Look who's coming back!

Lost in today's uproar created by David "The Big Mouth" Wells is that Foulke completed his third of three scheduled reahab starts on Tuesday.

"Foulke, who will be activated from the disabled list Thursday, leaves the short-season New York-Penn League with a 7.36 ERA and a .421 opponents' batting average, along with eight hits, five strikeouts, and one walk in 3 2/3 innings."

He didn't exactly pitch lights out on Tuesday either with 1 IP, 7 batters faced and 2 ER. It looks like we'll be seeing him soon, but can the Sox handle another critical pitcher who isn't pitching at top form at this point in the season? I'll be glad to have him back, but with numbers like that, I can't say I'm not going to be worried.

Bellhorn for Arod?

I would have done that trade. But when you're the NY Yankees this year, you have to do what you have to do. Not only did they pick up Embree with his 7.04 ERA, but then they went and picked up Bellhorn with his 109 K's and .324 OBP this year. And would anyone have guessed Bellhorn's first job would be to fill in for an ailing A-Rod? Hah! Bellhron promptly went 0-4.

It's a wonder the Yankees are doing as well as they are, when they keep picking up anyone who can throw the ball anywhere near home plate!

This should not be taken as a disparagement of either Embree or Bellhorn for whom I have a great deal of respect for. Last year's performance by both were key, especially in the playoffs. But when it comes to this year's performance, there's a reason they were both waived.

Is Jonny going, going, gone?

In a word, yes. He'll talk about how much he loves Boston and wants to end his career here and so on and so forth, while taking a tour of NY, LA, Chicago, Anahiem, etc... And in the end, he'll be heading somewhere else. The truth is, the red sox are no longer going to be the high bidders in these sorts of games. They've decided that they are no longer going to pay out the nose, even for the "stars", of which Damon is not, although he thinks he is. I mean was anyone really surprised to hear about (or see on TV) "Johnny's last supper" artwork over his fireplace?

Will I be sorry to see him go? You bet. He's a great, steady lead off man with a lot of steals, which makes him a big threat on the bases. His defensive ability is above average, and who doesn't love watching him dive after the balls with aggression and style in center field? But in the end, he'll be another player lost to free agency and although it's sad, it's a fact of life now.

Taking advantage

Well, in the past 10 games, the Sox are 4-6 while the Yanks have gone 7-3. It seems to me that the Yankees are taking advantage of the chances they're getting, while the Sox are letting them slip away. After looking at the schedule for the end of August, I was beginning to think the Sox could run away with the division. Or at least maintain the 5 game lead they had. But so much for hope.

Now it's just going to get tougher, although the one hope (schedule-wise) I'm maintaining is the number of home games the Sox have left. And it's a good hope to rest your head on, since they're 2:1 win:loss ratio is one of the best in baseball (see Atlanta).

If they maintain their win:loss ratio through the end of the season, they'll end with 93 wins or so. That's not a bad record, but will it be enough if the Yankees don't stumble against TB?

Umm.. then what are they going to do?

I'm real happy to hear the Foulke's almost back. At the end of the season, I think how he pitches will have a bigger affect on how the Sox do in the playoffs than even Schilling.

From the Boston Herald: ``I don't think you just hand him the ball with a one-run lead after not pitching for a month,'' Francona said after the Red Sox opened a homestand with last night's 9-8 victory against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.
Well, if Foulke isn't going to be the closer, then who is? Timlin is not a closer. He's a middle reliever and he's going to need some rest before the end of the season. And what will Foulke's role be?

In other news, I'm glad they won one, but I think a caller on WEEI today had it right. Unless there's a big change in the bullpen, they're going to have to keep winning this way, by simply outscoring on the offensive side of the ball, because their pitching just isn't getting the job done. I felt so much better about the team last year at this point. I felt like they had underachieved up to this point with the pitching they had (Lowe in particular). But this year, I feel like they're overachieving with the talent they have. Offensively, you just can't ask for more, but their pitching is just struggling right now.

Make up? More like wake up!

Thirty days. That's how many days the Red Sox are going to have to play in a row, since Bud Selig broke the rules and set the stage for exhausting the Red Sox as they head into the home stretch.

Their makeup game with the Chicago White Sox will be played Sept. 5, the only day the White Sox and the Red Sox both have open before the end of the season. Expect that more players will be sitting out on odd days because of this. Expect the Sox to get tired out. Expect more minor league players coming out of the dugout and bullpen in key situations, because the Red Sox aren't going to have a choice. Unless they want their key players breaking down here at the end of the season, they're going to need to take some chances on these untested players.

Bud Selig needed to break the 20 days in a row rule in the Basic Agreement in order to set the stage, and he did it. I just don't like what it's going to do to the players.

Patriots Fantasy Outlook

The patriots offense is going to have a stellar year. The wide receiving corp is as experienced as it's ever been. Plus, Brady and Dillon really complement each other. Look at how both players were able to improve on already great numbers last year.

Brady had 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last year and I expect his numbers are going to be just as good this year. With Dillon running behind him, Brady can open up the field now. He's also got a deep wide receiving corp that, although they aren't flashy, are reliable. Daniel Graham and Ben Watson are also legitimate targets at TE. He's never going to be the top fantasy QB, but he's going to give you good, reliable numbers.

Last year Dillon had career numbers, rushing for 1600 yds, with 12 TD's and you can expect the same production this year. With Brady at QB, Dillon has a free pass at the short stuff. But, fantasy wise, he's the only (full time) option the Pats have. Keep in mind, he's in his 9th year, so you'll probably need a good back-up. I don't feel like I can recommend any of the other RB's on the Pats, even in a backup roll. Chapman's a rookie. Pass has been used more as a fullback than a RB. If you really need to, you could probably pick up Faulk from the waiver wire in an emergency situation. Chances are good he'll be the main carrier if Dillon goes down.

Despite the fact the wide receiving corp is going to have a big year, I think it's fairly obvious now that you should avoid any Patriots wide receivers in fantasy football. MVP of the SuperBowl or not, Deion is going to be sharing the catches with a whole lot of others. Expect Branch to have a couple of really good weeks, but then he'll fade into the background. That's Belicheck's style on offense. He plays to whatever the other team's weakness is, so if he needs to throw to the tight end 20 times while ignoring the wide receivers, he'll do it.

TE is not a good position in fantasy terms when it comes to the Patriots. As I said, the Patriots have a lot of talented targets this year. I expect that Graham and Watson will each have their day in the sun, but then they'll be ignored for several games at a time. If I were drafting a team for real, I'd pick them both up, but since this is fantasy, I'd probably take a pass on both, given a choice. (Some of you might notice that I did draft Graham this year <-- previous post. He was just the best TE still on the board at the time since I left TE till later in the draft.)

Don't believe the hype about the Patriots defense getting weaker this year. They'll be a top 5 defense once again, despite losing Bruschi, Ted, Ty Law and Romeo. It won't be easy, but Belicheck obviously made allowances over the summer and made up the difference. They won't be the same team anymore, but that won't keep them from being a great defense.

I think Vinatieri's going to have another great year. I actually expect his numbers to increase this year, because I think the offense is going to increase it's numbers.

So, to summarise, Brady, Dillon, Vinatieri and Defense are the players I would (if I could) draft without any worries this year. Brady and Dillon are good for each other. They both allow the other guy to shine. Since I believe the Pat's offense is going to be even better this year, Vinatieri's going to benefit. The Defense is just as good as it ever was. Belicheck planned on losing Bruschi and Romeo, so don't believe the hype about losing the coordinators. Avoid the WR and TE's if you can. They will have great numbers one week and poor numbers the next. There are just too many options for Brady to go to.


On a personal note, I managed to excercise again this morning. I increased my pace on the treadmill again, and I bench pressed longer. I'm doing pretty good at this, although I'll have to skip Monday (I'll be out of work). Maybe I'll try to keep it up on Tuesday, then Wednesday, although I might have to take it easy on both days.

Despite all the complaints

Despite all the complaints this year about Bellhorn, Millar, and Renteria's woes at the plate, it looks to me like Epstein and Francona know what they're doing. Consider this: The Red Sox are first in Runs scored, 2nd in doubles, 7th in homeruns, 1st in RBI's, 1st in BB, 1st in OBP, 3rd in SLG, and 1st in AVE. Not bad for having Bellhorn, Millar and Renteria dragging you down for most of the first half.

Something you might want to consider when it comes to looking at average. The second ranking team in average is the Detroit Tigers. The third is Tampa Bay. Meanwhile the last place team is the Washington Nationals. Do you remember way back when they were the hottest team in baseball?

I'd like to take a look into Theo's plan and how well it's working, specifically On Base Percentage (OBP). The median OBP for teams is about .330. The position players who have a lower OBP than that on the Sox this year (at least 30 AB) include Bellhorn, Mirabelli, Kapler, and Cora. That's it. Everyone else who's a position player has a higher OBP than .330!

BTW, Youkilis (.390) and Ortiz (.389) are leading the team in OBP (at least 30 AB).

Remaining Schedule

Well, a lot of talk has been done lately about the remaining schedule and how the Yankees have it easier than the rest. I looked at the remaining schedule for the Yanks, Cleveland, Oakland, Red Sox, and Minnesota.

Well, the glee I felt when I looked at the Red Sox schedule for the end of August must be matched by the feeling Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Yanks must be feeling right now. Minnesota gets to face KC 7 more times. Cleveland has KC and TB lined up 12 times while the yanks get them 9. But then, the Yanks have (for some reason) not matched up well with TB this year. So, maybe they aren't as excited as you might think.

Oakland seems to have the toughest road ahead. Their remaining opponents have a winning percentage of 0.516. That can't be easy to face up to when they know their rivals have an easier schedule: Red Sox: .500, Yankees: .478, Cleveland: .483, and Minnesota: .500.

On WEEI this morning, they were talking about the trade of Manny for A-Rod. I have to admit I'm not happy with Manny this morning, but I wouldn't trade him for A-Rod. It seems to me that Manny plays better under pressure, he brings his team up (not down) and besides which, I really wouldn't want this photo associated with my team!

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No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

Time for the kids to shine

Timlin has now pitched in 63 games. Mike Myers has pitched in 50. I'm starting to worry that these two arms are going to get worn out before the playoffs even begin. So, what can the Sox do about it? It's looking like no relief is in sight when it comes to around the league. Too many teams are still in contention and not many players cleared waivers.

That leaves the minor leaguers. Players like Jeremi Gonzalez, Jonatahn Papelbon, and Lenny DiNardo. Maybe (hopefully) they won't be relied on in the playoffs, but if the Sox want to have any chance of a playoff run, they need to get in there and give Myers and Timlin a break, and now!

And so far, they're doing alright. Dinardo doesn't have much of a track record in the "bigs", but his minor league record is pretty clean. Gonzalez has looked impressive so far (you have to expect some bad nights from these guys). In his past 6 games (11.2 innings), Gonzalez hasn't let in a run, with only 3 hits. Now 3 of the opponents were DET, DET, and KC, but still. And then, of course, there's Jon Papelbon (or "Big Pap" :-)) He has 16 IP, with a 2.25 ERA and 15 K's against MIN, DET, and ANA. Not bad for a rookie.

Unfortunately, with Foulke still out, Timlin is only going to get more pressure, not less as he takes up the closing role. He's been the most reliable pitcher in the bullpen this year (which, unfortunately, isn't saying much) and he deserves the chance to take the closing role. But the most games Timlin has pitched in the majors in one year is 76, and that was last year. If we keep using him, he's going to break down, and the Sox just can't afford that.


On a personal note, Excercise Day 4 went well! I'm keeping it up, even improving my pace on the treadmill! Although I did forget my passkey this morning! I knew it was only a matter of time.

Randy Johnson is a disappointment

From the Boston Herald:

``He hasn't performed to his expectation or ours, but that's not something that hasn't happened before, either,'' general manager Brian Cashman said before last night's game against Toronto.

Johnson is 11-8 with a 4.34 ERA and has allowed 29 home runs – one shy of his career high and the second-most in the major leagues behind Cincinnati's Eric Milton (35). The five-time Cy Young Award winner is winless in four starts since July 26.

``I can't say that we expected this stuff. Every time you put his name down in the lineup, you expect Randy Johnson to dominate,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said. ``I'm surprised. He's surprised, too.''


Wow, I can't believe they would say things like this about a player. How would you like to be Randy this morning? Not that what they are saying isn't true, but still. It's amazing how different the AL is from the NL. Pedro is being reborn in his NL debut, while Johnson is struggling.

Why does one hitter make such a big difference. I've heard the rule of thumb is .5 difference in ERA between the two leagues. So if Randy was pitching in the NL again this year, his ERA would be a respectable 3.84, instead of a disappointing 4.34 . Meanwhile Pedro's would be 3.36 in the AL, but instead he's sitting pretty at 2.86 (9th in MLB).

BTW, has anyone else noticed how Pedro is hitting fewer people this year? He's only hit 2 people so far this year! It's a little bit different when you have to face the pitcher next time!

Millar is O-U-T

Let’s face it, Millar has been struggling all year long, and although Francona didn’t want to face up to it, he should have been benched a long time ago for Olerud. Admittedly, Millar had a reprieve when Olerud went on the DL, but that reprieve is now over. Olerud is officially the “everyday” first baseman, and Millar is the backup.
As Millar says, ''I mean, John Olerud deserves to be playing 100 percent. I haven't been able to swing the bat the way I'm capable of, and we are at a point in the season where we have to do whatever gives us the best chance to win.”

Even though he’s on the highest scoring team in the league, Millar has only 4 HR, 99 hits, 41 RBI, and 43 runs. To put these numbers in perspective, Mark Bellhorn has 41 runs and 7 home runs.

In other news, WR Davis was traded to the Pats for an undisclosed draft pick by Romeo's Cleveland Browns. Except that it was Romeo doing the trading, it's not very interesting news, but what do you expect in the preseason? Unfortunately, if you look at any websites about the Pats, you're going to see this story, so I figured I better jump on the bandwagon.

Update on Foulke

Foulke's doing alright and is expected to lose only a couple of days in his rehab due to the line drive off his elbow. His thoughts on the matter?

"That's what you get for leaving the ball over the middle of the plate."

BTW, there's a story on cbs sportsline that isn't worth much else (other than the update on Foulke). It's supposed to be a review of the series between the Sox and Angels being a preview of a possible playoff matchup. But, as his first line points out, Schilling isn't in the rotation. And although I hate to keep saying the same thing over and over, we won't know what kind of playoff team we have until Schilling pitches a few games. Then we get two rookies pitching in two different games. Now that both teams have seen the pitcher, next time will be far different.

If you want to know what's going on in the world of the patriots, they should be getting ready to cut their team down to a 53 man roster. Seems like Felgers at the Boston Herald has broken it down for us. Do you think they'll cut Brady for posing with a goat? Maybe they want to avoid the curse of the goat?

Also there's a good story at SI about how the Pats are going to start the season. A good breakdown of who's here, who's gone (specifically, both coordinators!) and who's going to start.


Almost forgot to mention, I exercised again this morning! Woo hoo! That's three times so far, but for some reason it seemed harder today than it was last time. Last time I was sore from only two days rest, but this morning it was just tough to finish. I walked (a little bit faster every time) for a little over a mile. But when I bench pressed, it was just plain hard. I wasn't sore, but I just felt tired.

No pitch count

It seems Francona has confidence in Schilling's arm.
Francona joked that Schilling's pitch count would be between 40 and 100 before saying there would be no pitch count, then added the team would wait and see how Schilling performed and felt.

BTW, in case you're wondering, Timlin will be stepping in as closer. If you're wondering why Timlin wasn't closing before and Schilling was, take a look at Timlin's record when it comes to closing. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Good thing Johnson got rocked (back to back, baby!) today!

I think it's all about experience

After they've seen a pitcher a time or two, they can lay them out (see Rivera). But they just seem to have trouble facing a pitcher for the first time. Today's game is just the latest example of having an experienced team who needs to study their opponent.

The rookie took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning

But more importantly, Schilling's going back into the rotation where he belongs. This is good news for all Sox fans. I expect he'll be rusty for a couple of outings, but he'll be back in form for the playoffs.

Not me, but still

I just had to post them both here. Makes you feel good to be a member of the Patriots and Red Sox Nation. And foolish, of course.

Want to waste some time?

I excercised again this morning. I think it's weird how yesterday I felt fine (a little sore, but nothing that really registered, but today I'm feeling it. Why is that? I went to work out anyways, so I'm feeling good about that. Of course, on Sunday, I'll be feeling really sore. But since I work out at the gym in work, I won't have to exercise again till Monday.

A good game to play Heli Attack 3

Another good time waster Gold Strike

Wakefield Update

He was taken to Anaheim Memorial Hospital for precautionary X-rays, which were negative. Wakefield was not on crutches after the game, and walked relatively normally.

Here's something interesting. A web site, RateItAll, is rating all MLB teams from top to bottom based on reader feedback. Red Sox are currently second, with the White Sox in first. Sox obviously rule.

Hazel Eyes

Hey, did you know how eye color works? My wife and I think that our daughter has hazel eyes.

Two genes, bey2 and gey, work together to make brown, green, or blue eyes. Each gene comes in two versions or alleles.

One form of bey2 makes lots of melanin (and is usually referred to as B) while the other form makes only a little (b). One form of gey makes some melanin (G) while the other makes only a little (b).

So how do you get eye color from all of this? If you have B you get brown eyes, G but no B, green eyes and if you only have b, then you get blue eyes.

Most likely, hazel eyes simply have more melanin than green eyes but less than brown eyes. There are lots of ways to get this level of melanin genetically.
? My wife told me this last night. Isn't that weird?



BTW, a woman robot was built in Japan. Take a look, it's kind of freaky.

Despite last night's game

It looks like there's good news out of the Sox today after all. Nixon is feeling better and Foulke is continuing his rehab. While Bellhorn is about to be designated and then released. One other note: Kevin Millar's homerless streak is at 179 at-bats and counting.


Pats looked good last night, although some are saying Brady wasn't too sharp. But then Felger is a pessimistic brat who loves to stir the pot. I say it doesn't matter, they only put them in for a few series to try some things and that's it. It's like trying to judge preseason pitchers. They go out there and throw 12 curve balls in a row, just to practice the pitch. They really don't care if the guy hits one out.


This makes sense to me, but I can't believe anyone would still be holding onto Bonds at this late date in a fantasy league. I could understand why someone (else) would draft Bonds at the beginning of the year, but to still have him?

Should they be worried?

"We need to deal with their pitchers more than to worry about their players," Torre said. "Not that we don't respect what they do, offensively, but their pitchers pretty much shut us down."

Umm, this guy is off his rocker. He's predicting McNabb is going to be a bust in '05. I would have to agree with him about Vick (team sucks) and Ben Roethlisberger is going to miss Plaxico Burress. But saying McNabb is going to bust because TO is a jerk off the field? Not likely.

My team

What do you think? I'm not unhappy with anyone except for Bell. I had to drop my backup kicker (who cares?) to get Anderson, since it's looking more and more like Anderson is going to be the starter over second year Tatum Bell.

M. Bulger (StL - QB)
B. Griese (TB - QB)
S. Smith(Car - WR)
Ro. Williams (Det - WR)
Ma. Clayton (Bal - WR)
D. Stallworth (NO - WR)
P. Holmes (KC - RB)
T. Bell (Den - RB)
T. Duckett (Atl - RB)
M. Anderson (Den - RB)
K. Jones (Det - RB)
D. Graham (NE - TE)
B. Franks (GB - TE)

K and DEF
J. Wilkins (StL - K)
Buffalo, Tampa Bay


BTW, as per my post about how to draft: I drafted in the first three rounds: Holmes, Jones, and Bell. Then I picked up Bulger in the 4th. After that, finding a rb was very difficult.

Side Game

NFL PRESEASON WEEK 2
Thursday, Aug. 18
NEW ENGLAND 4 New Orleans
Friday, Aug. 19
ATLANTA 3½ Tennessee
N.Y. JETS 1 Minnesota
WASHINGTON 3 Cincinnati
Saturday, Aug. 20
DETROIT 6½ Cleveland
BUFFALO 5½ Green Bay
TAMPA BAY 3 Jacksonville
PITTSBURGH 4 Miami
HOUSTON 1 Oakland
N.Y. GIANTS 1 Carolina
BALTIMORE 3½ Philadelphia
INDIANAPOLIS 6½ Chicago
KANSAS CITY 4½ Arizona
DENVER 7 San Francisco
Sunday, Aug. 21
SAN DIEGO 5½ St. Louis
Monday, Aug. 22
SEATTLE 3 Dallas


I pick NE, ATL, MIN, WAS, CLE, BUF, TB, PIT, HOU, NYG, PHI, IND, KC, DEN, SD, DAL

Arroyo is here to stay

Or at least for the year. Bill Mueller, Mike Myers and Kevin Youkilis are safe, too.

Continuing the theme from yesterday: The Red Sox entered Tuesday night with a relief ERA of 5.27, worst among all 14 American League teams.

The Pats are paying out the nose

You can no longer kick this club for being cheap!

$300,000 down the drain

The problem with incentive laden contracts is that Wells will pitch again, whether he feels good or not. Wells just drives me nuts. Let's face it, he is a good number 4 pitcher, getting paid as a number two pitcher. If Schilling doesn't get back into the starting role he was born to play, this team is going nowhere in the playoffs. Who's your number one and two starter without him? Clement and then ... Arroyo?

1-2-3 You're Out! Looks like Bellhorn is finally out the door. God bless his performance in the playoffs last year, but watching his league leading strike out count go up, up, up is just maddening. Now they just have to figure out that playing Olerud is better than playing Millar at first.

And why do people give Manny a hard time? Yes, he loses you, what, 2 or 3 games a year by not running out a ball or not running hard on the bases, but he wins a lot more games than that for you. Look at his numbers for the Red Sox over the past 5 years:

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI BB SO OBP SLG AVG
2001 BOS 142 529 93 162 41 125 81 147 .405 .609 .306
2002 BOS 120 436 84 152 33 107 73 85 .450 .647 .349
2003 BOS 154 569 117 185 37 104 97 94 .427 .587 .325
2004 BOS 152 568 108 175 43 130 82 124 .397 .613 .308
2005 BOS 109 394 84 113 32 108 60 89 .385 .594 .287

Yes, his average is still down (so far) this year, but look at those RBI's and slugging! You think you can replace that? Out of 681 runs scored for the Red Sox, Manny is responsible for 108 of them, or 16%! Ortiz has 107 as well, and I know he doesn't get paid as much, but then he doesn't play the field, either!

Magic number for the Sox is still 41 since everyone (Yanks, Sox, and A's all lost).

Important things I've learned about Fantasy Sports

First and foremost is that drafts are everything. If you don't have a good draft, you're not going to win. How many times have you seen a league leader at the end of the year be someone who hasn't checked on his/her team all year? It's important to make a good pickup off the waiver wires or to trade for that extra piece, but without a good draft, you're just whistling dixie.

Make sure you pay attention to how your league is scored, and don't just make trades based on the rankings provided to you by your online fantasy provider. Those rankings are based on the "normal" scoring method. If you are in a league that gives points for Stolen bases as well as taking points for being caught stealing, then you should be picking differently.

When it comes to trades, quantity does not make up for quality. Don't make a trade simply because you're going to get 3 good players for one great player. The great players put up the great numbers every week and will put you over the top. The 'good' players won't.

Good fantasy teams (especially football) rely on the top point scorers. If you're not sure what the record was in football, just look at the number of touchdowns. Jerome Bettis was a monster in fantasy leagues last year, not because he's a great back, but because he was the one carrying the rock in for the score. It was ridiculous.

Running backs rule fantasy football. They're the ones who are regularly going to get you points. Even top wide receivers are streaky. They may have a big game one week (150 yards and 3 TD's) and they will singlehandedly win that week for you, but then they suck wind for the next two weeks in a row. Quarterbacks are second when it comes to importance for the same reason. But, when it comes down to it, even bad QB's can give you good numbers. Besides which, you can usually play 2 or 3 RB's each week. That's why a good fantasy manager will draft running backs first, second and maybe the third round of the draft. They will also scour the waiver wire each week for a good injury pickup.

Here are the numbers from last year (taken from Yahoo) to back up what I'm saying:
The top 2 QB's last year scored 22.8 and 21 points per game (ppg). They had monster years, and there's a big drop off to number 3 at 16.5 ppg. But the number 12 QB had an average of 11.4 ppg. That's not so different, and since everyone can only play one QB each week, chances are good that you will have a decent starting QB playing every week who will put up numbers that are just as good as the other guy. RB's on the other hand start at 13 ppg and start dropping. By the 10th RB, you're down to 8.7, by the 15th you're only getting 7.3 and by the 20th you're only getting 6.2. And it only gets worse from here. Now each team in your league probably has two starting RB's plus a back up. If you have only teams in your league, that means 24 running backs are being used each week. Unlike with QBs, chances are not good that you can pick up a running back off of the waiver wires (although with injuries, you never know) who would be worth the spot. Note that QB's may have higher numbers individually, but you usually get to play multiple RB's. And so two or three good running backs can surpass your QB in points easily.

Speaking of football running backs, stay miles away from anyone who is involved in a running back by committee. You're guy may score well one week, but the next, they'll hand the ball to the other guy.

Another good point: anyone who drafts a TE, Kicker, or Defense before the 7th round is a fool!

Excercise is good

With 45 games left, Sox magic number is now 41. Why do they keep throwing Schilling out there? If he's going to be effective as a starter again, he needs to get some rest, too. Same with Timlin. He's being overused. Remember what happened to the Yankees bullpen last year when they overused Mariano and co? Of course it's not going to get any better until Foulke returns (hopefully in form), or they grab some other closer off the waivers.

When it comes to the playoffs, unless Schilling is in the starting rotation, we're not going to go anywhere! If the Red Sox think a team ERA of 4.78 is going to get it done, they're going to be in for a big surprise! Keep in mind, there are only 5(!) teams with worse records.

Something else to note: Red Sox are now 27-25 against teams who are over 500. That's not an encouraging number.

Football season is almost here. The Patriots magic number is 16 and counting!

I actually excercised this morning... It's the first time in a long time that I purposely did an excercise just to excercise. True, my wife and I walk all the time, but that's just an excuse to get out and enjoy the summer and each other. This was walking on a treadmill and then pressing just to excercise.

I think I should be proud.

Let's face it

Being woken up at 4 am is not a good way to wake up. Even if you love the person who did it to you, it makes for a very long day. But, she turns 1 in 2 weeks, so I guess I'll forgive her.

The Red Sox magic number is 43 after blowing it last night against Detroit. But that's alright, since their upcoming opponents are Detroit, Anahiem, Kansas City, Detroit and then Tampa.

I recently started a new job and had to go through the whole interview process without letting anyone at my old job know about it. Then, when my new company was ready to hire me, they had to ask me for references. What a pain. I had to make a list of the people who are discreet. It was a VERY short list.

Why is it that all things are considered ok to talk about when you are working in an office. Why does that person two cubes away consider it ok to talk about his colonoscopy/divorce? I really don't want to know about it. I walk out of the office just to call my wife on the phone and ask her about her day. Why can't they?


And while I'm at it, why do people insist on talking over the speaker phone? With the door open? I used to have a boss who was 4 cubes down from me. He would call me on using a speaker phone, and then proceed to yell into it. I used to put down the receiver and just listen over the cube walls. It was very annoying to the people in the cubes between us. But the best part was when he would clip his toenails.