Sox Pitching = > Scary

Just thinking about the Sox depth at pitching especially the middle relief (Manny, Okajima, Masterson, Saito, Lopez, Ramirez, and Paps! Lights OUT!) is SCARY. Add to that the starting rotation is looking deeper than any other team in the league with a solid Beckett, Lester, Dice K, Smoltz/ Penny, Wakefield, and throw in the possible return of Bucholz. It just gets even more sickening. What is it that they say again "good Pitching always beats good Hitting" = wins in the playoffs to me.

Hearing about the injury bugs that plagued the Sox rotation is also scary. Remember game 6 of the ALCS last year. The game where Beckett a.k.a. "BALLS" gutted out 5 innings, 4 hits, and 2 runs know all of THIS is scary. Guy was pitching with a dinged up wing and still found a way to get it done. Add to that he's still thinking about how poorly he pitched down the stretch last year. Add in that John Lester took over the "ACE" roll from September on looming just over Balls shoulder. You think Beckett might be motivated in '09?

How dominant will he be this year with an actual training regiment besides his 2008 spring training 12 oz. curl, KFC, and ring ding routine. A motivated Josh Beckett is a dangerous Josh Beckett. Remember this is the guy Tim McCarver once said had "The Guts of a Burglar!" Well the AL East and the rest of the league better watch out because 2007 Beckett is what you'll see this year. After reading Bradford's piece it sounds like Balls has found himself and finally taken on an ACE mentality. The same mentality Pedro, Schilling, and any other Hall Of Fame pitcher has needed. It is that edge that we hoped to see in Balls last year coming off a dominant '07 performance. He never fully established it, but hopefully 2009 is the year he adds the wisdom of a seasoned veteran to his already Ballsy swagger.

While the hope is he won't just take his talent for granted any longer. I think he finally gets it. From what it sounds like he has figured out that he can't assume his talent will out weigh his effort. He has come in to camp dedicated and in shape and that's all you can ask for. Expectations of the Nation however will be another story. Can Beckett return to form? In my opinion Yes!

The rumors of Tommy's demise have been greatly exagerated.

Pats fans can feel damn comfortable hearing this from Tommy :

Asked if he was able to move and put torque into a throw at this point, Brady said:

“Yeah. You wouldn’t know that I had surgery if you watched me.”

He then joked that his biggest problems are on the golf course.

“I can’t putt the ball,” he cracked.

- Mike Reiss boston.com

As for the rest of the NFL fans out there don't get your hopes up about that knee never being able to hold weight again. Bernard Pollard you may have just given Tommy the motivation he's been seeking since his last ring in 2005! Can't wait for week one.

Preach on Papi

David Ortiz is not impressed with the lack of discipline the Commissioner and the MLB have failed to swiftly dole out, and with good reason. While the steroid talk won't vanish from the front pages hopefully those players who are clean can lead the way out of the mess MLB has on its hands. Get ready for more names to be dropped as well. The incessant rambling about these guys use and who did and who didn't will cloud the game for some time. As far as throwing out records did they throw out the numbers of guys who have used amphetamines or worse in the past?

As a fan, I for one am ready to get it over with and look forward to a cleaner generation of baseball. Did these guys cheat? Yes, but let's not act like this is something that every major sport has been guilty of. Why do people only take offense that it is baseball? Because so much is judged by the numbers shouldn't be the only reason. If you didn't know McGwire, Bonds, or Sosa were using you're a fool I was a teen and my friends and I knew plain as day. Did it change the fact that it was fun to watch those guys hit moon shots? No! Did it set a wrong example for future generations? Yes, but it is going to teach the next generations of athletes the consequences. In 10-20 years the proof will be when all these sports legends start dropping like flies and that will be the certain outcome. To believe the players are the only ones responsible is naive. The Player's Union, Owners, MLB, and the Commissioner are all to blame for letting this slide for so long without taking a stand. The fans are not innocent in this either. Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you wouldn't take something that would make you perform better, work less, and make you more money at your JOB if the majority of your co-workers were. As far as those who haven't come clean take a cue from A-Rod...The Truth Will Set You Free.