Memorable items from a series that wasn't...
- It must be nice to be Mike Lowell. Win World Series MVP and collect your second ring in five years -- all while knowing you might be kicked to the curb so the Red Sox can bring in free agent Alex Rodriguez.
Lowell will be crying all the way to whatever bank he plans to buy after signing a big free-agent contract.
(As for A-Rod, no wonder he likes the strippers. They have a lot in common -- he's also better as a fantasy than in everyday reality.) - A-Rod going to Chicago would be worth it just for the joke construct. "Some trade: The Yankees lose A-Rod to the Cubs and get Hilary Clinton in return."
It would really be worth it to Tribune Co. before it sells off the Cubs. - Expect a column in the Toronto papers about why the Jays should sign Lowell and cut bait with alleged resident 'roidoid Troy Glaus any day now.
The Boston Globe pointed out that the Red Sox have been prescient when it came to being hard-hearted with the Idiots from '04. Check out how Pedro MartÃnez, Johnny Damon and Trot Nixon have all tailed off and been less effective for the teams they joined after being jettisoned by Boston. Lowell will be 34 next season -- he's two years older than Glaus -- and a lot of the players who are most similar to him really went downhill abruptly around that age.
It's not that simple... speaking of which, Joe Morgan just said on ESPN Radio that the Sox should re-sign Lowell, so now you know they won't. - John Lester's road to being the winning pitcher in the deciding game of the World Series actually gained momentum in Ottawa on May 19. In his first start of a rehab stint that night, he threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Pawtucket vs. the Lynx in a 4-0 victory.
That night, Jacoby Ellsbury had a double, triple and a stolen base. Ellsbury, of course, ended up making a game-saving catch at the wall in left field on a drive hit by ex-Lynx Jamey Carroll in the ninth inning. - There's a scene in Talladega Nights when a bartender tells Jean Girard (the gay French F-1 driver played by Sacha Baron Caron) that they keep jazz on the jukebox "for profiling purposes. We also have the Pet Shop Boys and Seal."
Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape serves the same purpose for drawing out the latent lamewaddery of bandwagon-jumping fans. It was played, with fans echoing the chorus, during a couple times when the Rockies were trying to stage a rally -- and the estimable Erin Nicks has pointed out, the song was a staple at Senators games during the playoffs too.
(Senators fans, for the record, have not written the book on fair-weather bandwagon-hopping fandom... they're waiting for the team-approved, officially licensed edition.) - The other irony of Lowell/A-Rod switch: On the MLB International broadcast, he proudly gave his hometown as "San Juan, Puerto Rico" when the starting lineups were presented, even though he grew in the Miami. Fla., area.
A-Rod couldn't decide what nation to play for in the 2006 World Baseball Classic -- then probably wished he had a Canadian blood relative. Not judging, just pointing out the contrast.
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
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6 comments:
Neate:
The A-Rod situation is going to be a big test for baseball and provides more questions than answers. A-Rod does not have a lot of teams that could bid for his services and he gave two of them the finger last night. Before Cashman was told the news by voicemail, the Yankees were clear that they would not sign him if he opted out. Now the test is to see if they will live by their word. Doesn't sound good for A-Rod given today's comments by THE BOSS junior.
A-Rod also decided he would piss on the BOSOX parade by upstaging them last night in the late innings to Ken Rosenthal. The Red Sox fans in Colorado chanted "Don't sign A-Rod" as Lowell took home the MVP. Doesn't seem like the best PR move to sign him for Boston.
With two of the biggest teams potentially out, what type of contract could A-Rod expect? Can the boneheads in SF, LA, or Chicago read this simple fact of supply and demand? I doubt that A-Rod could significantly increase his current salary if market conditions are followed. Of course, Boras is a crafty agent. Just look at the phoney bidding war on Barry Zito last year, so anything is possible. A real test for Boras and for baseball.
The Yankees know the optics of snubbing A-Rod would probably be very good for them.
The Cubs, I'd have to think he's headed there.... Tribune Co. would increase the value of the club to a potential buyer.
The sports talk radio guys can go ahead and have a field day with the timing of the announcement -- but it was exactly what you'd expect with Scott Boras.
The A-Rod announcement might have been the most exciting part of this entire series. The ratings for this one are going to be brutal -- not quite San Antonio vs. Cleveland NBA Finals bad, but definitely not what MLB would have wanted.
I think he goes to the Giants. The are getting rid of Bonds, so salary is there.
Dennis, I've read that ratings were very, very good. The Massholes ( directly ripped off from Neate ) are a huge draw. Obviously MLB and FOX would have liked a longer series.
It's indicative of how big a star A Rod is, that the Red Sox just won the World Series and all the talk the day following is A Rod.
I thought A Rod would resign with the Yanks just because they have more money than anybody. I'm wrong, I guess it's as simple as he doesn't want to be a Yankee.
Jim B I think SF is in the hunt, they didn't draw well this season because they stank and they are desparate for a hitter and a star.
The smart money seems to be on Anaheim. Jeff Blair speculated that when Stoneman stepped aside it was A Rod related.
I think the darkhorse is the Mets. Yes they have Wright and Reyes but it's about more than that. It's about competing with the Yanks on the big NYC stage. With Citifield opening in competition with the new Yankee Stadium in 09 and their recently launched RSN it could make a lot of sense for them. A Rod, as I mentioned is a superstar.
I could go on but my wife wants me to go and do something other than this.
The Mets idea fascinates me...
A-Rod on the Angels without Shea Hillenbrand there to straighten him out wouldn't just be right.
Can't take credit for "Massholes," it's been out there for a while.
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