Sports Writing

Theo Epstein, Bostonian of the Year. Two of my favourite bits: first, a good quote from Theo - “Anyone who points to a direct causal relationship between that [Cabrera-and-Mientkiewicz-for-Nomar] trade and our turnaround is missing the boat.”

Stepping outside baseball for a short while, I should note that those concerned with the earthquake and tsunamis in South-East Asia can make donations at Oxfam or the Red Cross International Response Fund. Please give what you can, the damage in the region is devastating. Thank you.

Looking at the offseason thus far, risk management, rather than just pure payroll flexibility, seems to be a huge theme for the Sox this offseason - all those incentive-laden contracts, for instance.

So not only was Varitek re-signed, he was named Captain. I hope the “C” on the jersey was just a nice touch to surprise Tek, rather than a permanent thing - I’m a traditionalist when it comes to the uniforms:

So the Sox have probably resigned Varitek according to reports. I think he was overpaid (4 years / $40 million), and while I wish they had overpaid Pedro over Varitek, it’s nice to at least see ONE of the 2004 FAs come back.

Sigh. Festivus is over. But here’s a grievance to air: we all knew Pedro did lots of stuff in the Dominican Republic. Always has, probably always will. Nothing’s changed. So how come the former villain is now a hero in the New York Times’ eye?

Wade Miller! Woohoo! Well, assuming he doesn’t have aftereffects of his injury. I always thought he’d be a strong part of the Houston rotation with Oswalt, didn’t expect the Astros to let him go.

ILoveDerekJeter.com. And yes, there was nothing Sox-related in the news, so I’m Yankee-baiting for the day. Actually, I’m wondering what the J.D. Drew signing means for any hopes of resurrecting the Randy Johnson deal - would like to see how the AL East shapes up.

Yanks sell memorabilia from the ALCS loss.

The Randy Johnson deal is dead. At least for the moment. The fact that it was because of Javy Vazquez (at least according to Newsday) makes me smile: According to a source involved in the discussions, Vazquez, the Yankees’ righthander, was so opposed to joining the Dodgers that he refused to travel to Los Angeles to undergo a physical examination. (Link)

So, a series of Sox moves today heating up the stove. OC in the OC. Yup, Orlando Cabrera is now with the Angels, for a very decent contract indeed (4 years / $32 million). If Theo moves Mientkiewicz it’ll be like we don’t keep anyone from the Trade. And yet they all seemed to be perfect Sox for those 3 months - goofy (I’ll always remember OC’s handshakes - or at least, that he had a million different special handshakes), great smiles (Dave Roberts). The Sox helped the OC in the end by setting the market in getting Renteria for 4/40. Although I didn’t quite believe I would see the day that the Angels would come to their senses and get rid of David Eckstein.

Someone wrote to me to ask me to post something in Sons of Sam Horn on Matt Clement’s asthma (that article, incidentally, seems in complete agreement with me on the soporific effects of Clement’s pitching) and whether being in the American League helps him in that regard. I must admit, I didn’t know he was asthmatic, but since I have exercise-induced asthma, I’d hazard a guess that being in the AL helps Clement, not just because the existence of a DH gives a pitcher time to catch his breath, but also because he doesn’t have to run the bases - any sort of running tends to aggravate the condition, and short sprints are particularly bad.

Conan O’Brien is my favourite late night host, writer of some of my favourite Simpsons episodes, and quite possibly the tallest man in show business (I remember once passing him as he was walking from the Harvard Lampoon building and he was about a good foot taller than me). He’s also written this funny piece in the Globe Magazine’s special commemorative edition on why the Sox won the World Series. Choice excerpts:

Remembering Pedro.

I see Theo Epstein also thinks of Pedro’s comments as “heat of the moment” type words. Much better than those sports radio hosts ready to condemn Pedro at the drop of a hot. (Remind me never to listen to the WEEI audio vaults again.)

Wow, I wasn’t expecting Mark Mulder to be traded. The Oakland rotation looks filled with potential for the future, what with the law firm of Blanton, Haren, and Harden, although whether they’ll contend in 2005 is another matter. What does this mean if the Sox are slugging it out with the AL West for the wild card again? I think it gives some breathing room, but Haren was St Louis’s best pitcher in the World Series, and Mulder did have an alarming second half.

So Pedro’s been criticising the way the Sox organisation negotiated with him. Maybe it’s classless behaviour, but I have a fondness for players who speak their minds and wear their hearts on their sleeves rather than those who sound like PR flacks.

Matt Clement, eh? Eh. Decent contract, preferable to Pavano’s, and preferable in my mind to trading the farm system to get Hudson or Sheets. A solid #2/#3 pitcher, with a sick 9.45 K rate last season, but somehow not someone I get all excited about. Every Clement game I’ve seen he’s lulled me to sleep.

So, if all the major signings and trades are summarised: Pedro - Sox to Mets; Wright - Braves to Yankees; Hudson - As to Braves; Beltre - Dodgers to Mariners; Pavano - Marlins to Yankees (tentative); Glaus - Angels to D-Backs; Wells to Sox.

Thoughts on the hot stove? To quote William Goldman from another context, “nobody knows anything”. Or at least, us armchair pundits don’t. Frankly, I don’t like our rotation for 2005, Schilling’s out for the start, leaving the idea of Fat Bastard (I mean it in a good way - I like his attitude, actually) David Wells as our starting pitcher on opening day. That said, I think the Yankees might be mortgaging everything of value left in the farm system (Eric Duncan and Dioner Navarro were possibly their last two good prospects) just to get an aging Randy Johnson, the man with the porn star name.