HGH, and I am not saying that to clear my name or make a statement, I’m saying that because even though I did not, I’ve never drank a protein shake from my strength coach, I’ve never taken medication from a doctor or the team, I’ve never gotten an injection from a team doctor or otherwise that I didn’t ask and wasn’t told exactly what it was. I’m far from svelte or ripped, and never have been. I was never a fitness freak or gym rat — those are the guys that measured every milligram, count every tablet in their regimen. Yet somehow we’re hearing these same people talk about being struck momentarily stupid when West African bullfrog semen is found in their blood. “What? How’d that get there????” Their routines, from reps to nutrition are as mapped out as scouting reports. They eat a certain way, train a certain way, and they play a certain way. There is no ‘black hole’ or ‘hidden formula’ happening in these instances. So you get up at 5am? You eat at 6am? Thirty minutes of cardio, upper body, lower on alternate days, whirlpool for x minutes, maintain x calories of protein and carb intake? You do all that, and at some point you let someone stick a needle in your ass, or throw a ‘protein shake’ or rub a ‘crème’ on you, and for that 30 seconds to 5 minutes you have absolutely no thought, care or concern about the product? A step recognized as vital to strength gain, or recovery, a step to setup the acceleration of your recovery or magnification of gains from your hours of work and you just go dumb?

I heard the news about Manny and was asked for my response. “Not surprised” was all I could really muster. I got emails remarking “how does it feel to be right” or “that’s gotta feel good, huh?”

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Who wishes that on people? Why? I have no respect for the guy for a laundry list of reasons that have to do with actually playing the game and being a teammate, but further ruining the image of the game is certainly not what I’d call anything close to consolation. What goes around comes around for everyone.

More kids are let down today, more parents turn from athletes as their kids’ role models (which is NOT a bad thing) every time these stories hit the news. The sad part is you know somewhere there is someone in the media who’s made it their life’s mission to get those 103 other names on “The List,” and that’s going to find it’s way out. The only reason I’ll be relieved that it does will be that I’ll stop receiving “Your name is on that list, isn’t it?” emails.

For the past 19 years or so I’ve had suspicions, some stronger than others, but to sit here today and say I played on even one team that was totally clean would be denying reality I think. I’ve never personally seen a player inject, ingest, swallow HGH, or steroids but like every other player I played with that had his eyes open I saw the huge weight gains in one winter, I saw the hat size increase, I saw the acne in places a camel would be embarrassed to have it. I watched the player hit 20 more homers in one year than they ever had, then revert back, I saw the pitcher throwing 87-90 come to spring training throwing 95-97, I saw all of that. None of those are ‘no brainers’ — none — but they were hints, and when you get enough hints you can see the answer clearly if you are looking.

I played pretty much my entire career in the Steroid Era.

There, I said it. Not rocket science, not an earth shattering revelation, just an enormously disappointing recognition of the label that will accompany the era in which I was allowed to play this game.

I did so never taking Steroids, HGH, cow urine, horse feces, or West African bullfrog semen, and for that yeah, I am proud. Proud of something that really doesn’t deserve praise, does it? Not committing a crime is something to get lauded and applauded for? Are we really that bad off as a society that we’re looking for the ‘few, the proud,’ the non-felons?

The ONLY saving grace today was that I was mentally a million miles away from all this. I had the honor of visiting with the front line officers of the 4^th Infantry Division in Colorado Springs, Colorado. These incredible men and women are being deployed to Afghanistan in the coming weeks. A real dose of ‘hero’ and ‘courage’ and ‘honor’ to quell any ills from this crap.

So after all the BS, I was allowed to say thanks to true Heroes, true Warriors, true Americans, and it felt pretty damn good.

So stop making athletes your icons, they’re supremely gifted, extraordinarily talented human beings, period. After that they’re no different than you, not one bit. They endure the same hardships at home, divorce, drugs, domestic violence, DUI, and every other thing you can read about on page A1 of any newspaper. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the size of the paycheck is relevant to the core of the man. Don’t place more responsibility on them, or accountability, because life doesn’t work that way.

Relish in the Halladays, Rolens, Sabathias, Lowells, Counsells, Variteks, Garnetts, Jameses, Bruschis, Vrabels, the Jason Bays of the world. Relish in men of supreme character and tireless work ethic who respect the game and their teammates and suit up every day to leave it all on the field. If 100 more names come out I can still give you my word there are a lot more great men and phenomenal people in the game than not….

Then go home and raise your own damn kids with your own set of values, integrity and morals. Be accountable to them and responsible for them and stop blaming video games or the 25-year-old kid from the Dominican who can hit a baseball 455 feet but you don’t know and never will, for the ‘problems of today’s youth”. It starts and ends under your own roof. Your kids idolize the people you allow them to, and believe things you don’t refute or discuss, and that’s no one’s fault but your own.

RELATED CONTENT

Curt Schilling on Dennis & Callahan

I have given many speeches over the years.  This is one is by far  the hardest. It is one thing to speak from the heart about your own experiences and another to speak from the heart about one of your children.

When our third child was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome almost two years ago all I can say is that my heart was aching. A child that I had raised to that point like his siblings, I couldn’t understand how he could be so different.    I was in the doctors office when I heard the words ” On the spectrum of Autism” Aspergers.

For one brief second the puzzles pieces made sense and there was relief.  What followed was such a sense of loss, pain and guilt it’s hard to describe.

I remember for days thinking to myself “just write down” what I was feeling.  The emotions were so strong that I became numb.  I struggled so hard as a parent to reach Grant and I was now sure that I would never know how to communicate with him.

The school year was just beginning and I went in for his IUP meeting.  I was so overwhelmed I cried the entire time.  I didn’t know how to handle Grant and I was looking for anyone to tell me “Hey, no need to worry, we can help”.

I starting sitting up nights, scouring the internet, downloading anything I could find on Aspbergers. Digesting in small bits as it was all so overwhelming.

Some people read everything they can get their hands on, all I wanted was the comic book version. Which by the way I have never found.

That fall of 2004 we went on to win the World Series and I just tried to keep distracted.  I really wanted help but honestly I just wasn’t ready for it.  I tried to watch Grant and see what I could do .  I listened to the teachers and administrators give me tips and techniques to help Grant at school.

It wasn’t till after Christmas that year when I decided to take the schools advice and reach out for help. I was ready to accept this different life and the new adventures it would bring to us. I spoke to other parents who were always eager to share problem solving that worked for them.

One name that kept coming up in conversations was this wonderful camp called Youth Care.

We tried summer camp before his diagnosis and every day I would have a full report from my daughter on what Grant had done to make the councilors mad.  I was mortified and humiliated that he just couldn’t follow there rules.  I knew that I couldn’t go through another summer like that.  So I made the call to YOUTH CARE.  Grant and I went to the interview meeting.

I have to tell you that I was so nervous that he would act normal and they wouldn’t accept him.   Needless to say it took 30 seconds for them to agreed he was a fit. As he walked in he touched every single object in the room, never looked her in the eye, and couldn’t answer any questions due to being so distracted in a new room with so many new shiny things to look at, and touch!  Hooray we were in.

I really had no idea what YOUTH CARE had to offer as I had heard that kids and parents learn so many coping and life skills and this camp was second to none for kids like Grant.

I felt relief and empowered that I was making the first good decision for him.

The day of camp orientation arrived.  I listened as he met his councilors and watched as he interacted with the other kids in his group.  They explained to him the great things that he would be doing that summer and he was excited.  He counted down the “Sleeps”  until camp would start.

The first day arrived.  He was up early and checking to make sure he had everything he needed.  I pulled into the line and watched as each kid was greeted by his councilor.

When our turn came Grant jumped out of the car almost forgetting to give me a kiss, which he never forgets. The camp councilors were so warm and affectionate in greeting each child that morning, this was truly going to be a place Grant would be accepted, and welcomed.

He walked away and I started home.  I drove out of the campground and without warning tears were flowing down my face.  For the first time since this journey began I was crying tears of joy.  Grant was safe and most of all wanted.  He would be surrounded by people who would watch out for him, understand him and be patient with him.

As a mother that is all I wanted.  I learned strategies that would help both Grant and our family.  I was open to suggestions and eager to try the new things that we learned would work so well for Grant.   Grant had a wonderful summer.  A super summer camp experience.

Curt and I are so grateful that Youth Care exists and for all the wonderful people that work so hard to help our children.   What we hope to do  by sharing  our family story is to help even more families who do not have funds to this amazing opportunity to have that chance.

Take it from two parents who are walking this journey with our son.  If you have the means to give a child and his family a chance it is the biggest return on your investment that you will ever make.

Thank you and God Bless

Shonda and I are truly grateful to Scott McLeod the camp director and want anyone affected by this to reach out to the camp and any of the other services provided to see if there is help for you or your children. This is a daily battle that will never end. Much like most everything else I look at this in only one way.

Life often times gives us ‘choices’ when it really doesn’t. Our son has Aspergers, there is nothing we can do about that other than turn over every leaf, in trying to make sure we as parents provide every possible outlet and resource to him, and to us as parents, to make the world a place Grant can thrive and succeed in. Our son is brilliantly smart (as many children with Aspergers are) and way ahead of many of his peers in certain academic areas, but there are social issues and to many people those have far more potential to be harmful than anything else in a young childs life.

This is the opposite of a ‘why us’ or ‘poor us’ story, this is the first chapter of a story that will see us take on a charitable cause, and ask each and every one of you for help (whether that is time or money, I don’t care, both are needed) as we move down this path in our lives.

This city has never shied from helping Shonda and I in every charitable endeavor we’ve taken on and we are forever grateful to all of you for everything you’ve done.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me through this blog if you are looking for help, or offering it.

Thanks

Curt and Shonda Schilling

Cy Young Region
7. Catfish Hunter vs. 10. Tommy John

It’s sort of become fashionable to knock Catfish as an all-timer over the past couple of years. And while he pitched for championship teams and really only had a couple of great seasons there is no doubt that he belongs on this list. Okay, I’ll buy that five 20-win seasons with the A’s and Yankees in the 1970s isn’t staggering. Bert Blyleven would have won 25 games a year with those teams. But Hunter was still a top pitcher, leading the league in WHIP twice as well as ERA in his 1974 Cy Young season. And how about 30 complete games in 1975? No pitcher has reached 25 complete games since (Tim Wakefield has 32 CG’s in his career). I count three seasons from Hunter that I would term “great” — 1972 (21 wins, 2.96 ERA), 1974 (25-12, 2.49 ERA, .986 WHIP) and 1975 (23-14, 2.58 ERA). Not enough to be among the top 25 pitchers of the last 50 years, but easily fits in the top 64. Tommy John is a medical marvel and did win 288 games, but I’m not sure he was ever one of the top five pitchers in baseball. He did win 20 games three times, but did so for some terrific Dodgers and Yankees teams in the late 70s-early 80s (the three teams that he won 20 games for (1977 Dodgers and 1979 and 1980 Yankees) averaged 97 wins a year). But he did stick around forever, pitching until he was 46. At his peak Hunter was a better pitcher, and by a fairly decent spread. Does 64 extra wins (over 11 seasons) give John an argument?

Walter Johnson Bracket
7. Don Drysdale vs. 10. Orel Hershiser

I know people don’t want to hear this, but Drysdale was largely a product of where he pitched. At home in his career? 114-74 with a 2.53 ERA in 261 starts. On the road? 95-92 with a 3.41 ERA in 257 starts (this is all in a pitcher’s era, remember). It’s the Jim Rice argument. Can anyone who was average for HALF of his career really be viewed as an all-time great? This matchup is a tough one to call. Hershiser pitched in the same ballpark as Drysdale for the majority of his career. His splits are also significant (3.17 ERA at home in 256 games, 3.81 ERA in 254 road games), but not as glaring as Drysdale. Both have a Cy Young Award. Career records are pretty much a push (Hershiser 204-160, Drysdale 209-166). Of course Hershiser broke Drysdale’s shutout innings streak. Both guys were superb in the playoffs (2.95 ERA for Drysdale, 2.59 ERA for Hershiser). Pretty close to a coin flip, but here’s why I’d vote for Hershiser: His two best seasons (1985, 19-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 1988, 23-8 with a 2.26 ERA) are better than any season in Drysdale’s career. Throw in a slight postseason edge and you’ve got an upset.

Lefty Grove Bracket
7. Johan Santana vs. 10. Dwight Gooden

And the battle to be the second-best pitcher in Mets history is pretty much down to these two, right? Santana is in the middle of his prime, and I fully expect another two or three Cy Young Awards before his career is done. In career adjusted ERA+, only Pedro Martinez, Lefty Grove and Walter Johnson are ahead of Santana. He’s also top 10 all time in Ks per nine innings (9.3, fifth) and winning percentage (.681, eighth). He is easily the strongest of the seven seeds and is, in reality, a lot closer to a four or five. Today Gooden is remembered as potential wasted, but if you look past that and just focus on his numbers he had a nice career. In the Non-Pedro department I would count Gooden’s 1985 season as the best in my lifetime (24-4, 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games, eight shutouts and 268 Ks). That was as a 20-year-old, and followed a 1984 season that may be the best ever produced by a rookie pitcher (17-9, 2.60 ERA and 276 Ks in 218.0 innings). If you had asked me to guess after those two seasons how many career wins Gooden would finish with I would have gone with about 330 or so. Well, he didn’t get to 200 (he ended up with 194). But he won 19 games in 1990, 18 in 1988 and 17 in 1986. He was a victim of his own early greatness (and the drugs, of course). Probably he was one of the top 10-15 pitchers in the majors from 1986-1991, but that wasn’t nearly enough for Mets fans. I’m not sure there is a comparison that fits today. Tom Brady was Super Bowl MVP (not really, but he won it) in his first year as a starter and led the league in TDs in his second. If he has five or six seasons with 17 TDs and 12 picks you’d be pretty close.

Don’t act like idiots, don’t throw stuff on the field, don’t be stupid. Be a Sox fan, have class, act like you’ve been there before, act like winners.

DON’T reach over the fence on a ball down the line when it’s hit by a RED SOX player!!!

Don’t reach over the fence to catch a ball in the air when it’s hit by a YANKEE player!!!

Keep enforcing that thing you’ve always had, make Fenway a nightmare for visiting players. Boston fans have some of the smartest sign making fans around, get them out there. Remind players who spurned you, that you won’t forget, but don’t be idiots about it. Remind the Yankees why this is a horrible place to be a visiting player, and at the same time remind your home town team why they can’t be beat here.

Boo the ever living hell out of the opponents, make it a hellish weekend, but do it with intelligence, class, dignity and style, it’s funner that way.

If you can rag the crap out of a player without an F bomb or using ‘your mother’, you’ve got something, otherwise you’re carbon copies of the gang that sits behind the dugout in Yankee Stadium because that appears to be all they ever had for ammo…

Cy Young Region

6. Jim Kaat vs. 11. Vida Blue

Kaat won at least 10 games in 15 straight seasons (1962-76) and won 20 three times, including a league-best 25 in 1966. 283 wins and 16 Gold Gloves, but Kaat seems largely forgotten today. Maybe it’s because he stuck around too long at the end of his career (he was a long reliever for his last five years). Blue, of course, is best known for his remarkable 1972 season (24 wins, 1.82 ERA, 301 Ks) that landed him both the CY Young and MVP. The truth is that he had a pretty solid career, finishing in the top 10 in ERA six times and strikeouts seven times. His win totals from 1973-1980? 20, 17, 22, 18, 14, 18, 14 and 14. If you look at the prime of their careers Blue was a slightly better pitcher than Kaat. I guess the question is how much value do you place on the eight or nine average seasons Kaat tacked on.

Lefty Grove Region

6. Mike Mussina vs. 11. Mel Stottlemyre

Teacher vs. pupil. To me, Mussina is a Hall of Famer. Forget 300 wins as a standard, in the five-man rotation era 250 wins is the new 300. Mussina finished up with 270, and his career .638 won/loss mark is 38th all time. He never won the CY Young, but finished in the top five six times. (And just to show you how caught up Cy Young voters can get when it comes to wins, look at 2002. Clemens won it, he finished 20-3. Mussina finished fifth, his record was 17-11. ERA? Clemens 3.51, Mussina 3.15. Innings pitched? Clemens 220.1, Mussina 228.0. Walks? Clemens 72, Mussina 42. Complete games? Clemens zero, Mussina four. Shutouts? Clemens zero, Mussina three. First Place Cy Young votes? Clemens 21, Mussina zero. Shameful.)  And how about 11 top tens in ERA for the Moose? Final Four sleeper. Stottlemyre pitched on some terrible Yankees teams in his short (11 year) career. A shame, because he was a terrific pitcher, retiring after the 1974 season with a 2.97 career ERA. Three 20-win seasons, twice led the league in complete games. Nine really good seasons isn’t enough to get past Mussina, however.

Walter Johnson Region

6. Curt Schilling vs. 11. Roy Halladay

I’m not sure how to handle this one, so I’ll just present this in defense of Schilling:
Here are the pitchers in Major League history with at least 200 wins, 3,100 strikeouts and a winning percentage of .590
Randy Johnson
Walter Johnson
Greg Maddux
Roger Clemens
Tom Seaver
Bob Gibson
Pedro Martinez
Curt Schilling

The other seven guys are slam-dunk first-ballot Hall of Famers, right (not taking in the Misremember Factor)? Throw in the postseason stuff (11-2, 2.23 ERA) and it’s impossible to doubt Schilling’s credentials as an all-timer. If we do this again in 10 years I wouldn’t be surprised if Halladay was a top-six seed. Four top five Cy Young finishes (with a win in 2003) and two 20-win seasons (and a 19-win season). And his .668 career winning percentage (13th all-time) is even more impressive when you consider that he has never pitched for a playoff team. Halladay did not really begin his career until he was 25, so he’s not going to finish with monster numbers, but he could get to 220 wins or so (he’s 32 years old and has 133 career wins). Tough first rounder for Schilling but he should move on.

Christy Mathewson Region

6. Jack Morris vs. 11. Dave Stieb

There is a case for an upset here. Morris had the benefit of pitching for some great teams, which makes it a lot easier to gain a reputation as a “winner”. Stieb was stuck with some lousy Toronto teams for the first four or five years of his career (though they improved greatly in the mid 1980s) and had some seasons that were ignored simply because his won-loss record wasn’t eye-catching. Take 1983. Morris wins 20 games with a 3.34 ERA and finishes third in the Cy Young voting. Stieb wins  17 games (and loses 12) with a 3.04 ERA and doesn’t receive a single Cy Young vote. Career seasons with an ERA 3.25 or under? Morris one, Stieb seven. Morris was more durable (finished with 254 wins in 18 seasons vs. 176 in 16 seasons for Stieb) and is the author of the best big-game performance of the last half-century. But I think Stieb was a better pitcher.

For the 10 years I was in Philadelphia Harry was the only member of the media ever allowed to ride on the players bus. He was in the truest sense of the meaning, one of us. He was as close, if not closer, to some members of the team than other teammates.

In addition to the professional accolades he was one of my all time favorite people. I had the privilege and honor of sharing some great and personal memories with Harry throughout my time in Philadelphia.

If you were to put a Mount Rushmore of Philadelphia sports up, Harry would have to be one of the four faces on that mountain.

Personally speaking I can honestly say that hearing Harry’s voice as the ‘call’ on some of my professional accomplishments is an all time memory and incredible honor I’ll be forever grateful for.

Harry you will be greatly missed as someone who never “swung and missed! Struck him right on outta there”

God Bless and Rest in Peace

Was slotted first, ten team league, snake draft…

Avg/R/HR/RBI/SB for offense, W/S/K/ERA/WHIP for pitchers

1) (1)Hanley Ramirez SS This scoring system, this player? Other than Reyes scores across the board at this position as well or better than anyone else

2 (20)Brian McCann C Another guy that gives a positional edge over 90+% of the league

3 (21)Jon Papelbon RP What’s not to like?

4 (40)Felix Hernandez SP I think this is the year it all comes together. Polished 4 pitch guy

5 (41)Kevin Youkilis 1B The homers were no fluke. 41st pick nets me a 4 category guy…

6 (60)Matt Kemp OF Didn’t know a ton about him until the research started, then surprised he was still there…

7 (61)Brad Lidge RP Lidge/Papelbon? Oh my…

8 (80)Ichiro OF With the offense already in place is going to help tons in 3 categories….

9 (81)Chris Carpenter SP I believe he’s fixed (and if he is he’s a 1st or 2nd rounder), 1st outing backs that up…

10 (100) Chipper Jones 3B I think one of the steals of the draft. Too many people think he’s past being good, I’m not one of them

11 (101)Andre Either OF Hate having 2 guys in the same lineup, but both have potential to boost multiple categories

12 (120)Joba Chamberlain P Going to put up good to great K/ERA/WHIP and possibly wins as well

13 (121)Jermaine Dye OF Needed a huge assist in the HR department and hoping he helps me there

14 (140)Heath Bell RP another closer, could be a sick bullpen

15 (141)Chris Young SP Wins will suffer, but great ball park, will give me WHIP, ERA and some K’s

16 (160)Erik Bedard SP Could be a HUGE steal if he’s healthy

17 (161)Clayton Kershaw SP Took a flier. Stuff is unquestionable

18 (180)Howie Kendrick 2B needed best multi-category guy I could find at 2B, almost went with Aviles but used personal experience to make this pick…

19 (181)Shin-Soo Choo OF could be another huge steal if he gets off on a good note and stays consistent

20 (200)Todd Helton 1B Personal memory killed me here. In addition to being the last hitter I ever faced, I just can’t see him not being an awesome offensive player (so awesome I moved him for Adam Lind 30 minutes after the draft)

21 (201) JJ Putz RP nice filler for the pen and the occasional save along with great WHIP seemed appealing (until I moved him after the draft for Grant Balfour)

Players I wanted and missed by a pick Greinke, Oswalt, Capps, Bonifacio, . Players I had on list but didn’t take at the end, Werth, Burrell, Verlander, Hoffman.

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.~ Arnold Palmer

Off of that someone at 38 Studios sent me one from a book on Teddy Roosevelt that I thought was not only spot on, but pretty powerful.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Terry Francona will manage the personnel to their maximum effectiveness, regardless of what any second-guessing couch potatoes want to think or know. Tito knows more than you about his players, and always will.

The best managers in the game aren’t the men who “X” and “O” better than everyone, they’re the men who manage their people the best. Tito is as good as anyone I’ve ever been around at that. While he may suck at Cribbage, he can manage people. He may be a bit off-kilter since this is his first season as a ML manager without me on his team, but I’ll cut him some slack…..

First the divisional prediction. Cop-out time. I will make the same claim I made last season. The winner of the AL East will be between NY, Boston and Tampa. Whichever team has the fewest DL days of the opening day starting rotation’s five guys and closer will win the East.

One exception to the above rule is this. I think of the three teams that are legitimate contenders (I would add Toronto as a factor but even having Butter on the bench as a General is not enough to overcome the big 3 in my opinion), only the Red Sox could manage a big injury to the staff and not get buried. Not that they will, but I think they could.

The East has been a war of attrition for years and this year people are going to take Tampa for real as a player in this fight. The same folks who last year spent the whole season saying “this month is it,” “they can’t keep it up,” “they’re ready to go down” about Tampa are the same folks this spring saying “they’ll come back to the pack” or “they’ll come down to earth.”

Problem is those comments were made with no logic behind them. Tampa won this division last year with not one player having anything close to a career year. They did it with their ace on the DL for part of the season. They did it with no 40 HR guy, no batting title contender. They did it because Joe Maddon can manage his people, and he got his younger players to understand that winning games is far cooler than being a star. You can have both. Now add to the mix Gabe Kapler, someone who will have a profound impact on superstar young players, a healthy Scott Kazmir, a more seasoned James Shields, Matt Garza and others and I don’t see them ‘fading.’ I think it’s going to be a challenge for sure, but they’ll hold their own in my opinion.

The Yankees? Well in addition to opening what many will come to realize is the most kick-ass new stadium on the planet, they spent about $14.5 trillion in the off season to add more studs and horses. That the formula refused to work in the last eight years didn’t stop them from continuing it. The difference now is they are mixing in some young homegrown studs at the ML level who are impact guys.

Joba Chamberlain has all the makings of being a true top of the rotation guy, or the next Mariano. His numbers and stuff don’t lie, he’s the real deal and I love the makeup I’ve seen so far.

CC, well, he’s CC. That means a guy who will scream for the ball every five days if not every four, want to be on the mound in the 9th and be pissed at less than perfection. What’s not to love? That’s an ace, that’s what you HAVE to have at the top of your rotation.

Now add Tex to the mix and once again it’s a lineup to worry about. If I am not mistaken the new ballpark dimensions mirror the old, which means LHH are going to continue enjoying hitting there. Missing A-Rod will not help them early, no matter what you think, but starting the season without that media BS in the clubhouse every day should be some sort of bonus.

The bigger piece coming into play for them now is the top end of their prospect list. Austin Jackson appears to be a five-tool guy everyone is excited about and supposedly isn’t that far off. People got complacent or just totally missed the fact that having Bernie Williams out there for a decade was an insane luxury. That CF area is enormous ground to cover and having someone out there that brings some pop at the plate will be a huge lift for them. Melancon, Brackman and McAllister are all potential big upside arms. Melancon is being mentioned as Mariano’s heir apparent and that’s not a bad thing for either guy. Meaning one guy is still far from done, but this kid supposedly has the tools and makeup to be the next one. I still think Chamberlain ends up in that spot. Brackman is the wild card. At 6′10″ and 270 pounds you are talking massive potential with massive consistency issues. Moving that much mass, under control, consistently, is incredibly hard to do and teach. If they do, and he progresses, you are talking about a right-handed Randy Johnson if he can pan out. That’s ace, top-of-the-rotation stuff that comes along every 20 years. Anytime you hear ‘middle of the rotation’ mentioned in a prospects accolades it means three things.

1) We may never hear his name again
2) He could be an ace
3) Not one of his pitches wows you.

The reason that never bothers me is they continue to do this to kids in their late teens and early twenties, before velocity gain and physical growth has stopped. Many kids getting these labels are in growth spurts and are trying to adjust to new bodies, both in height and weight, as well as learning how to get guys out as the McAllister kid is.

Jesus Montero is listed as a catcher, but with his offensive ability and his size, he’ll switch positions.

One thing to watch out for in the next two years: if Boston doesn’t get that catcher of the future, and Minnesota doesn’t re-sign Joe Mauer, he’s going to go off the charts after the 2010 season as a free agent when the Sox and Yankees will be at the front of the line.

So New York needs to stay healthy, get 30 or so from Burnett and Sabathia, 25-30 from Chamberlain and Wang becomes as good as any #3 in baseball, right alongside Dice or Lester. The Yankee defense, if it’s not solid, could prove to be a huge issue for them this year as far as Wang is concerned. He’s won consistently with a below average defense and he won’t suddenly start striking guys out. I expect his numbers to remain the same, or maybe improve outside W/L. He is a guy that could have across-the-board improvement in all categories but W/L if he doesn’t get consistent defense.

If they get that many starts from their rotation they are going to be very very good.

Boston, and yes there may be some bias here but it’s because I know them and I understand how they are approaching things, is the favorite for one reason. They won the wild card last year, were within nine outs of a World Series, and never had their ace. Josh had a tough year last year. He was far more hurt in the playoffs than anyone knew. You put him out there healthy, which he is, with Jon Lester, Dice, Wake, Penny/Smoltz/Masterson, and you can’t help but feel good.

The top three pitchers have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top 10 in Cy Young voting. It would not surprise me if two things happened I don’t think anyone is expecting this year:

1) Jon Lester is better than he was last year.
2) Dice is as good, if not better, than he was last year.

The Lester progression to me is natural. Given his makeup, his stuff, and the Farrell factor if he stays healthy there is no reason his numbers won’t continue to improve over the next few years. Add in the life experience (which cannot be underestimated imo) and you have a perennial Cy candidate.

Dice is just smart. He ‘grew’ last year and progressed and the W/L total, while surprising given the IP, was not a fluke. There are pitchers with marginal stuff who can throw out the occasional W/L % like he did last year, and then there are pitchers with good stuff who know how to make pitches in big spots. Dice is the latter. He knows how to execute when he’s in a bind and that means he gives up far fewer runs than you might expect. If he can improve his command and mindset early in counts, he can move into lofty company.

After those three you figure the combination of Wake, Smoltz, Penny, Masterson, Buchholz needs to make 72 starts. Can they do that and win 45 of them? Absolutely.

If Justin masters getting ahead and beating LHH he’s looking at a long and prosperous career as a starter in the big leagues. When your feature pitch is a sinker with more tail than sink, left-handed hitters can be a huge issue (reason being the ‘tail’ sees the ball move more to the barrel of a LHH’s bat than happens with sink, when the ball has dominating downward movement; Kevin Brown and Brandon Webb have massive sink). Few guys can do that and master the inside part of the plate to LHH. The key for Justin is that it’s something identified already and being addressed. Believe it or not, identifying the problem has been the most missed step in the process in the past. Even so, identifying it is one thing, but properly addressing how to ‘fix it’ never seems to get put in the mix.

You do that, imo, with command of the inner half of the plate to LHH through a cutter/FB mix. Greg Maddux was a master at this. He threw a sinker and a cutter to BOTH sides. If you know what side of the plate I am throwing to that can be an advantage. But if I can throw two pitches to that side of the plate — one that moves TOWARDS you and the other moving AWAY from you — it’s almost to my advantage that you ‘guess’ right as long as I am throwing the ‘other’ pitch. Add his pitching IQ and knowledge of hitters to the mix and you get 350 some odd wins and 100% of the HOF ballot. Justin will need to, again imo, be a guy that learns hitters more than some guys. He’ll need to learn LHH’s tendencies and create an ebb and flow that keeps LHH guessing and uncomfortable. If he can do that he’s going to win and win a lot.

Brad Penny remains the potentially biggest bargain of the year. I’ve known Brad since early in his Florida days and he’s a fantastic kid. Unfortunately, and fortunately, for him he’s got a high-maintenance body. Speaking as someone with experience in that department he’s got to keep on top of that and it appears he knows that and is doing that exact thing. If he’s healthy and pitches like he can, with Tek, Farrell and this bullpen, he could be a 15-20 game winner. That’s a lot of ifs, but certainly not out of the question. If he is in fact healthy then he immediately becomes the best #4 or 5 in the game and the Sox could win 110.

Smoltz, damn. Another “if” but I’ve heard nothing to think he won’t be healthy. If that is the case then things get even brighter. I bet you any amount of money, if you asked every manager in the game what rotation they would NOT want in a best of 5, or 7, it would be a healthy Sox rotation. Two of the best big-game pitchers in baseball (Smoltz and Josh), along with Dice and Lester? I’ll match that group with anyone all time in October.

That’s another huge if. October is a loooong way off. As a fan though you have to feel good knowing that the training staff, led by Paul Lessard, along with Tito and John, will manage their guys and the innings in the best possible manner to see that this staff arrives in October as healthy as possible.

I don’t even need to go into depth on the bullpen. Another “if,” but if they are healthy they present the one thing every opponent dreads. The ’seven-inning game’. In the late 80’s and early 90’s it was the Reds. Mid 90’s it was the Yankees with Rivera and Wetteland. A few years ago you had the Angels with Rodriguez and Percival.

Managers manage different, offenses play different. You know on nights when everyone’s available that not having a lead after seven pretty much means you lose. It’s not a “fait accompli” but you know going in….

This bullpen not only has that potential with Saito, Paps, Okie, but you have multiple arms able to fill both spots. Not just any arms either, but power arms. This is where I see the Sox having a huge edge given the coaching. You won’t have a “pitch Scott Proctor until his arm falls off” scenario here. They will be able to mix and match on almost every night and not burn any one guy out. That’s just huge, even more so in the East.

The offense? Let’s put it this way. Manny’s gone and there’s only one Manny. At the plate there is no comparable player in the game when he wants to play. Having said that, this offense is going to score runs and wear out pitchers. One of the keys will be Jacoby and his progression. On base he changes everything about the game for the hitter, pitcher and defense. Not many players can say that.

The Yankees have two players you could legitimately see as top 10 MVP candidates. The Rays? Not sure they have one beyond Pena right now. Longoria certainly could be that guy, Upton as well, but if you were betting and using track record there is nothing in the numbers that says Petey, Youk and David couldn’t be as well. If David is healthy, which it appears he is, he’s going to see his protection come back. No matter how the lineup shakes out Papi is the ‘don’t let him beat you’ guy, but he’s also surrounded by four guys who can beat you just as well: Petey, Youk, Bay and Drew. Don’t discount a healthy Mike Lowell either. The lineup is just so damn deep that other teams are going to have a hard time winning a series in which they don’t run out a No. 1 or 2.

The Red Sox lineup, like the Yankees, just crushes mediocre pitching. Not only that but the series in which you start your 4 or 5 in game 1, or 1 and 2, can get away from you fast because there are many games that these lineups are in your pen in the 3rd inning. I’ve watched many managers in the past five years lose all three games of a series in the first five innings of game 1 by mismanaging the bullpen.

What people miss is not the immediate effects, which often times are obvious, but the lingering ones. You use your pen for six innings in game 1, three in game 2 and three or four in game 3, and that’s 12 of your 27 innings being thrown by your pen. You arrive at the ‘by availability’ day when you have at most two or three guys available and the starter craps the bed again. That first game of the previous series can take you out of games for a week if a manager mismanages the bullpen.

No one wants to be considered ’strong’ in middle relief. It’s a calling card for teams that suck because middle relief is something you want to use 1-2 times a week tops. It’s the spot many teams park their 11th or 12th arm, or the young developing kid. Teams with payrolls like NY and Boston manage to park very talented, somewhat expensive veterans or young, up-and-coming studs in that roll. Their staff never misses a beat and combined with these offenses they end up turning three or four games a year every other team loses into wins.

One of the mandates of the Epstein era was revamping and recreating a truly deep minor league system. Is there any question as of today as to whether that’s happened or not? You’ve got a stable of arms that are primed and close to ready to make a difference in the big leagues and they are catching up on the position player pool as well.

I never thought having stacked prospects in the position player area was a major concern simply because having tons of arms means you have the ultimate bargaining chip in any trade.

Take a poll of GMs around the game and I would bet you’d see the ratio 2-1 or higher as to ‘untouchable pitching prospects’ vs. position prospects.

How many teams could create a package of talent that would garner a front-line catcher with one or two minor league pitchers and maybe a position player? Not many.

So there you have it. Another long winded post and another opinion…..

My call is the Sox win 105 games this year, the Division as well. No post season predictions yet.

Oh and I also think the Cy will go to a member of this staff: Beckett, Lester or Paps.

Fergie Jenkins (82 percent) over Frank Viola (18 percent)

Gaylord Perry (94 percent) over Milt Pappas (6 percent)

Tom Glavine (97 percent) over Larry Jackson (3 percent)

Juan Marichal (91 percent) over Mike Cuellar (9 percent)’

Now, the next round:

Cy Young Region

5. Early Wynn vs. 12. Roy Oswalt

300 wins, five 20-win seasons and a Cy Young winner in 1959, Wynn also finished in the AL top 10 in complete games 14 times. So why only a five seed? His career ERA was 3.54, not significantly better than the average league ERA for his career (3.77). Compare that with Oswalt, who owns a 3.13 ERA against an average league ERA of 4.36. Tough to pick a guy with just eight seasons  over a 300-game winner, but there is an argument to be made for Oswalt. Five top-five Cy Young finishes, a .688 winning percentage and a pair of 20-win seasons. In career Adjusted ERA+ Oswalt ranks 16th. Wynn? Tied for 422nd.

Walter Johnson Region

5. Robin Roberts vs. 12. Don Newcombe

Roberts won 20 games in this third season in the majors (1950). He would win 20 in each of the next five seasons, including 28 in 1952. Never won 20 again after 1955, he was actually little more than an average pitcher over the last half of his career. Still finished with 286 wins, though. Newcombe only pitched 10 seasons (missed two of his prime years to the military, also spent time in the Negro Leagues), but won 20 games in three of them. His 1956 season was his best, as he won 27 games and picked up the MVP and Cy Young Award. Newcombe was breaking down in his early 30s, so even if we give him credit for those missed seasons I doubt he would have matched Roberts’ career totals.

Lefty Grove Region

5. Bert Blyleven vs. 12. Jimmy Key

Blyleven should be a Hall of Famer. Just bad luck, pitched for some terrible teams. Put it this way: There are are eight pitchers that rank among the top 20 in wins, strikeouts and shutouts since 1900. Seven (Don Sutton, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Fergie Jenkins and Walter Johnson) are in the Hall of Fame. The eighth is Blyleven. Ten seasons with an ERA of 3.00 or less. Would’ve won 320+ games if he had pitched for good teams his whole career. Final Four sleeper. Key was a really consistent pitcher. Save for 1995 (he missed most of the season with an injury) he won between 12-17 games in each season from 1985 to 1997. Two second-place Cy Young finishes and a 3.15 ERA in 14 postseason appearances.

Christy Mathewson Region

5. Phil Niekro vs. 12. Andy Pettitte

Niekro is remembered for the knuckleball, of course, but he was a terrific pitcher for some lousy Atlanta teams. Take 1978. Niekro throws 334.3 innings (22 complete games) with a 2.88 ERA. His record? 19-18 (the team won 69 games that season). He was also stuck in a hitters’ park for the great majority of his career (career home ERA was 3.50, road 3.20). He still managed to post 13 seasons with at least 15 wins. I’m not sure we’d be talking about Pettitte if he had pitched in Kansas City for his entire career. Still, he’s been a 15-18 game winner almost every season (two 20-win years). Not sure what to make of his best season. 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA for the Astros in 2005 (league ERA was 4.23). Was HGH a factor? That’s where this stuff gets tricky.

Nolan Ryan (96 percent) over Dean Chance (4 percent)

Pedro Martinez (92 percent) over Bob Welch (8 percent)

Whitey Ford (67 percent) over David Wells (33 percent)

Sandy Koufax (97 percent) over Rick Reuschel (3 percent)

Here are the winners from the No. 1’s vs. the No. 16’s, and the No. 2’s vs. the No. 15’s.

Now comes the next round (with guest commentator, resident bracketologist, Kirk Minihane supplying the particulars for each match-up):

Cy Young Region

4. Fergie Jenkins vs. 13. Frank Viola

Jenkins won 20 games seven times in his career, including six straight seasons (1967-1972). Pretty impressive, even more so when you realize he spent the majority of his career pitching in hitters’ parks (12 of his 19 seasons in Wrigley or Fenway). Five top three Cy Young finishes. Viola won a Cy Young in 1988 after a 24-7 season with the Twins and was a real solid pitcher for a nine-year stretch (won at least 13 games in each season from 1984-92, including five seasons with at least 16 wins). A nice career, but he just wasn’t in Jenkins’ class.

Walter Johnson Region

4. Gaylord Perry vs. 13. Milt Pappas

The first pitcher to win a Cy Young in both leagues, Perry used that spitter to win 314 games. For an idea of how the game has changed, look at the number of complete games Perry had each season from 1969-1976: 26, 23, 14, 29, 29, 28, 25, 21. Johan Santana has nine in his career. Milt Pappas is best known as the guy traded to the Reds for Frank Robinson but he had a decent career, winning 209 games. Problem is that he never won 20 and his best career Cy Young finish was ninth in 1972. Big edge to Perry here.

Lefty Grove Region

4. Tom Glavine vs. 13 Larry Jackson

Over 300 wins and six top three finishes in Cy Young voting (two wins) for Glavine. He also led the league in wins five times. And he was a horse, placing first or second in the NL in starts eight times. Jackson chalked up a bunch of 16-18 win seasons in the 1960s, and even had a 24-win season in 1964. He just didn’t pitch long enough 12 seasons as a starter to have any chance against Glavine.

Christy Mathewson Region

4. Juan Marichal vs. 13. Mike Cuellar

I guess I can see how Marichal never won a Cy Young Award, but how is it possible that he never received a first-place VOTE? Six 20-win seasons, five top-three finishes in ERA, even led the league in WHIP twice. How about his 1968 season? Thirty-eight starts, 30 complete games, 26 wins and a 2.43 ERA (granted it was the Year of the Pitcher, but still). Cuellar was a very good pitcher for a decade or so and won 20 games four times with those great Baltimore teams of the 1970s. Not a Marichal, but probably the best pitcher out of the four 13 seeds here.

I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on “Monday Night Football.” Normally, it was sweet music if the Steelers were playing.

If I could get him to sing it again, I would. This party has officially ended. After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

To say I’ve been blessed would be like calling Refrigerator Perry “a bit overweight.” The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime.

Four World Series, three World Championships. That there are men with plaques in Cooperstown who never experienced one — and I was able to be on three teams over seven years that won it all — is another “beyond my wildest dreams” set of memories I’ll take with me.

The game always gave me far more than I ever gave it. All of those things, every single one of those memories is enveloped with fan sights and sounds for me. Without the fans, they would still be great memories, but none would be enduring and unforgettable because they infused the energy, rage, passion and “feel” of all of those times. The game was here long before I was, and will be here long after I’m gone. The only thing I hope I did was never put in question my love for the game, or my passion to be counted on when it mattered most. I did everything I could to win every time I was handed the ball.

I am and always will be more grateful than any of you could ever possibly know.

I want to offer two special thank you’s.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for granting me the ability to step between the lines for 23 years and compete against the best players in the world.

To my wife Shonda and my 4 children, Gehrig, Gabriella, Grant and Garrison for sacrificing their lives and allowing baseball to be mine while I played. Without their unquestioned support I would not have been able to do what I did, or enjoy the life, and I am hopefully going to live long enough to repay them as much as a  Father and Husband can.

Thank you and God Bless
Curt Schilling

Jim Palmer (96 percent) over Dave McNally (4 percent)

Bob Gibson (95 percent) over Chuck Finley (5 percent)

Randy Johnson (88 percent) over John Tudor (12 percent)

And in the closest race to date, Roger Clemens 4,199 votes (53 percent) over Dave Stewart’s 3,696 votes (47 percent)

(And, in case you missed it, here were the 16’s vs. 1’s)

Now comes a great round with some fantastic pitchers!

Cy Young Region

3. Nolan Ryan vs. 14. Dean Chance

My Take: Eight Cy Young top 10’s, six top fives, 324 career wins and more strikeouts than Adam Dunn in a decade! The definition of power pitcher, in my opinion the greatest ‘power guy’ to ever take the mound. His neck-rope and subsequent pummeling of Robin Ventura (great guy in his own right!) was stuff of legends. Dean Chance will get laughed off but his career was shorter than it should have been and he was good when he played. Sub three ERA in a career spent entirely in the AL speaks volumes. But this might be the biggest mismatch to date.

Walter Johnson Region

3. Pedro Martinez vs. 14. Bob Welch

My Take: A .684 lifetime win-loss percentage, eight top 10 Cy Young finishes including three wins, two seconds (I think there are a ton of seconds that are wins in literally any other season), one third and a fourth. Should have won an MVP if George King wasn’t a hypoicritical idiot as well. Also, 3000-plus strikeouts. And in my opinion his 1999 and 2000 season are two of the top five pitching seasons in the games history. Now I’ll inject some personal bias. Bob Welch, sure he doesn’t match up with Petey, few can, but he was a damn good pitcher and a better person. My pitching coach in Arizona in 2001.  I learned as much from him as anyone I’ve ever been around and thank God he was someone I got to know in life. Personal issues aside, he can’t match up with Petey in a competition like this, but in real life I’d take him in a one-on-one matchup!

Lefty Grove Region

3. Whitey Ford vs. 14. David Wells

My Take: What should be the closest matchup to date. Whitey was seen as a stud and post season horse with an incredible .690 lifetime win-loss percentage, far higher than Boomer’s. Boomer has three more lifetime wins and played on teams that were not nearly as good on a consistent basis. ERA is where Whitey pulls away, though a strong argument can be made for the era these guys pitched in. Whitey was 10-8 with a 2.71 and Boomer was 10-5 with a 3.17 when he didn’t have gout in the post season. I gotta give that edge to Boomer. I’m voting Boomer.

Christy Mathewson Region

3. Sandy Koufax vs. 14. Rick Reuschal

My Take: The mismatch of all mismatches. Sandy Koufax, despite only winning 165 games in his career, has to be considered when talking about the best of all time. In a career cut way too short he did some things that to this day have yet to be repeated. Three Cy’s, one 3rd, a 2.76 career ERA, more than a K per inning. His 1963 to 1966 four year run has four seasons that could be in the top 5 of all time. In that 4 year span he went 97-27 with an ERA of 1.86, OVER FOUR YEARS! Add to that a post season record of 4-3 with an ERA of 0.95. In my opinion he’s a STRONG candidate to find a spot in the Final 4, with ONLY his short career being a drawback.

Greg Maddux (91 percent) over Jerry Koosman (9 percent)

Warren Spahn (96 percent) over Tim Hudson (4 percent)

Steve Carlton (98 percent) over Steve Rogers (2 percent)

Tom Seaver (97 percent) over Don Gullett (3 percent)

While most of the No. 15’s vs. the No. 2’s figure to stay true to form, there is some potential for some shock-waves (especially in the Christy Mathewson Region). Here they are (Note: Polls will close at 10 p.m. Wednesday Thursday)

Cy Young Region
2. Jim Palmer vs. 15. Dave McNally

My Take: Three Cy’s, two seconds, a third and a second in the MVP, a .638 lifetime winning percentage, and a 2.86 CAREER ERA! Spent entirely with ONE team in the American League. Decent post-season numbers, but I am amazed at the average to what could be labeled real bad K/BB ratio. Never gave up a grand slam. Said he would, and did, walk a hitter with the bases loaded rather than pitch to a threat in that situation. Still managed a sub 3.00 ERA in the AL. Not sure how incredible that sub 3 is compared to the era’s league wide ERA, but this is another mismatch, and also our first match up of real teammates. Oh, and Palmer was an eight-time 20-game winner! McNally was a much better pitcher than I knew about. Won 20 four consecutive years and ended his career with a won-loss percentage over .600. Three consecutive top five Cy finishes put him on track for a real nice career. Palmer should win this walking away.

Walter Johnson Region
2. Bob Gibson vs. 15. Chuck Finley

Think intimidator, or fastball, and Gibson’s name comes to mind. I had the pleasure of sitting down and doing an interview with him for the Sporting News back in the ’90’s and he struck me as an incredibly kind and honest man. Said he never intentionally tried to hit anyone, but never worried if he did. Told me Frank Robinson was someone he may have hit more than anyone, and he tried NOT to ever hit him, because Frank would ALWAYS hit a HR off him after he did. Had 3,117 career K’s and one of the best post season careers in the game’s history. Completed an astounding 255 of his 482 career starts! How about this post season line: Games started, 9; ERA, 1.89; IP,  81; Hits, 55; Walks, 17; Strikeouts, 92. ALL OF THAT added up to a win-loss record of 2-1!! This guy basically made nine starts and threw nine complete games worth of innings. His 1968 season of 1.12 ERA in 304 innings is one of the top three pitching lines in the games
history. Getting seeded against Gibby is a no-win really. Finley was barely 20 games over .500 and struggled for the most part in the post season. Nice career with 200 wins though.

Lefty Grove Region
2. Randy Johnson vs. 15. John Tudor

I remember Jon Tudor growing up, as the first ‘thumber’ that I ever watched dominate. His changeup was incredible and throwing 10 shutouts in a career is a nice feat, much less a season. But matching up against
a guy that will likely retire as the top left-handed power pitcher in history just isn’t fair. RJ will retire with 300 wins, over 4000 strikeouts, and five Cy Young award. The most dominant lefty to ever pitch in my opinion. Tudor was an awesome guy, but this is a mismatch.

Christy Mathewson Region
2. Roger Clemens vs. 15. Dave Stewart

Clemens had 354 career wins, seven Cy’s, 12 Top 10 Cy finishes, an MVP, seven Top 10 MVP finishes, more than 4,000 strikeouts and some of the greatest numbers ever vs. 168 career wins? Total mismatch? No way. For me everything done after the 1992 goes out the window. In my opinion he cheated, and I think he cheated up until he retired. No one is more upset about that than I am, but that’s what I believe. Add to this that Stewart owned Clemens in head to head, Stewart was a post season stud, and had four Top 4 Cy finishes as well. I don’t think this is the walk it might appear. If it were me, everything from the day of admission or the day someone is caught cheating goes out the window. He hasn’t been caught, he hasn’t admitted, but I believe he did do what people are claiming he did, and while it sucks, it’s what I
go on.

Here is the premise: We have taken what we deem the top 64 pitchers in the post-World War II era, seeded them, and sorted them into four regions/brackets. Every few days we will post some of the match-ups along with a bit of commentary, along with a poll for you to vote on who should advance.

Today we start with the No. 1 vs. the No. 16 seeds:

Cy Young Region
1. Greg Maddux vs. 16. Jerry Koosman
My Take: My odds on favorite to be in the final pairing vs. a very good LHP. Koos had a very nice career. (Did you know he made three World Series starts and was 2/3 of an inning pitched from three complete games? That’s impressive.) He won 222 games, but just barely finished as a .500 pitcher. He’s taking on my pick (all things taken into account) as the guy that should be recognized as the best ever.

Walter Johnson Region
1. Warren Spahn vs. 16. Tim Hudson
My Take: Warren Spahn, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton Carlton? Someday Tom Glavine? All arguably the best left-handed starting pitchers ever. Spahn with 363 wins … damn! And 382 CAREER COMPLETE GAMES. (Ya the game hasn’t changed much!) Could be, and in some circles is, considered the best ever. Tim Hudson, man I thought he was going to be a huge winner and stud when I first saw him. Hopefully getting healthy and back on track, but already with a fantastic lifetime win-loss percentage. No matter when his career ends he’s going to have had a good one, but he’s not Warren Spahn.

Lefty Grove Region
1. Steve Carlton vs. 16. Steve Rogers
My Take: Considering where he played and what he did there, could be a Final Four candidate. A true horse and stopper. His 27-10 season was the benchmark used for great pitchers on bad teams. Four thousand-plus punch-outs, four Cy’s, never dominated in the postseason (except for 13 IP in the ‘83 NLCS) like you would have thought, but one of the greats of all time. He goes up against a career Expo. A great guy, but not really deserving of a vote in this match-up. Surprised to see top five Cy finishes. I don’t remember him being that good, but his 82 season was pretty impressive.

Christy Mathewson Region
1. Tom Seaver vs. 16. Don Gullett
My Take: One of the first modern era guys I remember hearing about being a true power pitcher, along with Nolan Ryan. His career numbers don’t seem to reflect that as much as I expected with 1100-plus fewer strikeouts than IP. But what a career. Three Cy’s, two runner ups and three other top five finishes means he was the best, or near best, in his league eight of 13 years from 1967 to ‘80. His ‘drop and drive’ was rampantly taught as I was growing up. Then some folks finally realized that was something very unique to him and his mechanics/body. Definite first round mismatch. Seaver should garner 100 percent of the votes. Don had a very good career featuring a win-loss percentage of .686 and an 8-3 postseason win-loss record, but Seaver is a legit Elite 8 candidate.

Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq, giving his life to save a group of Navy SEALS.

During Mike Monsoor’s funeral in San Diego, as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery , SEAL’s were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two’s, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike’s coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

What a country we live in.

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it.

This was a fitting send-off for a true hero.

This should be front-page news.

I am proud of our military. If you are proud too, please pass this on.
If not then rest assured that these fine men and women of our military will continue to serve and protect.

God Bless our Troops

Some tips based on my experiences, spring training and in-season.

In Spring Training, at Fort Myers, one of the cool aspects of the complex is the closeness the fans and players have. However I’d offer this advice.

Ask players on their way out to the fields, and on their way off the fields.

Do NOT ask players going between fields during workouts, for the following reasons:

1) There is a schedule and groups are going field-to-field to get their drills in
2) Any player not working his ass off or concentrating on getting his work in that morning, you don’t want his autograph anyway:)

Ask players outside the dugouts during games, but not players doing warm ups and getting ready.

Do NOT ask DURING THE GAME!! I cannot overstate this strongly enough. This is neither the time nor the place to ask and you’re likely to become the butt of jokes if you hang your head over the dugout and shout “Hey Youk! Sign my JERSEY!” 30 seconds after he’s punched out.

Ask players after games who are done with their work on the main fields.

DO NOT ask players at the entrance or exit of the parking lots, or wait on the street corners and flag them down.

During the season, this is for you folks that on the rare occasion come DOWN TO THE DUGOUT while the game is being played. Tito has a bench there to give him clear access to the field, the players and the game, not to be more accessible to sign during the game, don’t ask:) I can 100% guarantee you aren’t going to get it signed, and it’s so ‘not right’ it’s borderline funny to watch.

Ask players NOT in their cars in the players lots.

Above all else, please PLEASE PLEASE abide by these two rules:

1) Let the kids up front to ask before the adults
2) Always, always say please and thank you.
3) Don’t ask to get more than one thing signed

If you follow the above and a player won’t sign, you don’t want his autograph anyway, or, trust that there is something being done schedule-wise that doesn’t permit him to sign.

My biggest issue, and the hardest thing I think to get across, is that rarely, if ever, are you asking alone. I never wanted to walk away leaving people behind when I had signed, so if I stopped to sign I tried to sign for everyone there; if I could not I usually did not. And because you ask by yourself, doesn’t mean the crowd won’t swell rapidly, especially here in Boston. Some players may bitch about it but other than 1-2 occasions every time I’ve had a public situation fans have been incredibly kind and respectful of my time, space and family. That’s another thing, there’s no need to get ‘into my space’ to get an autograph:)

The autograph and the process has become something players detest for reasons that might be hard to understand, but they exist none the less. Fifty percent or more of the people ‘wanting’ the autograph want it to turn a profit, and I have yet to find a player, myself included, that feels I ‘owe’ it to that person to do that.

People by and large have become incredibly rude and incredibly entitled, feeling players ‘owe them’ an autograph. I NEVER had issues signing and never refused when time permitted and I could accommodate. But I had no issues when ‘that fan’ showed up, making everyone very aware that they were by no means in need of the autograph, but I sure as hell owed it to them.

In public, out to eat or at the mall, please don’t start with “I really HATE to do this” or “I don’t want to do this but my friend wanted me to ask”… Don’t do that, just ask politely. If you truly hated to, you wouldn’t.

I promise you the please and thank you are two of the biggest pet peeves, kids rarely EVER do it anymore and most times it’s at the behest of mom or dad.

Be polite, be courteous and if the player doesn’t reciprocate just know you didn’t really miss anything – the player who isn’t signing is one you don’t want your kids to look up to anyway.

There are and always will be exceptions to every rule but I promise you most players really enjoy or don’t mind, as long as there is order, respect and some semblance of control when in public.

I generally never sign when out with my family because, believe it or not, I have some added concerns when in public and I prefer to have our eyes on our kids 24/7 and even though I feel bad about it, it’s something I try to stick to.

Players, again for the most part, are good guys. Most of us were fans before we were players and signing autographs is and can be a cool thing and a fun experience, but the most important thing is that treating us with the same respect you’d ask of anyone you didn’t know that walked up to you in public and asked you for something.

It never was a comfortable thing, always awkward (at least to me) and in certain public situations it can make others uncomfortable, but if you’re always polite it becomes very easy to tell the many great guys from the very few bad ones.

So let’s see, this year the Sox are paying two of the top three MVP candidates, and what will likely be a left-handed power No. 1 less than $10 million total. Right around 15mm or so next year for all three, less than 25mm for all three in 2011, on out until 2012. Notice that all three have their contracts staggered in ending dates as well.

So for around $110-or-so million, two lineup cornerstones and a No. 1 are locked up for the next four years at least. Club options on all three could keep them together through 2013.

Did they leave some money on the table? Absolutely not. There isn’t a penny of this money ‘left on the table’. These players bought lifetime’s of security, and the club got All-Star talent and cost certainty, as a ‘great price’. You can’t leave ‘money on the table’ for a time that hasn’t arrived yet.

I couldn’t be happier for all three guys. They are all great kids, all have fantastic work ethics and not one of them has hit his ceiling yet. Anyone looking for regression, meaningful regression, need look again. Dustin will only get better, it’s part of both he and Youk’s makeup. Jon as well. He’s so damn young as a pitcher, considering how many innings pitched he has career-wise, there’s no reason to think he can’t be a top 10 Cy guy for the life of this deal, every year. Not to mention he’s making about $23 million less than Santana this year.

Things look great for this group. I’d expect to hear Jason Bay’s name more and more in the coming weeks, as well as some discussions with Josh as the season rolls along.

Add this mix and the incredibly young, incredibly talented and deep pool of arms coming through the minor leagues and you can’t help but golf clap that Theo has delivered on his promise to rebuild this organization starting with the draft, scouting and the minor league system.

All of these things will continue to add up and be attractive to the free agents that are out there, looking. This team is poised to be a contender for the next 5 years at a minimum, and it should be fun as hell to watch.

Now cross your fingers Minnesota gets confused and doesn’t re-sign Mr. Mauer this year …

Team was made up of some pretty incredible talent. Kendall, Javy Lopez, Giambi, Garciaparra, Manny, Garrett Andersion, Sosa, Delgado, Wagner, Leiter, Hoffman, Gordon and more. I think our starting lineup in game 1 had 300+ home runs….

At the time I had no real idea, but it would prove to be the wrong decision. The team took the month of October off, and met in early November to work out and fly over.

The problem didn’t surface, for me anyway, until we got over there and walked onto the field. See prepping for something like this was much like Spring Training. We hit, we threw bullpens, but replicating the energy and adrenalin of playing in front of 50+ thousand screaming fans is impossible.

The WBC is no different in my opinion, and actually you could argue far worse. Without a season of conditioning you are tasked with ‘ramping it up’ at a time when slow methodical preparation is the norm. I’ve always felt and looked at the pre-season as a multi-layered process.

That first step is when you start long tossing.
The second step, or next ‘push’ from a physical exertion standpoint happens when you get on the mound.
Step three is batting practice.
Step four is that first spring game.
Step five is a real game.

Those steps happen rather easily right up to the last 2. Going into that first spring game for me was a huge jump in effort and energy. Live hitters, wearing different uniforms, fans in the stands.

That final step is one you just can’t ‘be ready’ for until you are truly ‘ready’. Until you’ve worked your pitch counts up, had a tough outing or two in the spring, stepping into a ML stadium full of fans ramps it to a whole new level.

Say what you want about the fact that the games ‘don’t count’ or ‘aren’t real’ but I can speak as a pitcher to the fact that those games, to me anyway, were live ‘get after it’ events.

I can’t speak to position players because their lives and their preparation are so vastly different than pitchers, but I can tell you as a pitcher that the last thing on this planet I would want to do would be to be asked to go ‘full tilt’ (and make no mistake about it, what you are seeing from them is everything they have at that point) at this incredibly early time in the season.

I said when we returned from Japan that I would never do it again. It was an awesome experience but I was as sore as I’d ever been (and ultimately wound up with a shoulder injury and was operated on, as were 3 other pitchers on the team) and I think the tour hurt my chances of being healthy immensely.

If I were, and I know I am not, a GM I would have some sort of protection in contracts prohibiting any pitchers on my 40 man roster from participating.

I completely understand the desire to get the global appeal of baseball out there, however I’m of the opinion it already is. I think it’s much more valuable to the Japanese market to have Dice pitching in October, in the World Series, than in the Baseball classic. One thing about Dice though, and Japanese pitchers in particular, is I don’t think they ever experience true ‘down time’ during the off season. It could be a completely different mind set and approach for them because for all I know (and it could certainly be the case) he shows up at spring training ready to throw 110 pitches on day 1.

It does make for good theater in some cases, but to ask ML pitchers to get lineups of the quality these countries are running out on a daily basis, at this date on the calendar, is asking for trouble when you are truly trying to win, which I think they are.

“I’m not sure if I am coming back or not, but yes, I’d definitely be interested the Cubs, and in Tampa if I did”

Became

“I’m definitely coming back and would play for the Cubs”.

I have said to no one, including myself, that I am definitely coming back, because it’s not true. However if I did, the Cubs, and Tampa, were they to need a starting pitcher for the 2nd half of the season and into October, would be 2 situations I’d be very interested in.

Little ‘misquotes’ lead to news that really isn’t news. First off a team has to want you to make anything of this sort work. I love Joe Maddon, always have, and I’d play for Lou Pinella in a heart beat.

So I’ll be clear here. If I do feel I can be better than I was in 2007, and I do decide to come back, AND either of those teams is in the market for a starting pitcher (because lets face it, both teams have what could be outstanding rotations) I would DEFINITELY be interested in both. The Cubs present as much of a cool challenge for me as the Red Sox did in 04, and Tampa has a roster of guys I’d love to play with.

Oh and for what it’s worth, that’s not an all inclusive list, those were the teams mentioned. People asking about the Sox should understand they are always a potential but this team is stacked with starting pitchers, in addition to having 2 of the better October arms in the history of the game in Josh and Smoltz (and soon to be Lester after another huge year)

2) Shonda and I have moved over 40 times, I have moved over 50, since my career started.

3) The 1 year I spent at Yavapai JC was one of my top 5 teams of all time. Definitely one of the funnest years of my life.

4) My top teammates (not all inclusive) list would start with a few names: Doug Mirabelli, Craig Counsell, Gabe Kapler, David West, Kevin Jordan, Pete Harnish, Bob Milacki, Ben McDonald, Brady Anderson, Todd Pratt, Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Bill Mueller, Dustin Pedroia, Jeff Bagwell, Ken Caminiti, Greg Swindell, Dan Plesac, Brandon Webb, Todd Stottlemyre, Greg Colbrunn, Tony Womack, Mickey Morandini, Lenny Dykstra, Dave Hollins. Many more but that’s where it would start

5) Most incredible win I’ve ever been a part of? Elimination game to go to the JC World Series. Brian Deak hit a 2 run HR with 2 outs, bottom of the ninth, down 1 vs. Pima CC.

Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS-Knowing that game was over from about the 3rd inning on and that I was part of a team that had done something that no other team in baseball history had accomplished

Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. From World Series Goat to World Champion in about 3 minutes…

6) Most heart wrenching loss? PV East LL Championship game to go to LL World Series. 2 outs, bottom of the 7th, up 1, bases loaded. Ground ball to me, throw home for first out, throw to first is overthrown when runner slides into Mike Niles, our catcher, ball sails into Right Field and Dan Hale, the opposing pitcher, scores all the way from first to eliminate us…

Losing 5-4 to the Mets, in 1998 I think, after entering the 9th with a 4 hit shutout. I gave up ALL 5 RUNS in the bottom of the night to lose the game. Jon Olerud came up with 2 outs, bases loaded, Lieberthal comes out, asks me what I want to throw, I reply “I have nothing to make him swing and miss, so I don’t care, I’ll throw what you put down”, a fast ball away later, game over. First pitcher in like 50 years to blow that sort of lead on my own… So proud!

Game 5 of the 2001 World Series. Just couldn’t believe BK could have that happen 2 nights in a row.

7) Most dominating offensive player I ever played with? Manny Ramirez, not even a close second

Most dominating offensive Season I ever watched in person? Either Luis Gonzales in 2001 or David in 2004. Luis’ April was the most dominating month I have ever seen. David had a year that will be hard to match as far as clutch goes.

9) Most dominating pitcher and season? Same guy. RJ in 2001 and 2002 outlined HOF to me. Every 5th day I was on the edge of my seat not able to comprehend what I might see. His 20k night was incredible, made more incredible by him getting a No-Decision. Made worse by the fact I had to go out and try and top whatever he did the next day.

9a) Most dominating post season by a pitcher? Keith Foulke in 2004. I still think it’s the most underrated performance in history. He was the MVP of every single series in our minds, hands down. Took the ball every night and did it as well as humanly possible.

10) Best “Team” I ever played on? 1993 Phillies or the 2004 Sox. Both teams came to the park and knew we were going to win. The 93 team had more swagger than any team I was ever part of. The 04 team took on an “Us against the world” mentality and honestly used it for the entire season.

11) Hitters I hated to face: Mark Lemke, Delino Deshields, Lance Berkman, Todd Helton

12) Hitters I didn’t mind seeing at the plate: Andres Galaragga, Todd Hollandsworth, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Gonzo, Sosa, McGwire, Bonds

13) Players I want my sons to emulate: Scott Rolen, Jason Varitek, Bill Mueller, Craig Counsell, David Eckstein

14) Favorite Coaches: Brian Butterfield (all time favorite) Johnny Podres, Robin Yount, Jim Presley, Dale Sveum, Terry Francona, Dave Wallace, Mark Connor, Bob Welch, John Vuckovich (my 2nd dad), Art Howe, Bob Cluck, Demarlo Hale, Dave Magadan, Bob Melvin, Chuck Cottier, Dave Dangler, Mike McQuaid, Walt Mcconnell, Dick Bosman, Bill Lemoncelli, Dick Beradino. There’s more but all I can name right now (And HOLY CRAP! I left off one that would no doubt be in my all time top 5, hands down! John Farrell!! Sorry Shre…. Err John!)….

15) I started carrying a laptop in the early 90s, before it was ‘in’, and got no shortage of stares from Macho Row.

16) I left for the ballpark exactly 6 hours before the first pitch of any game I pitched. I started pre-game warm ups/stretching exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes before the first pitch. Dugout 55 minutes before. Bullpen 38 minutes before. Sprints 25 minutes before and first toss at 20 minutes before every game I started the past 15 years.

17) I have never been more focused or locked in than the 2001 post season.

18) The Cards/Dbacks NLDS is, imo, one of the most overlooked and underrated post season series ever.

19) After 216 wins, 11 more in October, the game I for some reason am most proud of is the 2007 start in Oakland. After all the hub-bub over losing the no-no with 2 outs in the ninth I didn’t care. I’d started a game on the heels of a 4 game losing streak, and thrown a shut out. That was far more important to me than anything. I think it had to do with how hard that entire year was, how hard each start was to just get to the mound.

20) My most memorable inning? Two really. 1) The ninth inning of game 1 of the NLDS, having to get three outs in game 1 to win 1-0. Watching Edmonds ground out to Gracie and squeezing the life out of him. 2) Bottom of the 5th inning, I think it was 1997. Facing Kevin Brown in Philadelphia. My first ‘tie my shoes’ moment. I walked the bases loaded on about 11 strikes thanks to Gary Darling going temporarily blind. I stepped off the mound and bent over to tie my shoes. I said to myself “Self, you have two options, throw in the towel and piss this one away (because Brown was just filthy that year) or nut up, focus and empty the tank right here, right now.” I went 3-0 on the next three hitters, K’d Hundley, K’d Hollandsworth and Beltre grounded out to end the inning. We scored 6 in the top of the next inning to rout them. I started using ‘tie my shoe’ moments from that day on to compose myself.

Really?

Hey, pro, don’t want to be a role model? It’s not your choice.
by Rick Reilly

This is a story I want to tell ALL athletes who think that what they do, how they act, the little kindnesses they give or withhold from fans don’t matter.

It’ll take only a minute. …

To read the entire story, click here.

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY
do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we
have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax
code, Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the
Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a
federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking
thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to
accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to
determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their
fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal
human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of
the House? The leader of the majority party. He/She and fellow House members, not the president,
can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they
agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand
convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single
domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain
truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what
exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people,
it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can
abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the
power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into
the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation,’ or ‘politics’
that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have
several choices.
1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope’ they’ do something about it.
2. You can agree to ‘vote against’ everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process
will take several years.
3. You can decide to ‘run for office’ yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

This is not a new issue or one our generation has created. It’s been a part of our culture and our society far longer than many would like to believe.

You can read it here…

When you see a signing like this you can’t help but think where the game must be economically.

Not that we don’t already know it’s just a staggeringly bad time for this country but a signing like this, on this date, is a clear indication of how far things have gone.

Brian Butterfield, in addition to being a dear friend and one of my favorite coaches of all time, knows baseball. When Orlando was first in Toronto I asked Butter about most of their players, often more than once. Over the course of the season Orlando was a guy Butter thought highly of, and as the season went on, that opinion rose.

Described as a defensive ‘game changer’ Orlando brought a swagger and a chatterbox to the field not many young players did. As a pitcher I won’t lie, it was annoying, but the kid played, played hard, and was damn good to boot.

This, and there will be a few others, signing is one that won’t get the ink it should, but could have a very significant impact on the NL West this season. A division that is already very tight can swing with the signing of just one player, especially one of Orlando’s caliber.

I cannot seem to find the archived article, but here is a link to a story in the LA Times that referenced one example, this one about my manager at the time, Buck Showalter.

I took issue with the piece due to the immense number of flat-out lies in it. First off, we weren’t required to wear our socks with the “A” showing. We did fraternize with opposing players before games. Buck didn’t do much of the stuff Pedro claimed at the time the article was written. The article alleged some off-the-field personal conduct issues that Pedro had ‘heard’ about. This made him, in my mind, one of the worst forms of life in the media, someone who used his pen to settle a personal score. After the article was written, I vividly remember walking out of the clubhouse and seeing Buck’s daughter in tears after that game.

So I ‘talked’ to him about it and we agreed we just didn’t like each other. Much like CHB, he made reference to the fact that he’d written ‘nice things’ about me when I was traded to Arizona, as if that made it all OK, and that he should be able to slander teammates and coaches I played with because of it.

Now Buck was no saint. He’ll admit that, and all that goes with that. But I loved playing for him. He was always prepared and never out-managed in a game.

I bring all this up to make sure people understand that Pedro and I have never been real friends.

Why write this now? Here’s why. I am reading ESPN tonight and I happen to see that he’s actually written something someone there deems worthy of print. It’s on A-Rod (surprise), and deep in the article is this comment….

How can I be certain of who has and who hasn’t used PEDs? Obviously, I cannot be 100 percent certain. But the beauty baseball possesses over any other sport is its visual splendor. It’s the only sport with which you can trust your eyes.

Most know what we watched from the early 1990s until the mid-2000s was shady. Those sudden spikes in home runs, RBIs, batting average and miles per hour from pitchers had all of us whispering at the time.

Wow, just wow.

During the 2001 season, in the clubhouse, Pedro and I got into a shouting match about players and steroids. In the middle of the discussion he uttered this statement:

“I personally know of at least three, and more likely four guys on this team that are using steroids.”

Whoa… What?

I asked him how the hell he could “know” that. He said he knew, “people” had told him. I asked him what “people.” He said, “People.” I pushed and asked, “Players?” He said, “Let’s just leave it at people.”

I often times thought of sharing this story with someone from the media just to call Pedro out and see if he denied ever saying what he said to me. In the end it wasn’t worth the time or the effort.

But now this man is going to act as if he was a ‘victim’ of the same thing we all were? Worse yet, so many of these writers and media members are standing on the tallest mountain shouting to anyone who will listen how wrong all of this is, how bad all of it is, and how dare we players sat by idly and did nothing.

These men were privy to the same scenes we were on a daily basis. They saw us dress, and undress, they rolled their eyes the very same way many players did at the guy who ‘worked his ass off’ when he’d really ‘worked his ass on’ and put on astronomical muscle mass in 4 short months.

They saw hitters go from 18 to 40 home runs, pitchers go from 88 to 90mph, to 95-97mph yet we’re the ones who put our heads in the sand? Weren’t these the men and women with the power of the pen?

(For a player it’s far harder than many think to conclude that guy used PEDs. Not every player who increased his velocity by 5mph or hits 20 more HRs cheats. It’s hard, it’s a challenge, but it can be done, some players have and will continue to do that and they’ll do that clean.)

Hell, Pedro said that he KNEW players who did it for a fact. That makes him 100% more informed about users than I am, or ever was. I suspected, I certainly had my own ideas, but I never knew for a fact that ANYONE used steroids or HGH unless they came out since and admitted it.

What makes Pedro, or any member of the media that was so intent on heaping glory and praise on all things Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and others for ’saving the game’ of baseball in 1997 and 1998, any less culpable?

Make no mistake about it, players cared far more and were far louder than people know. One thing that has come out often in the past weeks is Rick Helling and his consistency in bringing up the steroid issue at every player meeting I was ever in. Rick was adamant about implementation of testing and was never shy in saying so.

In Arizona we openly discussed, as a team, not taking the random tests to intentionally fail and insure that we’d exceed the threshold needed to implement testing. I am not sure if any players actually did it, but there was talk on many clubs of doing just that.

In the end it does fall on us, the players, for not acting sooner. It’s not the union leaders’ faults, regardless of what some people think. At 21 or 22 or older, you’re a grown man accountable for each and every one of your own actions.

But please spare me the daily media insistence on lambasting anyone and everyone in the game for this PED nightmare, while at the same time giving a free pass to journalists. It’s as if they are standing on the sideline looking out on the field and saying, “Wow, I can’t believe what you guys have done to the game.”

There are some who bear every bit as much accountability in this as the innocent players who ‘didn’t speak out’ and ‘turn over’ on their teammates and fellow players.

So Much For Hope Over Fear

By Charles Krauthammer
“A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.”
– President Obama, Feb. 4.

WASHINGTON — Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn’t understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn’t what’s illegal, but what’s legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.

He’d been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he’s not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don’t get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.

At least Tim Geithner, the tax-challenged Treasury secretary, had been working for years as a humble international civil servant earning non-stratospheric wages. Daschle, who had made another cool million a year (plus chauffeur and Caddy) for unspecified services to a pal’s private equity firm, represented everything Obama said he’d come to Washington to upend.

And yet more damaging to Obama’s image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama’s name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination.

It’s not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It’s not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

It’s the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus — and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress’ own budget office says won’t be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama came to Washington to abolish. He said.

Not just to abolish but to create something new — a new politics where the moneyed pork-barreling and corrupt logrolling of the past would give way to a bottom-up, grass-roots participatory democracy. That is what made Obama so dazzling and new. Turns out the “fierce urgency of now” includes $150 million for livestock insurance.

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington. By the time the stimulus bill reached the Senate, reports The Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were lobbying furiously for a new plan to repatriate overseas profits that would yield major tax savings. California wine growers and Florida citrus producers were fighting to change a single phrase in one provision. Substituting “planted” for “ready to market” would mean a windfall garnered from a new “bonus depreciation” incentive.

After Obama’s miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell — and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

Bogus Bush Bashing

Anyone would think we had just elected a hip, skinny and youthful replacement for God, with a plan to modernize Heaven and Hell – or that at the very least John Lennon had come back from the dead.

The swooning frenzy over the choice of Barack Obama as President of the United States must be one of the most absurd waves of self-deception and swirling fantasy ever to sweep through an advanced civilization. At least Mandela-worship – its nearest equivalent – is focused on a man who actually did something.

I really don’t see how the Obama devotees can ever in future mock the Moonies, the Scientologists or people who claim to have been abducted in flying saucers. This is a cult like the one which grew up around Princess Diana, bereft of reason and hostile to facts.

It already has all the signs of such a thing. The newspapers which recorded Obama’s victory have become valuable relics. You may buy Obama picture books and Obama calendars and if there isn’t yet a children’s picture version of his story, there soon will be.

Proper books, recording his sordid associates, his cowardly voting record, his astonishingly militant commitment to unrestricted abortion and his blundering trip to Africa, are little-read and hard to find.

If you can believe that this undistinguished and conventionally Left-wing machine politician is a sort of secular saviour, then you can believe anything. He plainly doesn’t believe it himself. His cliche-stuffed, PC clunker of an acceptance speech suffered badly from nerves. It was what you would expect from someone who knew he’d promised too much and that from now on the easy bit was over.

He needn’t worry too much. From now on, the rough boys and girls of America’s Democratic Party apparatus, many recycled from Bill Clinton’s stained and crumpled entourage, will crowd round him, to collect the rich spoils of his victory and also tell him what to do, which is what he is used to.

Just look at his sermon by the shores of Lake Michigan. He really did talk about a ‘new dawn’, and a ‘timeless creed’ (which was ‘yes, we can’). He proclaimed that ‘change has come’. He revealed that, despite having edited the Harvard Law Review, he doesn’t know what ‘enormity’ means. He reached depths of oratorical drivel never even plumbed by our own Mr Blair, burbling about putting our hands on the arc of history (or was it the ark of history?) and bending it once more toward the hope of a better day (Don’t try this at home).

I am not making this up. No wonder that awful old hack Jesse Jackson sobbed as he watched. How he must wish he, too, could get away with this sort of stuff.

And it was interesting how the President-elect failed to lift his admiring audience by repeated – but rather hesitant – invocations of the brainless slogan he was forced by his minders to adopt against his will – ‘Yes, we can’. They were supposed to thunder ‘Yes, we can!’ back at him, but they just wouldn’t join in. No wonder. Yes we can what exactly? Go home and keep a close eye on the tax rate, is my advice. He’d have been better off bursting into ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony’ which contains roughly the same message and might have attracted some valuable commercial sponsorship.

Perhaps, being a Chicago crowd, they knew some of the things that 52.5 per cent of America prefers not to know. They know Obama is the obedient servant of one of the most squalid and unshakeable political machines in America. They know that one of his alarmingly close associates, a state-subsidised slum landlord called Tony Rezko, has been convicted on fraud and corruption charges.

They also know the US is just as segregated as it was before Martin Luther King – in schools, streets, neighbourhoods, holidays, even in its TV-watching habits and its choice of fast-food joint. The difference is that it is now done by unspoken agreement rather than by law.

If Mr Obama’s election had threatened any of that, his feel-good white supporters would have scuttled off and voted for John McCain, or practically anyone. But it doesn’t. Mr Obama, thanks mainly to the now-departed grandmother he alternately praised as a saint and denounced as a racial bigot, has the huge advantages of an expensive private education. He did not have to grow up in the badlands of useless schools, shattered families and gangs which are the lot of so many young black men of his generation.

If the nonsensical claims made for this election were true, then every positive discrimination programme aimed at helping black people into jobs they otherwise wouldn’t get should be abandoned forthwith. Nothing of the kind will happen. On the contrary, there will probably be more of them.

And if those who voted for Obama were all proving their anti-racist nobility, that presumably means that those many millions who didn’t vote for him were proving themselves to be hopeless bigots. This is obviously untrue.
barack obama

Yes we can what?: Barack Obama ran on the ticket of change

I was in Washington DC the night of the election. America’s beautiful capital has a sad secret. It is perhaps the most racially divided city in the world, with 15th Street – which runs due north from the White House – the unofficial frontier between black and white. But, like so much of America, it also now has a new division, and one which is in many ways much more important. I had attended an election-night party in a smart and liberal white area, but was staying the night less than a mile away on the edge of a suburb where Spanish is spoken as much as English, plus a smattering of tongues from such places as Ethiopia, Somalia and Afghanistan.

As I walked, I crossed another of Washington’s secret frontiers. There had been a few white people blowing car horns and shouting, as the result became clear. But among the Mexicans, Salvadorans and the other Third World nationalities, there was something like ecstasy.

They grasped the real significance of this moment. They knew it meant that America had finally switched sides in a global cultural war. Forget the Cold War, or even the Iraq War. The United States, having for the most part a deeply conservative people, had until now just about stood out against many of the mistakes which have ruined so much of the rest of the world.

Suspicious of welfare addiction, feeble justice and high taxes, totally committed to preserving its own national sovereignty, unabashedly Christian in a world part secular and part Muslim, suspicious of the Great Global Warming panic, it was unique.

These strengths had been fading for some time, mainly due to poorly controlled mass immigration and to the march of political correctness. They had also been weakened by the failure of America’s conservative party – the Republicans – to fight on the cultural and moral fronts.

They preferred to posture on the world stage. Scared of confronting Left-wing teachers and sexual revolutionaries at home, they could order soldiers to be brave on their behalf in far-off deserts. And now the US, like Britain before it, has begun the long slow descent into the Third World. How sad. Where now is our last best hope on Earth?

I was also forwarded a quote I found a bit more than disturbing.

“Owners of capital will stimulate working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism”
Karl Marx from “Das Kapital”
1867

It doesn’t make him any less guilty, any less accountable or any less of a Yankee (subtle Yankee jab) but it’s refreshing as hell to see someone say “I f’d up, I made a mistake and I’ll have to deal with it”. He’s fricking human, he made a horrible choice and he’ll have to deal with it.

Do whatever you want, speculate on whatever you want but the guy ‘manned up’, admitted his mistake, that’s enough for me. Nothing we can do about it at this point but move on as fans and players.

I still believe the names of all the positives should be released. That the media chose to only ‘out’ him is a crime in and of itself.

I also believe someone, or many someone’s at the MLBPA should be fired , right now, today, for failure to follow the protocols and procedures outlined in the testing agreement. Same for the MLB offices.

And if it is true, and someone or more than someone at the MLBPA was giving advance notice to players of testing, that in and of itself should cost them their jobs.

This whole situation stinks to high heaven but it’s completely wrong that one guy is being held out there for everyone to pencil whip, flat out wrong.

In a December 2007 interview with ‘60 Minutes,’ three days after George Mitchell’s report on drugs in the sport was released, Rodriguez denied using peformance-enhancing drugs.

… the answer should be “No, never”, period.

Starting with this:

“I’ve never felt overmatched on the baseball field … I felt that if I did my, my work as I’ve done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn’t have a problem competing at any level.” — Alex Rodriguez.

Which, btw, is not a “No, never!” all the way to “Yes”. Anything other than “I have never used Steroids, HGH or any other performance enhancing drugs” has to be considered a “Yes”, doesn’t it?

ADDENDUM!!! I made the horrific mistake I was forever pissed at the media for making and I want to apologize. Alex did in fact flat out deny ever using Steroids, or HGH in this interview and with Katie Couric by saying “NO, I never used them”. I’ll now take a page from my own book and never pull comments or content from a ‘published’ media source and use that as my reference material. So in closing, Alex did in fact flat out deny ever using PED’s in any form.

“You’ll have to talk to the union” and ‘failed to return inquiries’ are terms we’ve all heard before with many folks. If you go back to comments earlier in the decade when many players were complaining about the testing — I know I said it — the main concern was the ability for them to remain “anonymous”.

That’s a very insignificant piece here until someone who is actually innocent is nailed or outed. How will we know who that is? Will it happen?

I’d be all for the 104 positives being named, and the game moving on if that is at all possible. In my opinion, if you don’t do that, then the other 600-700 players are going to be guilty by association, forever.

It’s not about good and bad people, because Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi are two of the kindest human beings ever. Andy Pettite is a fantastic person. That’s seemingly got nothing to do with anything. One hundred and four players made the wrong decision, and it appears that not only was it 104, but three of the greatest of our, or any, generation appear to be on top of this list.

And before anyone asks, I’ll make it clear: My name will not appear on any lists of positive tests. I’ve never tested positive for steroids or HGH, and I’ve never taken steroids or HGH in my life, ever. You don’t need to call the union, or an agent to verify that.

RELATED LINKS:

A-Rod Reportedly Tested Positive For Steroids

Audio: Jose Canseco talking about Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez (4:32 mark talks about introducing A-Rod to a steroid dealer)

Guttenplan: A-Rod Falls Not So Hard

LEEINKS: More Audio … And A Korean Baseball “Fight”

Audio: Sherman: Roberts Writing Book On A-Rod

One person I’ve been friends with since before I came into the industry and who’s actually become a better friends since, is Peter Moore of EA Sports. Peter has his own blog, and his own blemishes. His blog is here. and if you like console sports games he’s the man.

First off unlike many people in this industry he’s honest to a fault. He’s passionate about his company, his products and unlike so many folks that high on the totem pole his customers matter. He’s talks to them through his blog and in talking to him I know he listens.

There’s a good story here though. About a year ago Todd McFarlane and our executive staff were at EA having a meeting about a future potential partnership. Peter made an off handed comment that went something like this.

“Oh I could kick a 50 yard field goal”

Now normally I might let that pass….Well no, I actually would never let that pass. Having known him awhile I responded with “Bullshit, no chance”.

An immediate ‘discussion’ ensued. The best ‘business decision’ might have been to let this all pass, but like many other times in my career when shutting up was the prudent course of action, I didn’t.

Well needless to say the conversation eventually ended up with a ‘put your money where your mouth is” ultimatum.

I should also mention Peter was a damn good soccer player for most of his life, and is a Liverpool fan. Oh and more importantly, Peter is a die hard, dyed in the wool member of Sox Nation. Even ‘commuting’ to Sox games when he worked at Microsoft in Seattle.

Well Todd picked up on this and later in the day, during the meeting, Peter and I were off chatting, Todd got to work and came up with this masterpiece…

That is what's about to happen, in real life!

So Peter comes back, and we all have a good laugh.

The bet becomes somewhat public, not sure how, but as of today peter is (from what I am told by his trusty assistant Tana Billingsley) 7 yards short of his mark.

Normally I’d gloat, but the fact that this guy, at his age, has kicked even a 43 yarder is incredible!

Suffice to say my boys are playing EA games, all of them to date, at a much cheaper price than they otherwise might have been. If Peter does manage to make this happen expect a lengthy and drawn out 38 Pitches blog post about English Futbol at some point…

Keep kicking Pete! And Go MANCHESTER!!

In addition, Jacob’s parents have started a foundation that can be found here. www.kidsvcancer.com

I sincerely appreciate any and all of you that check out the site and contribute time or money to them to assist in raising funds, and awareness.

Thanks

Curt

Starting to mess around with some old hobbies. Had an affinity for model railroading that my dad gave me when I was young, which has been fun. Also playing a lot of different new, and older games. There are a few I am hooked on right now, but the one eating most of my time is this! which, btw, you can download from Valve. Valve will soon be the way to get every game you want. Why drive to the mall or store, or order online, when you can get it cheaper, and immediately via a download service?

“>Also into this facebook thing. It gets addicting. Getting all my photos up and connecting with family all over the world is pretty cool. For you parents of teenagers, it’s a fantastic way to ’snoop’ and keep abreast of what they are up to.

Two other cool links are Twitter and Flickr.

On Twitter and Flickr I am under gehrig38. Twitter is an instant messaging service you can follow friends on, a mobile instant messenger really, and Flickr is a free photo holding site you can upload photos to store for use around the web. Both of the sites you can control access to who can and cannot view your pages and material. Very cool stuff.

As far as baseball goes, I have taken the reins of the All Time Greats Pittsburgh Pirate Team here.

Off to a 16-6 start riding a hot Willie Stargell to a one-game lead over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The league is being managed by some diehards and there are some cool blog reports on the league action so far. I only just heard about Musial going down:) Poor Cards …

Life has afforded me about a million times more than I deserve, and last night was another occasion. Shonda, Garrison, Gehrig and his friends, Joey, Arthur and Henry, and Joey’s dad, and I ventured down to Tampa courtesy of some deft work by Katie Leighton and the Rooney family.

I mean really, I was hopefully one of many dads allowed to have a moment like this yesterday…

Welcome to Steeler Nation little man!

I’ve known Joanne Rooney almost 10 years. In addition to being married to the family that runs the greatest franchise in sports history, she’s an incredibly kind and philanthropic woman. She’s given immense time and money to ALS over the past decade and has always been a dear friend to our family.

We arrived in Tampa early enough to get to our seats and watch the teams warm up, and the pre-game ceremonies.

To get the important stuff out of the way first there is this: The Steelers won their sixth Super Bowl (2nd in 4 years) when 15 NFL teams have yet to win one. Five teams in the NFL have never even BEEN to the Super Bowl … 

(And for you bandwagon screamers out there, my father was born and raised in Somerset, PA, so I was raised a Pirates and Steelers fan. Stopped being a Pirates fan in January 1986, but will die a Steeler fan.)

Also, a tip of the hat to the Cardinals, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, all of them. They played their asses off and gave the NFL and the world a fantastic game. Having been on that side of a world championship I know it doesn’t mean a whole lot, but they did Arizona and the NFL proud last night. He goes 31-for-43 for 377 yards and 3 TD’s vs. that defense is pretty damn unreal. Larry Fitzgerald? On a level all by himself. He’s just unreal.

I was a bit shocked at the Cardinals winning the toss and giving up the ball first. Yes, there is strategy to having the ball at the start of the 2nd half and I am sure they knew what they were doing, but I was thinking that winning the toss they’d have chosen to get Warner onto the field ASAP and get their offense warm early. I thought the Cards would have the ball first no matter who won the toss. Thinking the Steelers would happily give them first crack to get their defense on the field and stop them three and out and create that tidal wave of momentum. They won, and they gave the Steelers first dibs. In hindsight it turned out to be a nice momentum shifter for them when the stopped Big Ben on the 3rd and Goal forcing a FG, when everyone, I think, felt that the drive was so well orchestrated and moved so easliy, they’d have seven in quick fashion.

Cut to the end of the first quarter and three things came to mind:

1. The Steelers flat out DOMINATED the first quarter. It wasn’t even close. That it was only 3-0 was more than a little troublesome to me. Allowing the Cards to hold the ball only three minutes or so and seemingly driving up an down the field at will, the game should have been on its way to a blow out. The Cardinals’ defense came up huge in the red zone. Tip of the cap to instant replay as well. I thought from the shots that Ben clearly was down before crossing the plane.

2. He started 9 of 11, and I think 10 of 12, for nice yardage, but I felt like literally every completion was a very high percentage short dump. When Ben went up top, the two incompletions could have easily been picked off. His stats said great, but I didn’t feel like he was throwing all that well.

3. I wondered for the past two weeks about one, to me anyway, very important storyline. These are pro athletes. Not only that, but NFL football players. For two weeks the Cardinals had to listen to “The Steelers are going to kick their ass”, “The Steelers are far too tough”, “The Steelers are going to pound them into the ground” and I wondered how that would play out. I was worried it would amp up and energize Arizona. It appeared to me to actually hurt Arizona a TON. I thought they tried so hard to be ‘tough’ and ‘bad ass’ that they lost focus and discipline, trying to prove how tough they were, and that resulted in MASSIVELY game-changing penalties for them. Roughing penalties, fighting, all things I would imagine you’d bust your butt to NOT have that happen in a game of this magnitude.

The second quarter saw some very good football and when Fitz caught the pass over the middle and busted in for the TD, capping an 83-yard, seemingly very easy drive, I started to realize my first half concerns. First off the thought that maybe this guy couldn’t be stopped. But more importantly if Warner found a groove it could be a tougher game than imagined. He did find a groove too, but alls well that ends well.

The last 18 seconds will go down as arguably one of the biggest plays, and turnarounds, in NFL history. I was sure the BEST we could get out of this was a 10-10 tie and that made me queasy. If the Steelers could play this well, and NOT be up big, much less tied or down, they could lose this game. The sin of all sins gets committed though, and Warner throws a pick DEEP in the red zone. I think like every other Steeler fan I was ecstatic, but 18 seconds later I was euphoric.

So in what can only be described as the worst, absolute worst, possible result thinkable by Arizona, it happens. The game goes from potentially 14-10 up, or 10-10 tie, to down 17-7 at half. The play itself was mind numbing. How on earth Harrison doesn’t get A) tackled or B) pushed out of bounds, for 100 yards is beyond me. I know it’s not easy to tackle someone of that girth, but damn.

The halftime show featured the Boss and he was very good. Always great to hear talent sound the same in real life, even after what seems like 70 some years of performing.

The Boss stirring up Tampa!

The 3rd quarter started nicely for the Cards, James nets 19 on 3 carries but a crucial 3rd down fumble turned no fumble gets them to pin Pittsburgh at the 18. Ben then runs another clock sucking drive, 79 yards to the Cardinal 3 and they come up huge again. The three huge plays on this drive were all Arizona created though. A facemask, roughing the passer and what I thought would be a game ending unecessary roughness call on a 4th down FG attempt gave the Steelmen the ball, 1st and goal at the 4. They stop the Steelers on 3 straight to give them a FG, on what should have been, to me, a sure fire TD.

Both teams trade drives for no scores into the 4th quarter. When Warner hit Fitzgerald with 7:41 to go I turned to Gates and said, “Remember when I said the one thing I didn’t want was for the Cardinals to hang around and be within a score of the lead in the last half of the 4th quarter?”.

He smiles, I don’t. I was dreading this. Against some teams sure, I would be more than happy at this situation, but when you’re facing a Warner, with a Boldin and Fitzgerald duo to throw to, I can think of a bunch of reasons to be worried.

I didn’t see any issues though, as long as the Steelers could muster at least a FG. A two possession game with that little time left was a lock in my mind. Obviously that couldn’t happen, that would have been too easy.

Three and out and Warner has the ball again. A dumb-ass penalty on Taylor gives the Cards the ball in Pittsburgh territory and now I’m sweating. On 2nd down Breston nets 23 yards and now it’s going to be ugly. On first down though, a HUGE holding call puts Az out of Rackers range and in my mind forces the Cards to approach the series much differently, going from 1st and 2nd and 10, to 1st, 2nd and 3rd and 20. Three straight incompletes and the Cards punt. Special teams is like baseball bullpens. You cannot win without a good one and good ones come up big at big times, which they did. They pin the Steelers on what looks like the 1/2 inch line.

I’m thinking, damn, a safety right here would suck beyond words …

An incomplete pass on, if I remember right, what was a very catchable ball by Ward, and a stuffed run put it at 3rd and 10. Ben hits Holmes on as incredibly beautiful a timing route as I’ve ever seen, and ridiculously clutch I might add, and I am going ape! I see a flag? Oh crap. Please don’t be against Pittsburgh. Holding, safety, oh damn …

Short of a pick returned for a TD right there, which might have even been better since they’d have the ball, they get penalized on the one-yard of field you can’t get penalized no, suck up a safety AND have to punt.

Hmm, OK, no problem. Now is the time for the most famous defense in history to step up, in the biggest game right? Sure? Maybe?

Five seconds after the ball leaves Berger’s foot on the free kick, Warner hits that damn Fitzgerald guy over the middle, short left, and he goes from first to sixth gear in two steps …

Sixty-four yards later my Steelers are now LOSING Super Bowl XLIII, and there’s only 2:37 of clock left. OK, they might lose? Huh? How in the hell did we get here?

Big Ben has got to drive this team 78, no wait … let’s throw in a first down holding penalty … now 88 yards in 2:24. I am a fan, I love Ben and have had the pleasure of meeting him. Fantastic kid and very nice guy to boot. Ben is not by any stretch of imagination a ‘pure passer’, never has been. That worries me because the next two minutes or so are going to be scripted completely through the air.

Color me stupid, disloyal, faithless, whatever you want, because over the next one minute and 42 seconds he does his best Montana, Elway, Brady, all in one. Hitting Holmes four times and Washington once, the Steelers and the nation of Terrible Towels find themselves on the Cards six yard line after what was likely the second biggest play of the game when Santonio rambled 40 yards on a short flat pass to the right!! Could this really be happening?????

On 1st and 6 he puts the ball in the back left corner in what appears to be a badly thrown ball from where I sit. Replays actually show he did lead a little much but the ball goes through Holmes’ hands. I am guessing too long is far safer than too short there?

On 2nd and 6 they pretty much do the same thing, opposite side, and doing his best Moss impression Holmes makes a couple million Steeler fans leap for joy with a fantastic grab and even better ’stay in’ by keeping what had to be the bottom 1/1000 of his toes inside the lines. TD!!!

Did I just actually see what I think I just saw? As clutch a drive in as clutch a situation as he’ll ever be in, no matter how long he plays the game, and the guy was pretty much perfect.

Extra-point is good and the Cards get the ball on their 23 with 29 seconds to go. Short of some miracle it’s over. Sure enough, 33 yards later and Warner is sitting at the Steeler 44. WAAAAAAAY too close to the end zone for a team with Larry Fitzgerald waiting to leap 60 inches in the air and swipe destiny from my Steelers.

BUT … it is not to be. Lamarr Woodley gets his third tackle of the game, jarring the ball loose and recovering the ensuing fumble. He instantly becomes my favorite person born in Saginaw, Michgan, as well as Wolverine alumni!

What a fantastic game and a fantastic event. The NFL should be proud, they did a heck of a job. I thought the MVP could have gone to a few different guys but it’s nice to see a kid we’ve had high hopes for breakout and become a star in the biggest game of his life. Ben could have easily won the MVP in my mind as well, 21 of 30 for 256 with a TD and a pick (a ‘goof’ pick too, tipped ball that could have landed in anyones hands) and he engineered a drive that will go down in Super Bowl history.

Harrison had just 3 tackles and an assist, and winning the MVP on a single play is hard to justify, but if there was ever going to be someone that did, this was it. That play will be shown alongside Franco Harris’ immaculate reception for the rest of eternity.

But Holmes, with 9 catches for 131 yards and the Super Bowl winning TD is a great choice. 4 catches for 77 yards on the final 88 yard drive were something to behold. The 40 yarder to get to the Cardinal 6 was the game.

It’s all over, the Steelers take home ring No. 6. Congratulations to the Rooney family, who’ve always taken care of their team and the fans with an unbridled passion for Steeler football. Staying ‘Old School’ all these years (what other team REFUSES to have cheerleaders? That’s old school!!) and staying true to the Steeler way set forth by Coach Noll and his roster of HOF players in the 70’s.

Here’s a few pics from the game:

Yes, folks, that IS David Wells back there! Security must have been slacking at whatever gate he came in!

The Schilling boys and friends, on their way. Garrison (left) Gehrig, Henry, Arthur (if his dad wasn't such a great guy we'd have kicked him to the curb for that jersey) and Joey wearing the Black and Gold of the Super Bowl 43 champs!

It's all about fashion in Steeler land, and now Garrison is 'one of us'. So proud....

He went from semi-enthusiastic to raring to go, very cool.

How many Super Bowls have you been too Garrison? How many have the Steelers won? That's right!

We had no idea what we were going to see...

You don’t have the next Johnny Bench in the wings, you do have some prospects that might potentially be catchers of the future, but you want to win a world series in 2009 and your best possible chance to do that is with Jason Varitek catching. I’m happy for Tek. I wish it would have gone differently but as a friend/fan of his I do know that the process, and the salary will have no bearing on his effort or passion to be as good as he can.

I always enjoy being a customer of good businesses run by good people, with employees that seem to enjoy doing what they do. I have to mention two companies I was a customer of that both left a great impression on me this past week.

I flew SF to LA on Virgin America Airlines. Every single person we ran into from the gate ramp to the plane, to landing and off the plane was beyond kind. A few went out of their way to say hello and have a great day. I love that stuff.

We rented a Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and it was as smooth and quick and easy a customer experience as I’ve had in awhile. It was another company with people that truly seemed to be enjoying their jobs.

I am now a customer of both companies and will use their services over others when I have the opportunity. Oh and neither of those companies is or has paid me a dime to talk nice.

So to the team that flew us to Anaheim on Virgin, and the Enterprise folks at LA and SF, thanks for the nice week. You made the trip bearable.

First off, let’s get a few pieces out of the way.

1.  It’s not my money (literally) but I am making this decision based on the fact that we know a $2 million contract, or $22 million contract, has zero impact on anything this team might do.

2. I don’t have to sign Tek for anything above league minimum if I don’t want to.

3. I don’t have a No. 1 catcher.

So here’s my press release/press conference …

The Boston Red Sox would like to announce the signing of catcher Jason Varitek to a one-year, $8 million contract that contains a performance/mutual option for the 2010 season. If Jason is healthy and performs to standards he has achieved in years prior to 2008, he can earn a total of $10.5 million during the 2009 season.

Depending on your viewpoint you could argue that there was a significant mistake made by the agent in this situation, or that the club erred in thinking Jason would accept arbitration, coming off a year we know he considered disappointing.

Jason has been the cornerstone of two World Championships in the past five years. We have always known and recognized him as a key component on and off the field as well as a risk mitigator for any new or young pitcher we brought into the organization. That he was voted in, by his peers, to the 2008 All-Star Game is a fact that should not go unmentioned. In a day and age when the game, and the Red Sox, have placed so much emphasis on a player’s offensive production, it speaks volumes to the ‘intangibles’ Jason has that they were openly acknowledged and recognized by his peers.

In the past 10 years the Boston Red Sox have finished in the top four in league ERA eight times (finishing first three times). We feel that is attributable to the talented staffs we’ve had, and to the fact that Jason has been behind the plate pretty consistently that entire time.

Our goal every year is to win the World Series; 2009 is no different. Anyone that knows baseball knows that we stand a better chance to win in 2009 with Jason catching and healthy, than without.

So rather than push this situation to a place that might have seen us ’win’ the negotiation, save money, and screw someone that has repeatedly tried to screw us, we didn’t. We wanted to make sure players around the game understand that the Red Sox value their personnel for what they bring both on and off the field, as well as at the plate and in the field.

It is much more important that we win ON the field rather than off of it. Jason is a player we hope has aspirations to retire in our uniform, because we believe this is where he belongs.

We are always on the lookout to improve this club and recognize that while Jason keeps himself in better shape than any catcher in the game, he is nearing a time when catching 130 games a year is not a realistic
option, or the club’s best choice. That is the other reason we felt compelled to make this happen.

Jason has set a standard for catching the “Red Sox way” and both parties agree that part of his responsibility to the team during the 2009 season will be to bring along Mr. Teagarden as the Red Sox next catcher.

Oh and that was the other thing. We’d like to announce a trade. We have traded Clay Buchholz, Pitching Prospect B and Position Player A to the Texas Rangers for Catcher Taylor Teagarden. (Fill in whatever names you need to that makes that trade happen).

Being a right-handed curveball pitcher, he will give up his share of HR’s, but of all the guys in the game today, if I had to call out one guy that I think mirrored my stuff from a power/command standpoint, this is the guy. The other would be Josh, but he was far more of a power guy with power stuff at a much younger period than I was, plus he sucks at golf.

Ben will be 31 this year, so you are looking at a guy who could offer up 3-5 ace years if healthy. That is a big if, but no bigger than some other signings. He should be better than three games over, his ERA in my opinion should be lower, but you put this guy with the medical staff here, and John Farrell/Jason Varitek and he could be the best pitcher in the AL, or a top-three Cy guy.

If I was Ben, my No. 1 concern would be to get with a team that had a state of the art medical team, facility and was very “API”-ish about approaching the season.

I keep waiting to look at the box scores one year and see him at 14-2 at the break on the way to a 24-win season and an 8/1 or 9/1 K/BB ratio.

The other X factor for me is I don’t know him that well. I don’t know if he pitches through pain, if he needs to be 110% to ‘feel good’ or what, but I’ve never heard anything but good things about him.

I would love to see him wind up down in Tampa or with the Cubs.

Oh and one more thing. How the hell is Orlando Hudson not signed? This guy is an impact player on both sides of the line.

While in the WEEI studio for my four-hour stint on ‘The Big Show’ some of you chimed in on the site’s live interactive blog with a few questions. Here are some answers …

Curt, have you seen Luis Exposito play or even meet him? He apparently has the highest ceiling. – Steve in Boston

Answer: Never heard of him.

Do you think Jason Varitek would be interested in transitioning into a coaching role over the next couple of years for the Red Sox? It seems like it would be a perfect fit for him. – Chaz Michael Michaels

Answer: I do think he’ll be a manager someday.

Curt, have you given John Smoltz any tips on New England living? – DrJeff

Nope, he won’t need them.

Hey Curt, is Jonathan Papelbon going to be here for the long term? It seemed like the article I read today suggested he may be looking for a huge payday soon. – Ben F

Answer:I think Paps will be looking for a big payday. How big? I have no idea. I think he’ll be very interested in being at or near the top of the payscale for closers for each year of his arbitration as well as his first free agent run. I am not sure I see much of a hometown discount on that horizon.

Mr. Schilling, who was the other catcher you referred too who is similar to Varitek’s and his ability to call pitches? – Allan

Answer: Todd Pratt

Curt, is Varitek the type of person who out of loyalty, might not sign with the Yankees if given the chance, or does being a Red Sox for so long play nothing into the decision? – Justin

Answer: He is that type of person in my opinion. He wouldn’t. But that’s my opinion only. I’ve never asked him.

Curt, if you come back, is there any chance you would come back in a relief role or are you a starter no matter what? – Will Clark’s Banana Cup

Answer: If I come back where? To the game? No, I will come back as a starter. To Boston? Unfortunately I can’t see any scenario that would have that happen. They are stacked with starters and that’s what I will be.

Curt, are you and the family planning on living in the Boston area after you retire? – DMBMARKT

Answer: Yes.

Have you been in contact with Theo at all about a possible second half return? – August from Maine

No.

How is Lester going to hold up after throwing well over 200 innings for the first time? – Rick

Answer: I think Jon Lester will have a better year than CC Sabathia, W/L record aside.

How much of the success of the rotation is because of Varitek, and how much of it is due to advance scouting and knowing how to pitch to the opposing teams hitters? – Yac

Answer: The advance scouting is done FOR Jason and FOR John Farrell. Advance scouting is what the pitching coach usually uses on a team to address the staff before the series, hoping pitchers pay attention and listen. Here it’s to put together the book for Jason to translate to the staff in real time.

Curt, what was your greatest fear when you came to Boston? – Eric from Maine

Answer: That I would suck.

Curt were the Red Sox managers and coaches the best you have worked with in your career? – Daddydano

Answer: I’ve had a ton of great coaches. Every coach here was fantastic and fun to live with. My all-time favorites is a long list but it would include Podres, Frank Robinson, Tito, Brian Butterfield, Dale Sveum, Gary Tuck, John Farrell, Bob Welch, Bob Cluck, Mark Connor, Robin Yount, Jim Presley, Millsy, Demarlo Hale, Mags, Bob Melvin and a few others I can’t remember this second.

Curt, how much do you and Pedro Martinez push each other in 2004? – Eric from Maine

Answer: I don’t know that we pushed each other as much as RJ did me in Arizona. Pedro had a ton of pride and I don’t think he looked at it like that. He’d done far more than me when I got here and that was without me. I always looked at it as a fantastic motivator though.

Curt, what was the best clubhouse prank you have ever seen pulled? – Mike

Answer: Someone’s entire outfit frozen in a sheet of ice, from socks, shoes and underwear, to their hat.

Curt, you have played in a lot of different cities, have you ever come across a society as a whole who are more passionate about their teams than in Boston? – Ben F

Answer: No, not even close.

Curt, do you ever see yourself getting into any kind of coaching or managerial role? – Eric from Maine

Answer: No.

Was Philadelphia so successful against TB’s 3, 4 & 5 hitters because of better game-calling or better pitching? And if it was game calling shouldn’t the Red Sox /Varitek have had an upper hand over Philly due to the number of games they play against Tampa Bay and their familiarity with the hitters? – Sean

Answer: Philadelphia had a hot ace and their staff executed better than ours did. Not to mention Tampa’s staff threw very well too.

Curt, how’s the new game programming coming along? – Groovinn

Answer: Internally it’s incredible. We have a live playtest up and running and progress is just awesome. Funding is taking some time, still haven’t found the person or people that ‘get it’ when it comes to the multi-billion dollar payout after we launch. It’s too long for most investors, especially in this economy. But I said when we started that it was going to take a special person or group, who truly understood the space we are in to realize what our vision for the IP truly means in 3 years. We’ll get there.

I don’t do this stuff for reasons past the obvious. These are some of the brightest minds on the planet when it comes to the throwing athlete and the throwing shoulder. My last strength and conditioning coach, Dave Page (who’s been a close friend for the last 8 years), is one of the most passionate people alive when it comes to his athletes. Notice I said ‘his athletes’ because that’s the thing that sets these people apart from the rest of the world.

That’s the main reason guys like Paul Lessard are people you befriend for life. They come to the park, work incredibly insane hours and dedicate their lives to making their players feel better. Paulie (Shrek as he’s known around here) and Pager are two of the best guys you’d ever want to meet.

These guys (and gals, such as Sue Falsone, and yes Craig Friedman and Mark V!) are in it for the athlete. They care ABOUT YOU, and what happens to you. They aren’t in this thing to make a name for themselves, they are in it to make you healthier, and a better performer. Well Pagey is part of a new video that I can assure young throwers will help. You can find it here.

The key though is to do the work, as it’s stated and to understand your arm and body as it relates to the work.

Great stuff.

Gary went back to 1980 and looked at every team (what a trooper) and based on my earlier assumptions this was the data that came back.

By the way, that’s a total of 864 teams to start with.

The first stat is one that tells a story in and of itself. Only 35 teams went from having 80 percent-plus of the innings caught by a catcher that’s been with the team for three or more seasons to a next year of less than 40 percent of their innings caught by a catcher that’s been with the team for three or more seasons.

That so few teams have done it only reinforces my belief that they realize how vital this is to a staff’s stability. That’s less than 4 percent of the teams during that period.

Of those 35 teams they breakdown as follows:

- Four showed very little ERA change from Year 1 to Year 2 (less than .10 either way);

- Nine had their ERA decrease by at least 0.10 (two of those by 0.50 or more);

- Twenty-two had their ERA jump by at least 0.10 (10 of those by 0.50 or more).

That so few teams did it is an indicator in and of itself. That 22 of 35 had an increase of a tenth of a run or more, 10 teams by more than a half a run, is telling and really not surprising. There are so many variables that are just impossible to factor in —  health, injuries, new signings, free agents leaving, rookies that impact both ways, but overall it’s to be expected that a team featuring a new catcher would see ERA problems a majority of time due to the staggering work a catcher needs to do to handle 12-20 pitchers in a season.

Add to that the fact that so few catchers actually do it anyway, and I can only feel the argument to have ‘Tek back is even stronger.

The other X Factor is the Red Sox themselves. This team is way outside the box in terms of scouting and preparation. I know for a fact in the past five years we’ve beaten teams before a series started simply by talking to other pitchers and hearing what they do as a staff to prepare.

Throw out what’s happened, it’s meaningless at this point. ‘Tek declined arbitration, the Sox walked away, Boras f’d this up in about 50 different ways. But the facts are that ‘Tek wants to play here, he hasn’t signed yet, and this team doesn’t have it’s starting catcher for the 2009 season.

I’m hoping the past weekend was a good sign in that Jason has taken this on himself and met with Mr Henry to try and make that happen. I can’t imagine him wearing another uniform, I can’t imagine him not being the captain on this team and retiring here.

Here’s to hoping it happens.

P.S. Go Steelers!

It’s simpler than some might think if you reverse engineer this.

Let’s take the “No Tek” approach. There are three (for simplicity sake) possible outcomes.

1) The staff gets better with two new catchers and excels and they win a ton of games.
2) The staff stays somewhat similar and no one excels or declines to any serious degree
3) The staff is worse, some guys stay somewhat the same, a bunch of guys have inconsistent seasons.

The “X factor” in all this is John Farrell. Were it not for John I don’t think this discussion would be happening, Tek would be signed and he’d be tasked with bringing along the next catcher for this franchise. John is the best pitching coach alive (though Dick Bosman and Mark Connor rank right up there, and Bob Welch was awesome). John brings a ton of things to the table that few others do and if Tek is not back his workload will triple (at least) and he’ll have much more coaching to do and preparation as well. I think John makes outcome No. 3 less likely but he alone will be hard pressed to make No. 1 happen without major contributions from behind the plate. Any staff will/would/does have issues making No. 1 happen without a catcher behind the plate that knows lineups and prepares to the degree Tek does. I’d be interested, and my inclination is to make a bet, that in the last 15 years the amount of teams that have won World Series with a brand new No. 1 starting catcher, or a duo that splits catching duties, both new to the team, is minimal.

Actually I’ll check that out right now…

1995
Atlanta: Javy Lopez (after 80 some odd games in 1994) and Charlie O’Brien (VERY veteran presence).
Cleveland: Sandy Alomar (veteran who had been there) and Tony Pena (Vet).

1996
Atlanta: Javy Lopez and Eddie Perez.
New York: Joe Girardi (AH! First year with team, but a very game-oriented veteran catcher, known for commanding a staff) and a young, very young Posada. I think Leyritz might have caught some games.

1997
Florida: Charles Johnson (third year with the team) and a young Greg Zaun.
Cleveland: Sandy Alomar (Vet).

1998
San Diego: Carlos Hernandez (Second year with team) and Greg Myers (Vet).
New York: Jorge Posada with Girardi now backing him up

1999
Atlanta: Eddie Perez/Lopez and Greg Myers (Perez and Lopez had been there a few years at this point).
New York: Posada with Girardi

2000
New York: Posada caught about every frickin’ game.
New York Mets: Piazza, in his third year with the team, backed up by Todd Pratt (veteran who was very well known for his game calling. Having known him since 1988 I can promise you he was into handling a pitching staff).

2001
Arizona: Damien Miller in his third year backed up by Rod Barajas.
New York: Posada backed up with some Joe Oliver and Bobby Estellela.

2002
Anaheim: Bengie Molina in his first year, backed up by Shawn Wooten.
San Francisco: Benito Santiago (his second year with SF), with Yorvit Torrealba.

2003
Florida Pudge Rodriguez in his first year backed up by Mike Redmond, who had been there a long time.
New York: Posada (shocker!) backed up by Flaherty.

2004
Boston: Tek and Dougie
St Louis: Matheny in his fifth year backed up by a Molina brother.

2005
Chicago: AJP in his first year, backed up by Widger.
Houston: Ausmus in his 5th year.

2006
St Louis: Molina now starting after a few years, backed by Bennett.
Detroit: Pudge in his second year, backed by Vance Wilson

2007
Boston: Tek and Doug again.
Colorado: Y Torrealba in his second season.

2008
Philadelphia: Ruiz and Costa both in their third years
Tampa: Navarro in his third season.

It’s not exactly the best study, but in the past 14 years, of the 28 World Series teams, three have made it with their starting catcher being a first-year to the organization guy, none with rookies as starters and no team with two new catchers to the organization.

And make no mistake about it, this team is about winning the World Series. Can it be done without Tek? Sure it can.

But in my opinion it’s going to be far harder to win without him than with him. I don’t care if the new guy hit .350, the issue is behind the plate.

This staff can win, it has immense talent but three are so many factors that are going to be thrown into the mix that a guy like Tek can help smooth out.

Dice is spending most of the spring away from the team. Penny, Smoltz, both will be on different schedules. You’ve got a stable of young arms that have matured under Farrell AND Tek that having Tek back there would, again, in my opinion ONLY, only continue that progression.

There are quite a few new arms here that will take some getting used to, and no one that I have ever thrown to gets into a pitcher and his rhythms better than Jason. Add to that his reputation – which is not a myth, guys around baseball know Tek is good and know how much the staff loves throwing to him – and how many other catchers get talked about in that sense? Few.

The thing I can speak from experience to is getting to know your new catcher, and getting comfortable. They are two very different things. I put a ton of time and effort into getting comfortable with a new catcher more so than anything. Rhythm is such a huge part of the game to many pitchers, me included, that I needed to be in a flow and did not want to be out there shaking off and calling time outs during games.

Could Josh win 20 without Tek? Absolutely. Could Lester continue to get better? I bet he will. But that, and so many other things are much easier roads to travel WITH him catching as opposed to him not catching.

If a month into camp there is trouble with the staff synching up and getting comfortable with the catcher, then what? I know that questions been asked and answered internally and I am 100 percent sure they know what they want to do, but I am just speculating and hoping to see Tek back here.

So then you go the other route, with Tek …

1) The staff gets better, Tek hits .220 again.
2) The staff gets better, Tek hits .250.
3) The staff gets better, Tek has another 2004 like season.

That’s the only three outcomes I can see happening. Obviously much hinges on health and some things outside the teams control, but this staff WILL NOT get worse with Jason catching, it just won’t. There is too much time, effort and preparation on his part to become ‘worse’ as a game caller and staff-handler. Oh, and another thing, all of you defensive folks talking about base stealing and runners being caught, that’s a horsecrap stat because stolen bases are taken off pitchers, not catchers. Baserunners steal because pitchers don’t hold, or don’t pay attention, or aren’t quick to home. With the rare exception catchers throw out baserunners when given enough time. Tek’s times to second base weren’t down last year, or the year before. Runners stole off the staff, they almost always do.

My bet is Jason does NOT hit .220, maybe not .290 but I would take any bet that has me with him hitting closer to .290 than .220. After talking to him and hearing him talk about his body, his swing and his mind-set, I’d be real comfortable saying he’s a guy much more likely to hit .265 with 20 HR than .220 with 10.

In my mind it’s going to be the piece that finishes the puzzle for this team. Thinking of an October rotation consisting of a healthy Beckett, Smoltz, Lester, Penny and Dice with Paps at the back end and Tek running the show is going to make ANY team – ANY team – in the post season hope for another match up until they absolutely HAVE to meet Boston.

Addendum Something that went unmentioned, and probably shouldn’t have. Scott Boras is the reason this situation exists, of that there can be no mistake. He obviously advised his client to refuse arbitration, believing he was going to work his magic, and that failed. I don’t think for a second Tek would absolve himself of blame here either, ultimately it’s his decision.
I am past that part of it, because it is meaningless at this point. He refused arbitration, Scott failed to get a multi-year deal, it’s January 16th, he hasn’t signed, the Sox don’t have their #1 catcher. I just was making the observation that I think both sides want this to happen, Boston for the ‘right price’, Tek for ‘a price’ that isn’t league minimum and !!!!WARNING THIS IS A PERSONAL OPINION ONLY!!!!! maybe a shot at a 2nd year if he performs well. He wants to be here, they want him to be here and they have been able to take significant money off the books. It’s a win-win for both sides if you get Tek and Theo in the same room imo.

Related Links:

Speier: Can Varitek Escape His Predicament?

How Arbitration Effects The Captains’ Future

Red Sox and Varitek Reach A Crossroads

SHADOW GAMES: Baseball and Me
Posted on Dec 22, 2008 10:29 am
By Todd Drew

Cancer can’t change the way it will always be between baseball and me.

I was informed that Todd passed away today and I would like to send my thoughts, prayers and condolences to this Yankee fan, who I have immense admiration and respect for, and his family. I hope you find comfort in the Lord in this trying time.

That letter was posted at Alex Belth’s Yankee Banter Blog

Check out some of the stuff he talks about for pitchers. Some fascinating new stuff coming to light the past few years that many young pitchers would do well to read up on.

Rickey Henderson - Discussion: There is none. Greatest leadoff hitter of all time and if there is any justice we’ll get to hear Rickey say “Rickey” in the third person about 132 times when he’s unanimously elected. Should receive every vote. YES

Alan Trammell - Discussion: A six-time all star with a World Series MVP, four Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and 3 Top 10 MVP finishes. A hell of a shortstop and along with Ripken was one of the new mold breaking offensive guys at this position when I was growing up. A guy I remember being a stud (monster ‘87 season) but from what I gather HOF standards like to look at your best collective seasons. I guess he didn’t dominate for long enough to be a HOF’er, but a stud none the less.

Tim Raines - Discussion: Let’s see, a leadoff hitter who finished in the top 10 in OBP seven times, batting average four times, OPS four times, Runs scored six times (6 STRAIGHT YEARS btw), hits six times, total bases four times, walks six times, stolen bases nine times (led the league from 81-84), runs created six times … ALL of that in a 10-year period (1981-1990). He’s going to get overlooked because of Rickey but in my opinion the second greatest leadoff hitter of the modern era. He did EVERYTHING you ask of a leadoff hitter and more, and he did it in Montreal. If he’d played in LA, NY or Boston he’d be a lock. YES.

Andre Dawson - Discussion: I just remember this guy OWNING the 80’s in right field in the NL. His ‘open contract’ and subsequent MVP season for the Cubs seemed to sum him up in a nutshell. Another player that will see Montreal continue to hurt his chances in my opinion. ROY, MVP, eight Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, four Top 10 MVP finishes, including two second-place finishes (which I think often times means MVP season in many other years). Add eight Top 10 SLG percentage finishes to the eight gold gloves and he was a RF that mashed and played HOF type defense for a decade. He dominated for a decade in the NL, and a decade worth of seasons like that is HOF material in my opinion. Add to all this that he was just a phenomenal guy and it’s an easy one for me. YES.

Bert Blyleven - Discussion: How on God’s green earth is this guy not on a plaque already? What the hell? Nineteen years after posting a WHIP of 1.159 — in 1970 btw — he posts a 1.116 WHIP (a truer standard of a pitchers effectiveness I have yet to see). NINETEEN YEARS LATER!! Oh, and he finished in the Top 10 nine times in between those two years. This guy played on CRAPPY teams!!!!!! CRAPPY! His HOF worthy stats are too numerous to mention so I link them here . Writers do us a favor and put a true HOF’er in the HOF. YES.

Jim Rice - Discussion: See Bert Blyleven … I mean come on. Does it strike anyone as odd that players increase their vote totals as the years go by, AFTER THEY RETIRE???? Look, I know it’s not easy, and I know mistakes are made, some by sheer accident, some by stupidity (see Dustin Pedroia being LEFT OFF the MVP ballot of one dolt this year), but how on earth do vote totals fluctuate for guys AFTER they are done? Does that mean voters are doing MORE work and MORE research as the years go by? Less? Shouldn’t this be taken dead serious by ALL writers afforded the honor of being allowed to vote? Should the process change? This guy finished in the Top 5 in MVP voting SIX TIMES in an 11-year period. Six times people considered him the best player in the AL in an 11-year period! I was more of an NL fan growing up but I’ve been around long enough, talked to enough pitchers from that era in the AL and to a man they are all pretty emphatic that he was without a doubt one of the 2-3 most feared hitters in the game. If he’s reading this he knows I can kick his ass in golf but I’m saying here and now this man deserves to be in the HOF. YES.

Dan Plesac - Discussion: My first “Sack” memory came in Milwaukee in the late ’80’s. He was throwing a pen coming off an injury and they had a gun on him. He was throwing his fastball from 96-99 and mixing in a 92 mph slider … He didn’t remain a closer long enough to merit HOF votes I don’t think but if there was a HOF for awesome teammates with great senses of humor this guy is a first ballot HOF’er. Sack could make you laugh until you cried, funny as hell and a fantastic teammate who I wish I’d been able to play longer with. I still remember walking into the bathroom in Arizona and I hear “GO TO THE WHIP! GO TO THE WHIP!!” and I’m thinking “What the hell?” only to see him come out of the stall. He is HUGE into Horse racing and breeding and has been for a long time.

Harold Baines - Discussion: First Harold Baines memory … Standing on the mound in Texas in 1989 and thinking “Man this guys standing WAY too far off the plate to hit MY fastball, he’s got no chance.” About 15 seconds later the ball bounces off the top of the center field fence and into the bleachers. A consistent producer at a tough spot to be one, this guy did nothing but produce. I think his post season numbers will be underrated but in the end this is the HOF, for baseball’s greatest, not baseballs very, very good.
Also a fantastic guy and from everything I heard an awesome teammate.

David Cone - Discussion: Didn’t win 200, or strikeout 3,000 but this guy was damn good for a long time. A post season monster who had three bad games to spoil his ERA but a 12-3 lifetime record is money, and he was. I remember him being the first real ‘hired gun’ guy in the mid-to-late 90’s. I only knew him a little but he was a great guy and everyone from Lenny D to a few others that played with him swear by him as a teammate. Should get more votes than he likely will but another VERY good player who might be just short of being considered great.

Ron Gant - Discussion: Had he not broken his leg I think Ronnie would have been a 500 HR 500 SB guy, and a lock. One of my all-time favorite teammates. He played the game as hard as it could be played and he played hurt. Fantastic teammate and fantastic person.

Mark Grace - Discussion: Only guy I played with that talked more than me, which in and of itself merits some sort of Hall of Fame. One hundred and seventy-four HR, and more than 2,400 hits don’t get you into the Hall of Fame, but, this guy could flat out play. Was literally a Gold Glove SS playing first base. Four Gold Gloves (and he should have won more) and no one had more hits than Gracie in the 90’s. An OB and Doubles machine, I don’t think Mark will get the votes he should but he never did the ’sexy’ stuff like hit HR’s and drive in boatloads, he was the guy getting on base in front of those guys and if you don’t hit 350 or steal 75 bases people seem to downplay how good you could have been.

I’ll finish the rest tomorrow …

Related link:

Minihane: Who Belongs In 2009?

A-The entire body of work. In addition to being a #1 starter the guy was a HOF closer, who else can make that claim short of Eck? This guy was a stopper as a starter, and a closer. That he’s still a dominant power pitcher at his age, with that many innings is incredible. I’d trust the Sox to have done the medical homework and given the arms they now have they’ll be able to mix and match with the back end of their rotation (which could feature 2 front end guys) as the schedule and their health permits.
Fast forward to October, damn, how would you like to start a series facing Beckett, Smoltz, Lester and Dice?

Q-What’s your favorite moment competing against Smoltz?

A-Guys like John don’t elicit favorite moments, at least not for me. I always wanted Glavine or Maddux, but never because they weren’t as good, but because I knew my offense wanted no part of Smoltz. Glavine/Maddux were frustrating but ‘comfortable’ 0-4’s, John was a painful one and I know of some guys that got “Smotzitis” quite often.

Q-Were you surprised that Smoltz left the Braves to sign with the Sox?

A-Nothing surprises me anymore. I’m surprised at the amount of untruth’s being spewed by someone, but nothing surprises me anymore. The club put a value on him and that value didn’t match what John wanted. After almost 20 years with a team, doing what he did, as a player you always hope for and sometimes expect more loyalty, but that’s just not what teams do anymore, if they ever did.

Q-What is the value of approaching the 2009 season with more than 5 viable starting rotation candidates?

A-Too numerous to list. If you can avoid “accumulation” incentives like starts and IP, and you can get the staff to buy into the process of keeping everyone fresh for August to September, which is not as easy as it sounds, it’s huge. Like I said earlier, you enter October with a healthy fresh Beckett, Smoltz, I don’t care who paid what for whom, you are favorites in any series, 4 or 7 games, no matter who you are playing.

Q-What is your impression of Baldelli as a hitter when healthy?

A-Another great sign in my opinion. First off the big piece is he’s a kid that was raised understanding what baseball means to the New England area and that he really wanted to come here says something about his makeup. That’s a big deal to me. As a hitter? Rocco is one of the 2-3 best high fastball hitters in baseball, bar none. He has the rare ability to go up waaaay out of the zone high, and hammer balls. Very few guys can do that. Many are aggressive up there but few produce in that area. It’s not a great strength to have since good pitchers don’t live up there, but you can KILL mediocre pitching which consistently makes mistakes up in the zone. He’s incredibly aggressive. I liked that facing him because I felt I could get more chase than normal. He’s a superstar athlete, run, throw, smart player. I always felt he was an exceptional baserunner and a ’smart’ player. Didn’t miss cut off men, never a base behind where he should be, always in the right spot. Little things, little things that will come into play in the role he’s going to be asked to fill. I hope he’s healthy because I’d really like to see him put together all the stuff people have raved about since he signed.

Now that doesn’t mean anything other than this is a blog where I post my opinions and thoughts. Don’t take this personally but there is literally nothing in the history of my blog I have ever posted to please you, or meet your expectations. If something I say, or an opinion of mine is something you agree with, cool. If not, that’s fine too.

I don’t, and never will, post for either of those reasons. I post what I think, I post what I believe. Neither of those makes me right or just, they make me, me.

If you don’t like me, or you disagree with me, or you are so bent on the fact that I voted for John McCain you can’t sleep, don’t come here. Why on earth would you?

I am 100% positive I’ve made more than 1 mistake on this blog in the past. I am more than 100% positive I’ve said something that offended someone and I had no intention of offending when I said it.

Case in point. Ya it might be trivial to some, but my epileptic frog jog apparently offended some readers who suffer from epilepsy. That or someone who doesn’t like me posted as such to make the comments. Either way this is not a forum for that and if anyone was offended I apologize, that was obviously not my intent.

Many of you have commented “Stay above the fray”, “Don’t sink to his level” and more, and you’re pretty much spot on. However that’s not what I chose to do. I am flawed, just like every single one of you and speaking my mind and talking ‘off the cuff’ are somehow deemed great qualities and nasty traits at the same time by different people.

I can’t stand someone who makes a big deal about ‘telling it like it is’ or ’saying what’s on their mind’ to emphasize their assertiveness or toughness. Neither of those is a ‘tough’ quality to me.

I do say what I think, I do tell it like I think it is. Neither of those makes me right, they make me, me.

It’s not that hard and sure as hell shouldn’t be that disturbing to people. Not to mention be that big of a deal.

If you don’t want to hear me, can’t stand my opinion, why the hell are you clicking on this link? Better yet, not only are you clicking on the link, you’re signing up for a Wordpress account to leave a comment on a persons blog you can’t stand?? Who does that speak more about?

I don’t care if my opinions popular or unpopular, it’s mine. I do enjoy the back and forth here especially when someone calls me out and I learn something I didn’t know or my opinion changes upon further research, that’s cool.

CHB doesn’t permeate my thoughts or bother me. I get annoyed from time to time and to be honest I laugh like hell at you people talking about “Let him be” and “Why do you care?” when you cannot imagine what it’s like to have someone you have no respect for write demeaning and false things about you or your teammates publicly, most especially when you know them to be untrue.

You learn to deal with it, but there are times when you don’t feel like just ‘dealing with it’ and that’s the times when I say something. That’s certainly not been the best course of action over time for me and I’ve learned a little in the past 23 years.

The thing is, we don’t know each other. Short of meeting me in person, shaking my hand and talking, we never will. What you know about me, my thoughts, my family, my faith in the Lord, my love of the game, all of that, you know because people I don’t know told you.

This blog was a way for me to change that, and I like that. I can write what I want, when I want. Under the blog banner what I write is what I want and how I want. I don’t ‘work in the media’ as a few would like to think. The stuff I do for the column is writing on topics Rob and I think are relevant to sports but I’ve been given complete freedom to write whatever I choose to.

That’s what’s going to make EEI and this site so unique as the writers get more into the flow and the content gets fresher.

So in short, if you are interested in something I say, cool, if not, fine, go to someone’s blog you do like, or better yet start your own. I have no problems with people liking or disliking me, being human I’d prefer people didn’t dislike me but hey, that’s life.

38 Pitches will be blog posts of my thoughts, my opinions, my family and my career. If none of those are of interest to you then by all means please delete that bookmark.