Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Celebrate good times, come on!!!


2007 World Series Champs!!!!
Let the party begins, get your parade route destination and let the champagne flow like a Rocky Mountain stream. No pun. My boys pulled off another great run to capture their seventh overall World Series Title by sweeping the Colorado Rockies. It was awesome.
Although, I must admit the ALCS wore me out. The World Series was just an after thought because I knew the Rockies didn't have the pitching and the bats to withstand the Red Sox onslaught. After biting my nails and worrying myself to sleep every night during the Indian series, I was emotionally burnt out by the time Beckett threw his first pitch in Game One of the Series.
Now onto real business....The Sox need to resign Lowell immediately before the Yanks can put their filthy paws on him. Do it, Theo. Don't hesitate to think about that punk A-Rod. Let him rot on some mediocre baseball team for the next 10 years and end up like Barry Bonds (Homerun title = no World Series rings). Next make a run at Mariano Rivera. You may not be able to convince him to be a setup man/part time closer, but you can run up the price tag for the Yankees because they can ill afford to lose him. Next, make a move with Coco and maybe a minor leaguer to get a solid veteran starting pitcher. We don't need an ace, we have one in Beckett. What we need is a number 3 or 4 guy. My preference is for a sinkerball pitcher, especially since our infield is so nasty. Lastly, see if Curt wants another run, if so pay him the money to stick around another year. Why not, it's better than the alternative and trying to sign one of the many bad free-agent pitchers who are available. I know there are some rumors about Johann Santana, but let's be realistic. The Sox would have to give up core pieces of this World Series team to do that (Youkalis, Coco, Lester, Ellsbury, etc.) Don't think it's worth it.
So, know I will relish this championship watch the flurry of trade rumors spread like A-Rod's bank account and dream of another chance to see Papelbon's Victory Irish Jig.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Tonight, we dance the dance of victory!



Papelbon is no Michael Flatley, but then again he throws 97 mph fastballs shutting down baseball's biggest hitters. So take that you crazy leg dance machine.
I was utterly amazed as I watched my Red Sox fight their way back from a 3-1 deficit against the Tribe last weekend. It was something that rivals 2004, although it's special in its own way.

Seeing Beckett squash the Indian batters one by one in game five was fantastic. More impressive was the attitude he threw at old man river Kenny Lofton after he threw his bat down on a pop up. In somewhat of a retaliation move he told Kenny to sit his old saggy ass down on the bench, and to stop messing with Dice K.
Beckett has been the one determined force on the team that really doesn't take anything from anybody. He's not backing down, he's going to throw inside and he'll challenge you with his fastball. Not since Pedro and minnie Pedro have we had a bad ass on the team. Yeah, Schill is a great post-season pitcher, but he doesn't have that fire like Papelbon or Beckett.

I have to say I was more worried about Dice K pitching game 7 than anything else during that series. And what made Game 7 so heartwrenching was watching the Sox load the bases up time and time again only to be put out on double plays. It was as if you were watching your favorite football team blow a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter because their defense was playing prevent. I kept thinking that the Indians were hanging around for that one inning, waiting to explode. Instead they imploded on a Lofton base running mistake, meanwhile the Red Sox exploded with a flurry of runs against the Indians mighty bullpen. I loved every minute of it so much that I did my own irish jig dance. The weird part was the game was kind of peaceful and unnerving which is so unlike a Red Sox game.

That's exactly how I felt as I watched Game one last night against the Rockies. I knew Beckett would be rock solid, it was only a matter of time before the Sox hitters would get to Jeffrey Francis Canuck.
I think I heard Frankie Vali singing "Oh what night" somewhere.
Little Papi - Dustin Pedroia started it off with a homer in the first followed by 2 more runs, then a 30 minute 6th inning that seemed like the Rockies would start auditioning guys in the crowd to pitch. It was a great way to start off the Fall Classic, for a Red Sox fan.
I'm not saying that the Rockies bubble has burst, but there is definitely something deflated about the team. Now I will presume my Sox will continue to ride the hot streak into Colorado, and hopefully close out another World Series Championship with Fat Tires and Paplebon doing the Irish jig on the way down Yawkey Way.
Let's go Red Sox!!!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Just win baby!!!

First win of the season feels so good. Now if we just can keep the ball rolling.
Saints played a great game all around. The defense really bowed up when we needed them and surprise, surprise Usama Young looks like the next Gene Atkins.

My hat goes off to Coach Gary Gibbs for finally realizing what most Saints fans figured out after game 2. We need to blitz more because our front four can't get a good enough rush on the QB. Plus, our secondary isn't the best at covering man to man, much less zone. Our boys ending up with five sacks which created happy feet for Matt Hassleback.

What was most impressive was the fact that Payton started to work some magic on offense mixing the run and pass which keep the Seahawks guessing most of the first half. The second half he went a little too conservative, a la Jim Mora in every playoff game he's coached in. Playing not to win only buys you heartache and chewed up fingernails.

Reggie Bush ran with some authority between the tackles, not too mention he had the longest runs of his career. Which is a shame because this guy should be breaking 90 yarders instead of 20 yarders. Still, he ran well.

Lastly, we need to clear up some penalties and dropped passes. Got a feeling that Payton will have the jugs machine working overtime this week in practice as we gear up for divisional foe Atlanta. We definitely haven't turned the corner, but we are making strides in the right direction. Let's go Saints!!

Friday, October 05, 2007

Don't stop believin'!



That's right, still believing. Even though a boat load of band wagoners jumped shipped two weeks ago after the Tampa Bay game. We don't need ya'. You're holding us back from what we want to accomplish.


I know what many of you think. Oh and 3 isn't much of an accomplishment considering we almost went to the Super Bowl last year. But as a fan of sports last year's magical carpet ride was something that will be spoken in glory day tales in bar rooms and bedtime stories. Remember these are our Saints. We stick with them through thick and thin. Remember Bum and Dick Nolan and Rick Venturi. I was still there and so were many of you. So let's not throw the towel in on our guys just yet.


As Herm Edwards puts it, "You play to win the game." That's what our Saints have been trying to do the last few weeks, but have come up short. It's almost like the team has a hangover from a bachelor party that went on all weekend and your still walking around in a daze weeks later, talking about how great the party was and when can we do that again. Actual last season can't be duplicated. It was too unbelievable. You can't rehash it. Plus it's last year. This is a new year and we need to start focusing in on the fact that our defense needs to play a lot better up front. Our corners are getting beat over the top like a bunch of Toi Cooks because the opposing QB has all day to throw the ball.


Not too mention we don't fill gaps when the other team runs the ball. Got to have gap control. And I hate to say this, but Holis Thomas hasn't been the same since take steroid inhalers last season.

As for the offense it's been there in pieces, but there hasn't been much rhythm between Brees and the receivers. Partly because the o-line hasn't been blocking well, but more importantly because we haven't run the ball with effectiveness. I can't tell you the last play action pass we ran. Last year we were running them all day. Need to get the ground game going.


Well, Sean Payton is learning the fickleness that comes with being a Saints fan. Hero one day, villain the next. Life of a head coach. What we need to do is understand that this team lacks an attitude right now and hopefully it will be instilled after we get our first win. So, keep your chin up and keep on believing. Because the chin is still in. Go Saints.