Pardon the interruption, there was some retirement issues to tend to. But we’re back with the ‘Greatest Pitchers of the Modern Era Bracket’, bringing you the No. 4’s vs. the No. 13’s. To get you up to speed, here are the results from the No. 3’s vs. the No. 14’s:

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“Turn out the lights, the parties over”

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

Off to the next round, but before we go let’s look at the 15’s vs. the 2’s:

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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So we have our winners from the first match-ups — the 16’s vs. the 1’s — and there were no surprises:

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Welcome to the 38 Pitches Pitchers Bracket Challenge …

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

And you ARE NOT a store owner/collector looking to hawk it on eBay?

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.

If the reports are true and the Sox have inked yet another young home-grown player, chalk one up for Theo.

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 …

After the 1998 season I had the honor of being asked to play for the MLB All Star team that traveled to Japan to take on their best. Every 2 years MLB sends a team there to showcase the game and it’s players.

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.

This quote:

“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)