Christmas Thoughts 12/22

I was asked a few times this week why I'm doing this. Simply put, back when I was single and in my 20's, I would spend a couple hours a week at sports bars hanging around talking sports. I don't get that opportunity anymore, hence this has become my "electronic" sports bar. So there you have it......

I'm still scrambling around trying to finish all my Christmas shopping, so just some quick thoughts this week.

1) Baseball - To many signings to cover all of them, so just some major ones.

a) Pedro - As I mentioned in my article on 11/7, I didn't want the Red Sox to pay over $36 million for him, so I have no problem with him signing with the Mets. I think they overpaid. If I was Pedro I would have taken the money also (a reported 4yrs, $53 million), so I wish him well, and thank him for the past 7yrs, it was great. HOWEVAAAA (as always in my best Stephan A. Smith voice), I do think he's acting like a whiny little baby with all his comments about Boston not respecting him....... they offered him a fair contract, he took another deal, be done with it. Good luck, and don't blow out your shoulder in 2 years.......

b) Beltre and Sexson to the Mariners - I like this deal. Seattle just upgraded their team tremendously. Although Beltre has just had the one big year last year, I do think he's for real, and barring injury, will be worth the money spent. Sexson has a ton of ability, and will also prove valuable. The one problem now with Seattle is they currently have so little pitching I just don't see them competing with the Angels in the West.

c) Wells, Clement and Renteria to the Red Sox - I like all these deals. For all the talk about Wells and his weight and age, the man has been tremendously durable over his career. They need him to be the #3 starter (replacing Lowe), and I feel he's an upgrade there. Clement they need to be a #2 starter. Boston's #2 guy last year put up these numbers: 16-9, 3.90 era. Clement, in 30 starts for the Cubbies, was 9-13 with a 3.68 era. Hopefully, backed by one of the top run scoring teams in baseball, he'll put up the same type of numbers that Pedro did. Renteria is a superstar in the making, expect him to get more notoriety now that he's in a larger television market. The man can flat out play!

d) Orlando Cabrera and Steve Finley to the Angels - "The OC in OC". I mentioned this in my article on 11/7, that this deal had to happen. It was just too perfect a fit. Obviously I like the deal a lot. He's going to help them out big time defensively and with Finley in center, makes their lineup one of the most dangerous in baseball. Finley, who turns 40 on opening day, was one of the best off season signings in my opinion. I really like what he brings to the game (36 hrs, 94 rbi's, .271 batting avg, and Gold Glove defense). Watch out for the Angels this year as I think they've got it all.

e) J.D. Drew to the Dodgers - I know I'm jumping the gun on this as it's still being discussed as I type this, but I think its a good deal for them. I think his production will be similar to Beltre's and if the numbers I'm seeing are accurate, they're paying him about $9 million less than what it would have cost to keep Beltre..... All in all, I think it's a good fit.

f) Mulder to Cardinals, Hudson to Braves - My feeling is these are good deals all around. Yes, if I'm an A's fan, it sucks initially, but you weren't' going to be able to keep the big 3 together anyways, so you might as well pick up some big time prospects which you did... I'm a big fan of Billy Beane (highly recommend reading "Moneyball" if you haven't all ready), and enjoy watching him wheel and deal, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Oakland does this year. Besides, it not like you were able to get out of the 1st round with Zito, Mulder and Hudson, so you might as well try something different. As for the Cardinals and Braves, obviously they picked up number 1 starters, but they did have to give away some top minor league talent. They probably have a 3 year window to win the world series, lets see if they do it or not.


2) T.O. done and so are the Iggles - I think his injury really affects the NFC. From what I'm hearing, he has a slight chance of making it back if the Eagles make it to the SuperBowl, which at this point, I don't think will happen....... Who's the team I'm most impressed with right now? The Carolina Panthers. If (and that's a big if), they make the playoffs, I feel they can run the table like they did last year and win the NFC. I like their defense more than I like Phillys. I'm not a big Mike Vick fan, as I feel he's too erratic. He can lose a game for you, as easily as he can win it, and that doesn't work well in the playoffs. Anyway, my prediction is now Carolina coming out of the NFC. (I can't believe I just wrote that.....)

3) Shaq, Kobe on Christmas day- This is the first game in about 3 years I'm excited to watch and I'm actually going to Tivo it so I don't miss anything. I hope Shaq goes for 45 points, 19 rebounds and fouls out Mihm, Grant, and any other stiff the Lakers try to guard him with. You know Kobe will score about 48 (on 39 shots), as he trys to show that the Lakers can win without Shaq. Dwayne Wade will take over down the stretch, hitting some big baskets, and showing everyone that Miami is not just one player. Miami wins 105 to 99.

4) Suspension reduction - It just came out today that an arbitrator ruled to reduce the suspension of Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers from 25 games to 15 games for the brawl that took place in Detroit on November 19th. I mentioned in my article on 11/25 that I agreed with the suspensions except that O'Neal should only get 10-15 games as he didn't go up into the stands. Apparently the arbitrator is a reader of "The Fifth"........... Also the NBA just announced they will protest the ruling in Federal Court (meeting to be held Thursday morning), so it will be interesting to follow what happens from here.

5) Soccer Trivia - The next time you're sitting around drinking a beer with a couple buddies, you can toss this out....... "Who was voted as soccer's player of the year for 2004?" Well the answer is Ronaldinho from Brazil. The 24 year old Brazilian plays for Barcelona in Spain, and is the 4th Barcelona player in the last 13 years to win the award. Maybe you can win a free drink or something with this knowledge!


Link of the Week - This was forwarded to me a couple weeks a go and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since http://www.czabe.com/audioclips/easterns_video.avi.wmv Lavar Arrington has now become my new favorite player just for this commercial...... I walk around all the time imitating him "Let Eastern Motors, finance it all the way....." (and of course doing the thumbs up) If anyone out there comes across any good links, please forward them along as I'm always looking for some good ones.


Well that's it for now. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas, and if you come across any links or would like to send me a comment, please reach me here billtolman@hotmail.com

Until next time,

Bill