Red Sox wrap up

As the season limps to a close, I thought I'd wrap up the season with a few notes about the latest in Fenway news.

Pesky is finally getting the right field pole named after him. Despite being called Pesky's pole for years, it was never official, so on his 87th birthday, the Sox officially honored him by officially dedicating the right-field pole in his name.

Ortiz is auctioning off number 52.

Manny has only played once in the past month, but does it really matter? To be honest, I wish they had just brought everyone from the AAA up, sent everyone on the major league team home (put them on IR) and see what happens. See who prospers and who sinks, and let the chips fall where they may.

Clement has apparently had his shoulder fall off based on the comments on radio. He's superman for playing through the pain, trying hard to get back despite all the tearing inside his rotator cuff. But, at the end of the day, he'll be staying home next year too trying to recover, with little chance he'll ever pitch in a Red Sox uniform again (although the injury is being touted as not likely career ending).

Beckett came in with 16 wins (seems high, given his ERA of 5.01), Schilling with 15 (seems lower than what I thought he had). The next closest win count was 7 for Lester and Wakefield. This seems almost crazy to me. How did they do as well as they did if the pitchers winning were this low?

Whether the Blue Jays or the Red Sox come in third doesn't matter to me at all. All that matters is they are done for this year. Whether your down by 2 games or 50 doesn't matter.

Questionable calls

I have some questions about some of the play calling by the Patriots on Sunday. Now, it's a given that I am not an expert when it comes to calling the right play on the football field. But I am puzzled by some things.

Why was Maroney fielding punts? When Corey Dillon got hurt, Maroney was the best back on the field. Why risk him in special teams play when you have more reliable players (Brown, for one) capable of doing the job?

Also, why not kick the field goal? I know it may have been hard to get to scoring range the second time around, but you still needed to score twice. Even Madden got that one (although, I have to admit, Madden seems to be making more sense this year?)

I'll be the first to admit that Belichick has forgotten more about football than I'll ever know, and so these questions should not be seen as 'questioning' the coach. It's more about understanding what's happening.

Disappointment in the running game

What happened last night can be simplified into the following sentence: the running game was stopped, therefore the Patriots lost the game.

I just hope this doesn't turn into a pattern. Until Brady and his wide receiving corps (except for Brown) get onto the same page, this is what the various defenses across the league are going to try to do to the Pats.

Come in and stop the run. Dare the pats to take to the air. Why? Because the yardage after the catch is going to be lousy until a wide receiver catches the ball. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but Maroney will only break out once a game after a catch. Brown isn't going to outrun anyone, neither is Faulk. Graham and Watson can run over a few players (and you have to be impressed by Watsons speed).

But without a receiving threat who can do what the Broncos did on offense (turn a little catch into a big play) a few times a game, the Pats aren't going to win in the playoffs.

I have no doubts they're going to make it to the playoffs. They're special teams and defense are too good. So is their running game. But if they fall behind early and have to rely on the passing game, they're going to be in trouble.

Ortiz for MVP

Who could be more valuable to a team than David Ortiz? After tying the record set by Jimmie Foxx in 1938 with his 50th home run, most players would have taken the ball (given back by a willing fan) and put it on display inside his house. A proud reminder of a huge accomplishment. Instead, David Ortiz decided to donate the ball (given back to him by a willing fan) to two charities (Source: BostonHerald.com - Boston Red Sox: Historic ball to help charities)

Ortiz plans to use the ball he hit for his 50th homer to raise money for a couple of his pet causes. The ball will be put up for auction on redsox.com, with proceeds being directed to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Plaza de la Salud Hospital de Ninos, which is located in Ortiz’ hometown of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
According to Ortiz, the hospital specializes in open-heart surgery for children.
The online auction starts at 11 a.m. today and will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Those interested in making a bid may do so by visiting redsox.com and clicking on the Ortiz auction link.

This is all part and parcel of why David Ortiz deserves the MVP of the league. He's no Barry Bonds, talking and taking care of only himself. He's no ARod (or Manny) looking for the biggest paycheck.

Ortiz sat down to meet the two fans (29 year old McGrath and 10 year old Tommy Valeriani) last night: (Source: Boston Herald

He posed for pictures with the two fans. He hugged Tommy. Informed McGrath has a girlfriend, he made note of the guy’s instant fame and said, "Now you’ll have two."

But before the game, Ortiz had this to say:

"This is not fun," he told me before last night’s 6-0 win against Minnesota. "You’re happy for the things you’ve done, but there’s still a sad part. And that’s not winning."

This guy is all about team. And isn't that what MVP is all about? Not just being on the winning team, but it's supposed to be about the player who helped his team the most.

How many walkoffs does he have to hit before he's going to qualify, anyways?

Denver issues

Denver has a better team than they've shown so far this season. Despite Jake Plummers struggles, there was a reason they went 13-3 last year.

So far this year, Jake Plummer has a QB rating of 38.6. He has, in his first two games, thrown four interceptions and a fumble, giving rise to a QB controversy with rookie QB Jay Cutler waits in the wings. But Jake's QB rating was 90.2 last year so you can't expect his struggles to last (his lifetime average is 74.6).

Coach Mike Shanahan admitted they had scaled back the offense to protect Plummer this year. That's surprising giving Jakes strengths come to the fore when he starts moving out of the pocket.

Running backs Tatum Bell (5.5 yards per carry) and Mike Bell (4.4 yards per carry) are definitely carrying the load on offense. With a strong one-two punch at RB, it's surprising to see the offense struggle to score (9-6 win in overtime against KC last week).

And according to a story in the Boston Herald today:

While the Broncos have struggled badly on offense, their defense has been dominant. They haven’t allowed a touchdown through two games, with opponents going 0-for-7 in the red zone. While defensive coordinator Larry Coyer has committed to not relying so heavily on blitzes this season, the Broncos remain fast, athletic and aggressive on that side of the ball. . . .

It's not looking like an easy week for the Patriots this weekend.