Winners: OK, there aren't a lot of winners this week in the It Takes Balls world of sports. Sure, there were plenty of teams who won recently, on one level or another...it's just that I don't care about them. But I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans on setting a record that will stand for a long time. Sure, it took them 123 years to accomplish it, but 10,000 losses is nothing to laugh about. It's something to laugh at.
Losers: I'd rip the Phillies here again, but only Michael Vick kicks a dog when he's down. Speaking of which, Vick takes the Loser of the Year Award in July. That's got to be a record, we don't even have to wait to see who else blows it big time, Vick just ran away with it. Other big losers in the past week have to include the Milwaukee Bucks. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it's bull that a 22...I'm sorry, 18 year old lottery pick gets to throw a hissy fit and refuse to report to a team that drafted him. It's wrong, and the NBA should have a rule in place to prevent this from happening. All that said, I don't have a lot sympathy for the Bucks. Jianlian TOLD you that he wouldn't report if you drafted him. You did it anyway. I'm totally convinced that Bucks GM Lary Harris called Isiah Thomas for advice on this one. This was totally an Isiah-style move. Take a golden opportunity and toss it out the window. How long before the "Michael Redd requests trade" rumors start? I'm going to be nice and say December. And before I move on, is anyone disappointed to hear that Stephon Marbury is leaving for Italy when his contract is up? I think fans of teams like the Knicks, Celtics, T-wolves and other bastions of GM incompetence breathed a collective sigh of relief here. I know I did.
Finally, the Boston Red Sox... The Sox are fine folks. I can't explain why the dreadful Royals seem to have our number. I have to believe that on some level it is just a let down psychologically. Seeing 3 games against the Royals coming up on the schedule is kind of like seeing that there is a pre-season game scheduled against Boston College. You know you have to show up at the park and put on the uniform, but you don't really feel like you will be playing baseball. I'm not giving them a pass here, there is no excuse for blowing an opportunity to maintain the gap in the AL East, but I don't see it as the sign of the Apocolypse that many citizens of Red Sox Nation seem to. Repeat after me "It is NOT 1978...it is NOT 1978".
Let's take a look at what is coming up over the next two weeks. We kick it off this evening against the ChiSox for a 4 gamer at Fenway. The White Sox are a decent team, but they dropped 3 out of 4 to the friggin' Orioles last weekend. Expect the same results in Boston this weekend. A week long road trip follow, agaist a tough Indians team in Cleveland for 4, and then a trip down south to devestate the Rays. Cleveland doesn't worry me, I think we can easily manage a split with them and fully expect Manny to be on fire. We follow that up with the Rays ('nuff said), a day off and then 3 at home agaist the O's. I'll take that as a 6 game sweep of bottom dwellers which gives a bit of momentum before a short tip out west.
The Red Sox woes right now are minor. We haven't been geting timely hitting, but Papi & Manny are starting to hit for power, Lowell continues to be dominant and Julio Lugo suddenly looks like Ichiro. Schill seems to be re-habbing nicely, we'll see how his starts for the PawSox go, but all reports are that he looks great. We've got some young arms ready to fill in as well, and if we can generate some offensive consistency we'll be back on track. I know it is almost a genetic response amongst those if us in Red Sox Nation to panic any time the Yankees appear in the rear view mirror, but we have to take a deep breath and remember who we have out there. This Red Sox team has the pieces to be one of the most potent offnsive juggernauts in recent history. We haven't seen that from them yet, but I can't help but believe that the time is coming. Keep The Faith, RSN, we're fine.
Two last items. If you are looking for some fun in the sun, check out the base ball action at the Vintage Base Ball Playoffs & World Series . Should be a great time out in Westfield, Massachusetts!!! Also, watch for my column on the August 2nd Red Sox - Orioles game. We'll span 4 generations of the family at that game, I'll recount all out the action from Fenway...until next time, GO SOX!!!!!
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