For tonight’s game 6, I decided to create a running blog about the event. I figure it will probably be either one of the best or one of the worst games I have ever seen.
It’s now 7:30PM EST and the pregame is getting started. As a preview we have already been reminded of the heroics of game 5… crazy game. P.S. Why is Gabe Gross starting again in right field? I think we all know he basically blew the game for TB on many levels on Thursday.

7:39pm: Constant references to Curt Schilling’s “Bloody Sock” game are obviously going to be plentiful tonight. For those of you over 21, drink every time they reference Big Schill or the Cal Ripkin dubbed “embarrassing” nickname of “Big Game James”. Which makes me wonder, how does a player in his third season, first with a winning record as a team, get a nickname defining him as clutch? Have the Ray’s really played many “Big Games”? P.S. I never really noticed until this fall evening, but Beckett kind of looks like a scarecrow… maybe it’s just me.
7:44pm: I don’t like Tom Verducci. Sports Illustrated better fire him and TBS should be taken off the air for letting him talk. Writers should stay behind their word documents and not be allowed to talk in front of a camera. Where are the Rem-Dawg and Orsillo?

Ok, fine, I will shut up until the game starts.

7:56pm: Um… hello? Why am I watching a “Bloopers” show?

8:29pm: Holy cow… heart attack city. TBS played “The Steve Harvey Show” of all things with “Technical Difficulties” from 7:45pm until now… We missed basically the entire 1st inning. Is this even fair to anyone? Upton homered (for the 7th time this post-season, one shy of tying the record) in the first and was followed up by a walk of Pena and a DP ball hit to Lowrie by Eva… sorry, Evan, Longoria, I would tell you how Beckett looks but I haven’t seen anything yet…

8:34pm: YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! Answered the Upton homer with one of his own!

8:35pm: JDDDDDDDDDDD… oh foul, I will be back… ok, a single’s ok too.

8:38pm: Also noted in my preview, Bay and Kotsay come up big in the first with back to back singles.
8:43pm: Where in Wade Boggs’ name did all of these fans come from? The commentators are now trying to make up for the “technical difficulties” by doing an “instant replay” of the first inning… Thanks but I think your contract was just revoked.

8:49pm: 1-2-3 2nd inning for Beckett, I didn’t see the homer so I will call this a positive start for “Big Game Beckett”… wow, that’s way more catchy than the other one.

8:56pm: Big double by Papi down the first base line to the corner. Pedroia to third, Shields is throwing a lot of pitches low for balls. RBI for YOOK(!), he’s out on a fielder’s choice. 2-1 Sox.

9:03pm: Back to back walks by Shields with Papi on third. Still tossing balls low and has no place to put my homeboy Kotsay. Shields looks like a kid who just stole from the candy store, scared and ready to run,

9:05pm: OK, thanks for making that pick look bad. Did I say homeboy? I meant paperboy. Get me my Sunday… Sportsomedy, paperboy! P.S. Shields has already thrown 68 pitches. Time to warm up that already spent bullpen?

9:20pm: Beckett gives up one walk after hitting Bartlett in the arm and no hits, including a bouncing ball back to him from the bat of BJ Upton.

9:21pm: PLEASE, between the “technical difficulties” and the commercials of that fat guy impersonating people, I want to hurt myself. I think he is pushing it a bit these days, some of his impersonations leave me wondering who he is trying to be.

9:23pm: To add to the weirdness of this game, home plate umpire Darrel Cousins is coming out of the game to seek medical attention after being hit by a ball to the clavicle (I had a male nursing major [whom shale remain nameless] as a roommate in college) in the top of the 3rd inning.
9:31pm; Craig Sager wears the ugliest suits of all time. Who is his tailor and is it the same guy who told the naked Emperor that his clothes were made of the “finest linens”?

9:37pm: After a 14 minute delay, we are back to baseball. We will see how this effects the pitchers.
9:45pm: Shields seemed to come off of the delay positively. Doesn’t hurt that he also pitched game 1 in which the new umpire also was active behind the plate, so he has a good idea of what he is looking for in the strike zone.
9:49pm: Scroll across the bottom of the screen states that once again free Tacos will be available to America for the first stolen base of the World Series. It is meant to be for the Sox, no one else’s name fits like Jacoby (Tacoby Bellsbury - genius).

9:57pm: End of the 4th, Beckett gave up a hit and a stolen base to Crawford but The Paperboy, Mark Kotsay, made a great pick up and shuffle to Beckett at first to get the last out (the ever-useless Cliff Floyd). He may be the best outfielder to play first base on a daily basis that I may have ever seen. I just decided that is Kotsay’s new nickname, you can tell friends that he is called that because “he delivers” but we know the truth.
10:03pm: Double by JD over the head of Gross, further proving that Gross is the worst right fielder of all time. Or maybe it is only when JD is up? Bay flies out, onto the bottom of the inning with Shields only a few pitches from the 100 mark.

10:08pm: Lots of talk about Beckett starting to show his injury. Okajima is up in the ‘Pen. Dionner Navarro singles, Ben Zobrist will come in for the barrel-dwelling Gabe Gross, I didn’t see that coming, I swear.

10:13pm: Navarro thrown out trying to steal second. We fat men should never bother trying to steal anything if it doesn’t involve food (i.e. see 9:49pm).
10:14pm: Jason Bartlett, of all people, ties the game with a solo-shot. Too bad Navarro wasn’t still there huh? That’s only his second home run ALL YEAR.
10:17pm: How much gum can one manager chew? Tito’s going to hurt himself. Inning over, Beckett is most likely done for the night. I would have to say he came up and pitched better than most people expected today. We had to hope he would have gone deeper, but hey, had he done that, my pre-game article would have had a flaw.

10:25pm: Dinger by the ever-struggling Jason Varitek to put the Sox up. Follow up by Coco Crisp’s 3rd hit of the night and ending Shield’s night and bringing in J.P. Howell. I have been waiting to see how Thursday night’s game will effect this bullpen all day, let’s find out (said in the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial’s owl voice).

10:31pm: Stat shows 5 errors in the last 3 games for TB… Wow. Oh yea, that was preceded by a Bartlett mis-throw to Pena at first to keep a 2 out inning alive. Bringing up Papi.

10:33pm: Papi comes up big with a 2 out (surprise surprise) single to bring in Coco and go up 4-2.
10:40pm: We were right; Okajima will come in to start the 6th inning with a 4-2 lead. And the TB fans have officially executed the first full name chant I have ever heard “BJ UPTON… clap clap clapclapclap… BJ UPTON”… what is that?! Thankfully he grounded out quickly, let’s see what else these newly acquired, quick-witted fans can come up with.
10:50pm: Oki escapes the 6th without any real threats. Longoria walked but it ended there.
10:55pm: The Paperboy (c’mon, you like it) moves Jason Bay to second on a fielder’s choice after Bay was hit on the leg. Howell will come out of the game calling Balfour to the mound. Apparently, they want to use everyone that the Sox roughed up just 2 nights ago.

11:06pm If you are wondering, Balfour walked his first batter but popped out Tek to end the Sox at bat.

11:15pm: 7th inning over. Oki got through two with no issues what-so-ever. Sox still have a 4-2 advantage but the numbers on the board that strike me the most are 10 hits for the Sox and only 4 for the Rays. I think this Rays team is deflated after a tough loss Thursday and not being able to get ahead in this game.

11:20pm: Balfour gives up a lead off walk to Coco bringing in Chad (Knuckle Dragford) Bradford.
11:27pm: Double play ball hit by Youk(!) to bring us to the bottom of the 8th. In a direct attempt to sound like a national commentator, “This is when a team wins or loses” (HAH!)

11:30pm: Masterson will start the 8th inning. This kind of pressure is just cruel to this young player who played at the minor league level as a starter for half of the year, then started 9 games for the Red Sox before being converted to a reliever.

11:32pm: Bartlett gets plunked in the exact same questionable place as where Beckett hit him. He hasn’t been shown but I have to believe Papelbon is warming up and almost ready to come in.

11:33pm: There’s Pap, almost warm.

11:37pm: Is there anything scarier than seeing the combo of Upton/Pena/Longoria coming up when you are a pre-rookie in a win or go home game with a man on base and up by 2?

No.

11:40pm: 2 of 3 down, both on pop flies, 8th inning over. one more inning to go and we are headed to a decisive game 7 and the biggest plague of media of all time to hit us all day on the Lord (Brett of Farve)’s Day.
11:46pm: Bradford got 2 quick outs, Trever Miller comes in and gets The Paperboy out with one pitch. Bring in THE PAP!

11:52pm: Longoria grounds out to Lowrie. 1 out.

11:55pm: Crawford strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

11:56pm: Aybar lines out to third, SOX WIN!

As promised, this was a great game. The use of Beckett and the bullpen was nearly what I expected and the offense produced the way they needed to in order to make this happen. Matt Garza deserves everything he has coming to him tomorrow evening.

Lester will take the mound tomorrow night and I think we all know who the favorite will be in that game.

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Crack, first runner on base… BAM, 2-0… just like that. The Boston Red Sox and their Japanese ALCS game 5 starter were going down quickly as they had each of the games previous to this one. Fast forward through the usual Upton/Pena/Longoria shots out of the park and you have yourself a 7-0 ball game coming into the 7th inning.
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Things looked bleak for the almighty Red Sox, the favored team even though the Rays have outplayed them all year. I had gone through all of the stages of DABDA, known to most as GRIEF.
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-          Denial: This wasn’t happening. The Boston Red Sox do not get outscored in a game, let alone a series by a 36-13 margin and counting.
-          Anger: What in the name of Bill Buckner (its ok, you can say it now) do we need to do to win, we have All-star caliber players from 1-9 and all over the starting 5.
-          Bargaining: It’s ok. If we lose tonight, we get a couple spots ahead in the draft, and now we can make the moves we need and Papi and Lowell can get healed up in the offseason, all will be good.
-          Depression: This is the point when I said “I just don’t care” and played first person shooter games with the sounds of the game behind me. I couldn’t watch the beating anymore.
-          Acceptance: I work in a job where I speak to people nationwide on a daily basis. I make fn of them because we have the Sox, Pats, and C’s and they have the 76ers, Lakers, and any other team our teams make look silly. So, I started coming up with exaggerated things to respond to the harassment with. It started with “There’s no explanation for it”, “That game was ugly”, “At least its over, I couldn’t watch anymore anyways”. After the 7th inning when Papi blasted a 3 run homer to right, it was “At least they made it exciting in the end there” and “But how about that Papi!”.
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The rest is history.
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In the 7th inning, the Red Sox started a comeback that even the signs at Fenway couldn’t predict. Many people knew the Red Sox could pull of 3-1 deficits in their sleep, but 7-0… that’s almost unheard of in a clinching ALCS game.
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With the Little Scooter Who Could (DP, Pedroia the Destroya, whatever you prefer to embellish his 5’9” frame with) getting a clutch single with 2 outs, the feeling of the “Old Fenway” was back. The magic was back. Up walked Big Papi, David Ortiz, with the fans (the ones who didn’t leave in the 6th inning… when did THAT start?) rocking Fenway so hard that you couldn’t even hear the bass of his walk up music. Out rang the chants, “PA-PI! PA-PI!” and for the first time all post-season he had that “I’m gonna make love to that ball” look in his eye. A couple of spits in the glove later, we had ourselves a 7-4 ballgame.
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That moment was followed up by masterful relief pitching and more run production by JD (where YOU been since June) Drew and CoCo (the greatest name in baseball) Crisp. Leaving a tied score of 7-7 going into the 9th inning.
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Pushed by the fact that the announcers throughout the game and forgone the idea that the Sox could come back, it all seemed surreal.  Constant statements like “Barring a miracle” were made and numerous shots of Theo Epstein in the box were shown while they commented “What does he have to do to get (a 95 win team) to be more successful?”
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With a sailing single over Gabe Gross’ head in the 9th inning by JD Drew, the Sox had won it. Whether you are a Bostonian, Tampa Bayan,  Hawaiian, or Buddhist, that game felt good. And everyone knows that the feared Sox were put right back where they needed to be mentally, in the driver’s seat. Coming back from 7-0 will hurt the losing team and give tremendous momentum to the winning team.
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Let’s hope they can pull the comeback. Boston’s livelihood depends on it, we haven’t won a championship since June (Thank you C’s).
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About the writer: If you couldn’t tell, I am a diehard Boston fan and my comments and diatribes are completely unbiased.

Well now I don’t know what to think.

In a game the Red Sox were all but certain to win, Jon Lester finally crumbled under the weight of his own emerging greatness, and Matt Garza submitted a phenomenal start that can only be described as “I want to punch that guy for not doing that all year while he was on my fantasy team.”

Now the Tampa Bay Rays have changed the dynamic of this series. Instead of the Red Sox having a decisive 2-1 advantage with known Ray-Hunter Tim Wakefield toeing the rubber tonight, they are on the upside of that score, with Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Sonnanstine going for them, who has not given up a run to the Red Sox in his past two starts, giving up only 7 hits and striking out 12 in 13 innings.

How things can change from one game. This was the one game the Red Sox absolutely had to win in order to put the series comfortably in their passenger seat for their leisure cruise to the World Series. Now, this series projects to be a dog-fight, slug-fest, pitchers-duel on a night-by-night basis to the bitter, bitter end. And, it will be bitter.

Now, after tonight’s drubbing at the hands of Mr. Sonnanstine (It was him, in fact, that showed up, and not his evil alter-ego), the Red Sox stand one defeat from spending the winter in frigid defeat.

What makes this series tough to stomach is the sudden uprising of this Rays team.  If they had, say, had a great season this year, either winning the division or just the Wild Card entry to the playoffs, then lost in the first round, it would have been a great season.  Then, next year, they could have won the World Series and at least you wouldn’t have felt so bad about it.  Now, all we’re stuck with is this paralyzed feeling of anger and fear that this may be the end of the Red Sox mini-dynasty.

Last season, when the Red Sox came back from a 3-1 deficit, Josh Beckett was at the top of his game (and when he’s healthy, there is no one better in the playoffs), and the Sox still had incredible luck with player health.  In their current situation, we have our Gold Glove (and possible MVP) Kevin Youkilis playing out of position, valuable #5 hitter and stellar defender Mike Lowell in the hot tub with a defective hip, and newcomer Mark Kotsay playing first base every game for some reason.  Josh Beckett is hurt and completely ineffective, and for some reason Tim Wakefield has lost his mantra against the boys from Tampa.  That all adds up to one glorious American League Pennant for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ouch.

At the very best now, the Red Sox will be heading back to Tampa down three games to two, and facing both Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza with a stadium full of body-painted bandwagon fans that scream at inappropriate times and, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion, they don’t understand the game of baseball at all to boot.  I wish you the best of luck, my favorite team.  You’ve done great getting out of the holes you’ve dug for yourselves in recent playoff series, let’s hope you’ve got another one left in you.

Starters:

Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. James Shields

I fully intend on giving Shields the edge here, despite knowing full well that Daisuke will pitch 7 shutout innings, walking 10 and striking out 8. He’ll probably get the win, Shields will pitch masterfully with the exception of one wayward fastball directly into Coco Crisp’s eye, the Sox will take game 1 and Hank Steinbrenner will throw a chair through the window.

Slight Edge: Rays

Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir

Scott Kazmir had a very respectable season, going 12-8 with an ERA of 3.49 with 166 strikeouts in 152.1 innings. In his only postseason start, he pitched into the sixth inning, giving up two earned runs, striking out four and picking up the win. Better than Josh Beckett’s start, in which he gave up 4 earned runs in just five innings, serving up two home runs and walking 4. However, is there any living pitcher you can place above Josh Beckett starting a playoff game in the Majors right now? If Josh Beckett is healthy (and that’s a bigger ‘if’ than I want to admit right now), and his arm doesn’t fall off by the 7th inning, there is simply no one any team wants pitching for them in a big game more than #19.

Edge: Red Sox

Jon Lester vs. Matt Garza

No one in Major League Baseball is pitching as effectively and efficiently as Jon Lester currently is. Although Garza had a very decent regular season and has a world of talent at his disposal, including a scary “What’s he talking to himself about? This guy could throw the next pitch at my head for no reason” mound presence, he should be no match for Jon Lester. He has taken over Josh Beckett’s role from last season’s World Series run, and it doesn’t appear he can be out-dueled by anyone at the moment.

Edge: Red Sox

Closers:

Jonathan Papelbon vs. Dan Wheeler

Because of proven postseason Wizard of Closing closer Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler will be taking the reigns in the ninth for the Rays. Since the only closer who performed statistically better than Pap this season was Mariano Rivera, and given his postseason dominance over the last few seasons, there is not much of a comparison here. Wheeler has filled in admirably when asked to close for Tampa, but that only makes this match-up “Admirable” vs. “Indomitable.”

Edge: Red Sox

Bullpen:

With the way Manny Delcarmen has pitched this postseason, in addition to Justin Masterson’s nearly unhittable sinker and setup man extrodinaire Hideki Okajima, one would think Boston has every advantage in the bullpen. However, a big part of Tampa’s success has come because of the fantastic job done by the guys in the ‘pen. Grant Balfour is averaging about ten strikeouts per inning, and J.P. Howell and David Price are both solid options for the Rays as well. Since Boston’s bullpen guys, with the exception of Papelbon, mostly pitch to contact, I’m going to have to give a slight edge to Tampa Bay’s guys for their remarkable strikeout rates.

Slight Edge: Rays

1B:

Kevin Youkilis vs. Carlos Pena

Traditionally, I suppose you want someone like Pena at first: A pure power hitter with no other tangible qualities, but Youk’s got it all over this guy. From defense, average, nearly comparable power and more speed resulting in more runs…

Edge: Red Sox

2B:

Dustin Pedroia vs. Akinori Iwamura

This is really asking for it, since Akinori has become a lethal Sox opponent lately, but the presumptive league MVP vs. Iwamura Yeeaaahhh…

Edge: Red Sox

3B:

Mike Lowell vs. Evan Longoria

It doesn’t help Lowell’s cause that he’s been put on ice for an excessive amount of time lately due to his nagging hip injury. However, even at full health, the reigning World Series MVP can’t compete with the Florida Phenom.

Edge: Rays

SS:

Jed Lowrie vs. Jason Bartlett

Jed Lowrie hit .364 in the first round of the playoffs despite being inexplicably benched for Alex Cora for one game. Jason Bartlett is a great defender and fairly speedy, but is not a threat offensively. Lowrie won’t be taking any bases without paying for them, but he plays very good defense and has risen to the moment at the plate. He is another example of an incredible group of young talent the Red Sox organization has collected over the last few years. If you think of all the young, homegrown guys the Sox have, excelling in playoff situations now, it’s mind-blowing: Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jed Lowrie and Jacoby Ellsbury. That’s a heck of a collection, and no offense to Mr. Bartlett, but it’s hard to compete with too.

Edge: Red Sox

Catcher:

Jason Varitek vs. Dioner Navarro

Experience and game-calling vs. hitting for average. Dioner Navarro is a very decent hitting catcher, but he’s up against a man who has caught more no-hitters than anyone in more than 100 years of professional baseball. In addition, ‘Tek always seems to come up with a big hit in a clutch situation just when you think he’s the worst possible hitter to have at that moment. Unfortunately, usually you’re thinking that because he’s looked terrible striking out swinging at a curveball at his shoelaces in the previous three at-bats. Navarro’s hitting and ‘Tek’s clutch-ness cancel each other out, so this match-up comes down to intangibles. And in this field, there is no comparison.

Slight Edge: Red Sox

LF:

Jason Bay vs. Carl Crawford

Taking for granted this comparison is dealing with this season and this season only, including the postseason, you’d have to give the advantage to Bay, right? Here’s a quick look at their stats…

Crawford (Reg. Season) 69R, 8HR, 57RBI, 25SB, .273

Crawford (Post Season) 2R, 0HR, 2RBI, 3SB, .214

Bay (Reg. Season) 111R, 31HR, 101RBI, 10SB, .286

Bay (Post Season) 3R, 2HR, 5RBI, .412

I’ve always been a huge Carl Crawford fan, but this was his worst statistical season, due in large part to an injury that sidelined him for nearly 50 games. And yes, I know the Sox have most of the advantages so far, but stop me when I become biased…

Edge: Red Sox

CF:

Jacoby Ellsbury vs. B.J. Upton

These comparisons get tough in the outfield. Crawford and Upton are the big fantasy names for the Rays, but position by position, they don’t stack up like one would think.

Upton (Reg. Season) 85R, 9HR, 67RBI, 44SB, .273, and 487,113 livid fantasy owners
Upton (Post Season) 5R, 3HR, 4RBI, 0SB, .278
Ellsbury (Reg. Season) 98R, 9HR, 47RBI, 50SB, .280

Ellsbury (Post Season) 2R, 0HR, 6RBI, 3SB, .333

Although Upton’s started off better in these playoffs, Ellsbury’s done well for himself too, and has a history of coming up huge under pressure. This is truly a toss-up, and maybe the only one between the two teams.

Edge: None

RF:

J.D. Drew vs. Rocco Baldelli

J.D. Drew was on quite a roll this year before injuries derailed his terrific season.  Rocco Baldelli had a promising career before injuries stopped him.  So, basically, be whomever makes it through this series without breaking, tearing, separating or spraining anything, or spontaneously combusting, will win the day.
Edge: Slight Red Sox

DH:

David Ortiz vs. Cliff Floyd/Willy Aybar/Gabe Gross

I’m not going to dignify this with analysis.

Edge: Red Sox

Coach:

Terry Francona vs. Joe Maddon

In the spirit of Joe Biden’s performance in the Vice Presidential Debate:  “I LOVE JOE MADDON!”  He is a great coach, the perfect fit for this Rays team and should be strongly considered for Coach of the Year.  However, you can’t duplicate the crash course in playoff experience Tito Francona’s gotten in the last few years.  Also, he’s probably the best coach in the Majors to begin with.Edge: Red Sox

Official Sportsomedy Prediction: Red Sox 4-2, MVP Dustin Pedroia

This will start three consecutive days of colums, including a quick ALDS Wrap-up… An ALCS Preview, with sprinkles of NLCS, but really, who cares about that 7 game slugfest anyway? Then my weekly picks column… In which I will guarantee another 11 win week. No doubt. Onward!

I said this will be brief, so I will make five important points about this series.

1. This wasn’t a good series. Boston turned out to be a far better team than Los Angeles, better prepared and exponentially better coached. Despite staff ace John Lackey stating they were a much better team than Boston, he was out-pitched twice by Boston’s number 3 starter Jon Lester. Despite Torii Hunter claiming the Angels were better, he was the only one of the Angels batters who tried a little harder to concentrate when runners were on base. You can claim your team was better because you won more games during the regular season, but when you replace Texas, Oakland and Seattle’s 215 wins with Tampa Bay, New York and Toronto’s 272 wins, it seems misleading, right? Better teams don’t always win in football. Playoffs are played in one game matchups where any amount of luck or weather conditions may affect the outcome of the game. In a 5 or a 7 game series? Doesn’t happen. Super Bowl? Better team lost. ALDS? Better team won. And they’ll always win.
2. It seems to me someone predicted this fatal flaw in the Los Angeles Angels quite a few months ago. Something about their offense not being good enough as a whole, and containing far too many players that choke away all the most important moments in important games. Garrett Anderson ring any bells? All we heard all season was how he was rejuvenated this season because of Torii Hunter being in the lineup, Vladdy being his usual self and Howie Kendrick healthy again, despite my warnings to the contrary. The playoffs come and what happens? .158, 0 HR, 0 RBI and 1 run scored. If your pitcher puts that line up during a 7 game series, it’s disappointing. Never mind the Angels #2 hitter.
3. Every playoff series should have an MVP, and this series MVP should be Jon Lester. Seriously, everyone loves awards and guys getting them for every single accomplishment, so why not award an MVP award for every round of the playoffs? If these guys get to celebrate by spraying each other with 317 bottles of champagne after every series clinching victory, the fans should be entitled to an MVP award. In two starts, Jon Lester demonstrated Koufaxian dominance over the angels, posting a 0.0 ERA in 14 innings with 11 strikeouts to only 3 walks. If not for a blown lead by the bullpen in game 4, both of these would have also been victories. When you are almost solely responsible for two victories when only three are needed to win a series? Yeah, that’s a no-brainer.
4. BWP: Biggest Waste of a Player. To the player most directly responsible for his teams failure. Think it’s Garrett Anderson because he’s useless? That’s tough. We have five members of the Angels pitching staff who could deserve it, Scot Shields for giving up the winning run in the clinching game with a deplorable and unchanging series of curveballs in the ninth inning. There’s Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, who, staying consistent with his nickname, struck out nearly a batter per inning in the postseason (granted this was only 2.1 innings), but posted a 7.71 ERA and absorbed one of three losses. Any one of the three Angels starters could take this award, with Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders each going home for the offseason with a playoff ERA over 7. Also there is John Lackey, who pitched admirably, but evilly stared down his teammates during his starts and whined to anyone who would listen about how, despite getting out-pitched fair and square, the better team did not win. There was Vladimir Guerrero’s atrocious baserunning gaff in which he got thrown out trying to run from first to third looking like Forrest Gump in his full set of leg braces, or misplaying a Jacoby Ellsbury line drive into a game-changing triple. However, given my prediction earlier in the year, and such a devastatingly bad performance by the #2 hitter for a team that won 100 games this season, my choice is Garrett Anderson. Thanks for playing.
5. One last point - The Devil Rays need to fear the wrath of Dustin Pedroia.  The presumptive American League MVP was hitting line drives in nearly every direction during the ALDS that seemed to land harmlessly in someone’s glove or right in front of an infielder as if he had planned it this way.  This is precisely the type of hitting that happens right before a good hitter explodes with one of those 9 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI .512 type of weeks.  If I were Scott Kazmir, James Shields or Matt Garza, I’d think twice before throwing a hittable pitch to this guy with anyone on base.  Also… Seriously… Stop saying the better team didn’t win… they did.

It took me four weeks, but I finally gained ground on my insanely gifted girlfriend. Although still below .500 for the week, my 6-7 was good enough when Leah Vegaskiller posted a 5-8.

Here are some reasons for the odd week:

• Home teams went only 7-6 against the spread.
• 4 underdogs won outright, including the only double-digit dog, Washington.
• Traditionally, the safest bet is a home underdog. However, these teams went just 2-2 this week

However, one of the home-dog losers in that group was St. Louis, so that doesn’t count. I’ve decided to pick St. Louis’ opponent, no matter the team or the spread. With a wax paper offensive line, Trent Green one blind-side safety blitz away from concussion number 34 and joining Ted Johnson in donating their damaged brains to science, as well as an unhappy superstar who was encouraged in running his mouth with Scott Linehan’s firing, this is a team headed for the first 0-16 season in history. Possibly even more humiliating is the very real prospect of going 0-16 against the spread.

The team can’t stop anyone from running, passing, kicking, or hitting on their girlfriends when they go to get them a drink from the bar. Until they complete their world-class tank job this year and use their first overall pick on an offensive lineman who can benchpress a forklift, the Rams will continue to lose by an average of 26 points, and suck at an astronomical pace seen only a handful of times in the history of the NFL.

Besides the Rams, all this adds up to absolutely nothing. It is a system with absolutely no rules. It seems all one needs to do to be successful in picking games against a spread is go with home team dogs, go against whichever bet seems the most like a sure thing, and never, ever, under any circumstances select a team whose home games are played in St. Louis. Ever. I’m serious.

Just a few things on my mind:

1. The Red Sox are going to win the World Series again. I came to this realization exactly five minutes ago, when J.D. Drew launched a two-run home run into the center field bleachers in the 9th inning off of Francisco Rodriguez. They simply have too many talented, tested players on their team to be taken down by the likes of the Crapatarian Angels or the kids from Tampa Bay. There are too many great pitchers (Papelbon, Okajima, Beckett and the suddenly indomitable Jon Lester), and clutch performers (Ortiz, Drew, Pedroia, Ellsbury and “finally I get to prove how great I can be” Jason Bay).
2. I should probably explain that Crapatarian means that the Angels fed on the awful teams in the American League West division and their record was absurdly inflated because of this. God I hate explaining jokes. Isn’t it less funny now?
3. Poor Milwaukee. If only the Brewers could have C.C. Sabathia, on loan for just the last couple of months of this season, pitch every single post season inning, they’d have a great shot. The fact he had his only bad game on his fourth consecutive start on three days rest is truly sad. Not only because he tried so hard for his team and ultimately failed them, but because no one else on that team can pitch worth a damn. When you’re pitching one guy every other day because you don’t trust a single guy on your staff to get outs, you don’t deserve to be there anyway. I never thought I’d say this about a potential free agent, but Sabathia deserves every dime that the Yankees are willing to shell out to the big fella.
4. The Dodgers are a very popular pick right now to come out of the National League, but I personally don’t see it. With Derek Lowe as your ace, you’re not winning any 7 game series. Secondly, although I love Chad Billingsley for his ridiculous strikeout totals in fantasy sports, he may be the only pitcher on Earth who can strikeout a batter and give up a run in every inning he pitches. Even with Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin catching fire at the right time, all it takes in the playoffs is to run into a 1-2 combination of Cole Hamels and whomever else, and your time is up. An lineup which has Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino just may be too much for anyone to handle in the National League.
5. As if it weren’t insulting enough that I’m getting my ass handed to me by my girlfriend in the football picks, she recently just beat me in the championship matchup in our head-to-head, 12 team fantasy baseball league. There are a few things I’m making very real in my head because of this:
1. It helps to know less. If I have David Wright going against Cole Hamels, and Mike Lowell going against some hack, I’ll think nothing of putting in Mike Lowell because of the favorable matchup. Next thing you know, Wright’s gone 4-4 with a home run and two stolen bases, and Mike Lowell left the game in the second inning with a sore hip. Leah doesn’t have this problem. She keeps her best players in the lineup, and doesn’t mess with her success.
2. During the draft, when people start to reach a few spots down to players they’ve studied and were projected to have monster years, Leah cleans up the players who have slipped. With the 10th and 15th pick to start off the draft, she somehow ended up with Jimmy Rollins and Prince Fielder. Granted, both of these players had off years, but it is ridiculous that she picked up two players of such dynamic qualities that late in the order. She also managed to get Carlos Beltran and C.C. Sabathia long after they should have been drafted. While we were all pretending to be smart, she sat back and reaped the benefits of a league full of know-it-alls without a clue in the world.
3. Just two more points. One, she always checks her team twice a week to make sure she never misses a start, and never leaves someone on her roster on the DL, or who is in a major slump. You’d be surprised how many managers are done in by a lack of commitment to checking their lineups more than once a week. Then, their Thursday, Friday, and weekend starts all contribute to their useless bench statistics.
4. And second, she bases all her decisions on who the better team or player is. Her rationale is that if she has heard of the player or team (team as in the football picks), they must be good. Think it’s simple? Well when your Y! fantasy ranking is as high as hers, you can come up with your own philosophies too. I’m going to go cry now.
6. On with the picks…

Houston is in danger of reaching entering St. Louis territory, in which I will pick against them for any and every reason. They are 2nd from the bottom in the NFL in points allowed, and 8th from the bottom in points scored. They will get their first win of the season this week in order to avoid this catastrophe. And if you believe that, I’ve got some other great products to sell you as well.

Pick: Texans

Atlanta (+3) at Green Bay

It appears I was onto something with my comments about Matt Ryan and Michael Turner being on/off/on again/off again, despite the fact I did not listen to myself. This week, I’m listening to myself. Or is it, I’m not listening to myself? Oh man, who cares…

Pick: Packers

San Diego (-6 1/2) at Miami

Miami has virtually everything going for them in this game: Home underdog status, coming off a bye, and Norv Turner coaching the guys on the other side of the field. Miami is a great running team and can manage the clock and play ball control football. Teams that can do this well are kryptonite to a schizophrenically talented team like the San Diego Chargers.

Pick: Dolphins

Seattle (+7) at New York Giants

Seattle has a great opportunity this Sunday to even out their record, as well as to hand New York their first defeat of the 2008 regular season. Besides the adrenaline rush that comes with playing the defending NFL champs, they get Bobby Engram back, their best receiver. If they use this chance to rally around their guy returning from an injury, they can take this game.

Pick: Seahawks

Washington (+6) at Philadelphia

Fresh off a stunning man-handling of the Dallas Cowboys last week, the ‘Skins are perfectly poised for a letdown this Sunday. Although Jason Campbell is looking more and more like a quarterback decent enough to build your franchise around, they will have to travel into Philadelphia this weekend dealing with a more hostile crowd and a more talented defensive backfield than they saw in their last game.

Pick: Eagles

Kansas City (+9 1/2) at Carolina

Kansas City looked much better under the care of an experienced quarterback in Damon Huard in their first win last week. Larry Johnson has finally started looking like a star running back again, and once the Chiefs start hitting Tony Gonzalez more frequently instead of keeping him back to block, they just may get their dynamic offense back. Since I have Tony G. on my fantasy auction team, I’m REALLY hoping Herm Edwards is looking at random sports blogs for coaching advice. And the strangest part about that joke is I’m not even sure it would surprise me if he was.

Pick: Chiefs

Tennessee (-3) at Baltimore

The NFL’s best defense against a rookie quarterback and limited offensive weapons? Yes please, I’ll take that road team.

Pick: Titans

Chicago (-3 1/2) at Detroit

This game has all the makings of a Detroit upset win. They’re coming off a bye, and Chicago’s best player in the defensive backfield, Charles Tillman, is questionable with a shoulder injury and is unlikely to play. Since Detroit’s strength is in the passing game, this would seem like a definite advantage. Chicago is coming off a tough win against Philadelphia, and now they have to travel to Detroit to play a very well rested team. That being said, Detroit will almost definitely find a way to blow this game four different ways per quarter.

Pick: Lions

Tampa Bay (+3) at Denver

Home cooking is just what the doctor ordered for Denver after getting embarrassed on the road by Kansas City. Tampa Bay will not be as fortunate against this squad.

Pick: Broncos

Buffalo (+1) at Arizona

Marshawn Lynch provided one of the more disappointing fantasy performances in recent history with his dud against a porous St. Louis defensive line. After most pundits predicted him to have at least 250 total yards and three touchdowns, his 57 yards rushing and only 24 receiving left a lot to be desired. And by that I mean he made everyone so angry that many people wrote letters of fantasy resignation to their Yahoo! league home pages.

Pick: Cardinals

New England (-3) at San Francisco

I have no idea what to think of this game. The Patriots couldn’t beat Miami at home, they’re coming off a bye, they’re on the road, and San Francisco is awful. I predict a 42-0 shutout, and I have no idea who is going to be on which side of that score.

Pick: Pats

Cincinnati (+17) at Dallas

Chad Johnson has promised that if he scores a touchdown in this game he will kiss the star in the middle of the Cowboy’s field. He better be kissing the asses of his fantasy owners that drafted him in the first couple of rounds. He is currently the 59th ranked fantasy wide receiver in my PPR fantasy football league.

Pick: Bengals

Pittsburgh (+4) at Jacksonville

This is exactly the type of game I can picture Tom Jackson screaming about on NFL Countdown talking about running the football and defense and how these two teams will end up in the AFC Championship game. Then, the game will turn into an aerial shootout for no reason. With Ben Roethlisberger still hurting, the advantage for this imaginary and highly unlikely scenario goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Pick: Jags

Minnesota (+3) at New Orleans

Drew Brees seems to be finding suitable alternatives to his favorite targets in Lance Moore and Robert Meachem with Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey out. In New Orleans, I trust Brees to keep his shootout style going and run up some points against a still suspect Minnesota pass defense.

Pick: Saints

Last Week:

Me: 6-7

LVK: 5-8

Season:

Me: 30-29

LVK: 33-26

Well, we’re a week into the final month of the season, and those who are making their respective cases for individual awards have started to separate themselves from the pack.  Barring any incredible surges in the last three weeks, the following players will have additional hardware to display on their mantle at the end of this season:

1.  Dustin Pedroia, AL MVP

Hometown pick you say?  Not so fast.  Dustin leads the majors by a wide margin in hits with 188.  He also leads the majors in runs scored with 108, and his .330 average is good for tops in the AL.  He has racked up 75 RBI hitting mainly in the 2-spot in the Red Sox lineup, adding 17 stolen bases for good measure.  Pedroia was moved into the cleanup spot in the Sox lineup in the past couple of weeks due to injuries to Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew and the loss of Manny Ramirez, and responded by producing consecutive 4 game hits as well as extended stretches of games in which he hit well over .500.  In case that wasn’t enough, he’s added spectacular defense at second base worthy of a Gold Glove.

His main offensive competition is in Josh Hamilton and Carlos Quentin.  Both have over 30 home runs and 100 RBI, and added 7 stolen bases.  However, both are hitting under .300, with Hamilton almost there, and Quentin bringing up the rear at .287.  Respectable, but a far cry from Pedroia’s accomplishment.  Dustin Pedroia’s stellar defense compared to Quentin’s and Hamilton’s good-but-not-great outfield defense and value to his own team give him the edge.  Plus, anyone who can produce those kind of numbers from that size uniform has to be worth baseball’s best individual award.

The other flavor-of-the-month competition for MVP is Francisco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Angels.  Many baseball experts have suggested he deserves a look for MVP as he approaches the single season saves record.  However, K-Rod’s remarkable season is not quite as MVP-worthy as it may seem.  Statistically speaking, he’s not even the second-best reliever in the AL this season.  Both Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera have five wins to his 2.  They have pitched nearly identical innings, but with ERA’s under 2 as opposed to his 2.43.  They also have WHIP’s under 1, as opposed to K-Rod’s 1.23.  All 3 relievers averaged more than 10K/9IP.  The fact that his team has played in closer games which resulted in more save opportunities isn’t enough to distinguish him as an MVP-worthy relief pitcher.

When all is said and done, the diminutive Dustin will become the first American League player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive seasons since Cal Ripken, Jr. did it in 1982 and 1983.

2.  Cliff Lee, AL Cy Young

This is the clearest choice in baseball at the moment.  His 20-2, 2.32 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 149K, 27BB, 2 SHO, 21 QS line is only even approached by Roy Halladay, who has gone 17-9 with a 2.69 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.  Only his higher strikeout numbers at 178 are clearly better than Lee, however.

Cliff Lee has been every American League batter’s worst nightmare this season.  The most astounding statistic?  In Cliff Lee’s 27 starts, he has walked precisely 27 batters.  No, it’s not a typo, I didn’t read the same number twice.  This guy has walked an average of exactly 1 batter in every start since April.  That’s not even fair.  His 20 wins account for 30% of his team’s wins, tops in the majors.

For a while, he had another competitor in Daisuke Matsuzaka, who started off with the same incredible win percentage.  However, once Daisuke started handing out free passes like he was opening a new club on Landsdowne Street, he quickly dropped out of contention.

Congratulations Cliff Lee, you are the American League Cy Young award winner for 2008.  Time to clear a spot on that mantle.

3.  David Wright, NL MVP

Sorry, Lance.  I really am.  Your 162 hits, 106 runs, 27 home runs, 94 RBI and 16 stolen bases did not slip under my radar.  Neither did your 74 extra base hits, tops in the majors.  However, your competition is fierce, and sadly it did not just come down to numbers.

Berkman, Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez and David Wright all have submitted exceptional seasons.  All of these players are somewhere in the vicinity of 100 runs scored and 25 home runs.  Pujols has the .361 average, Ramirez the 31 stolen bases, Berkman the average and extra base combo.  However, the only two players in this group who will likely reach the 100/30/100 benchmark are Wright and Berkman.  Although Berkman has the significant edge in average, is that enough to give the MVP to the best player in a team toiling in mediocrity in the National League?

David Wright, on the other hand, has led his team through injuries, inconsistency and coaching changes with his frighteningly steady production.  His 97/27/100/14/.291 line is not nearly as indicative of his five-tool contributions as just watching him play.  He is the true leader of the Mets, which was in desperate need of a leader after last year’s “I can’t believe this is happening” collapse.  If not for Wright, the Mets would be missing the playoffs again this year.  If not for Berkman, no one would even know what division the Astros were in.  The most valuable NL player this season?  David Wright.

4.  C.C. Sabathia, NL Cy Young

Although Tim Lincecum’s strikeout numbers (216, 10.21K/9), and Brandon Webb’s win total (19-6) are superior to Sabathia’s, no pitcher has been as dominant a force as the big Brew Crewer.  After a very shaky start for the pitiful Indians, Sabathia rebounded to the tune of a 2.82 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 208K and a shade under 1 strikeout per inning.  His 9 complete games and 5 shutouts are miles beyond his competition, and the large and in charge Sabathia hasn’t taken a loss in a game since June 5th.  For those keeping track at home, that’s three months of starts.

The last few Cy Young races especially have brought up the relevance of win totals, and most experts don’t seem to believe that they mean much of anything.  Because their run support and bullpen can alter their numbers so easily, to them it lessens the significance of this statistic.  I, however, in my infinite wisdom, disagree.  Of course.  Pitchers are competitors, and they compete in every start.  If they lose a game, that means they got outpitched.  It is as simple as that.  Whether it was because the other pitcher threw better, and his team wasn’t able to score, or his bullpen blew the game, the fact is that this particular pitcher got outpitched on this particular day.  If his bullpen was in the game, this means he got his pitch count too high by throwing too many balls, and couldn’t compete the whole game.  Whether they like it or not, their win total is always connected to their performance.  Always.

So, even though Sabathia’s win total isn’t as impressive as Webb’s (but more impressive than Lincecum’s), his overall numbers are so significantly better that I wouldn’t even consider Brandon Webb a serious threat to his inevitable title.  I smell a repeat.  After he was embarrassed in the playoffs last season by Josh Beckett, the guy he barely beat out for the Cy Young award, he certainly deserves this one far more than any other national league pitchers.  Let’s just hope he doesn’t disappear into fat air come playoff time.

Submitted for your approval, the guaranteed end-of-season awards for both leagues.  Sportsomedy guarantees it.

Sure, this entry is a long time coming, but I needed time to let some things sink in. Namely, the Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez!! For those people who love him, and those people who despise him, and the others who simply enjoyed his production but couldn’t care less about his personality, one thing is universally true: Manny Ramirez was the greatest free agent signing in the storied, 100+ year history of the Boston Red Sox. Smashing home runs of both frequency and distance that made many a Bostonian’s head spin. From 2003 to 2007, he, along with David “Big Papi” Ortiz formed arguably the most dreaded 3-4 combination since baseball started being played professionally in the 19th century. There was not a pitcher alive that didn’t fall asleep with them on their mind on the night before a start against Boston.

His antics earned him several thousand equally unique and equally accurate reputations. He has been a kid in a Hall of Famer’s body, a selfishly lazy clutz with a perfect swing, an incredibly hard-working professional who cared more about having fun than winning a game, and a goofball with an uncanny ability to make up for ridiculous errors with clutch 3-run home runs or bases clearing wall ball doubles.

However, problems started mounting this season when, after he finally embraced the “Manny being Manny” nickname/slogan, he warped it into “Manny being a Maniac.” What once presented as humorous quirks (disappearing into the Green Monster to relieve himself, holding his arms up for 10 seconds celebrating a home run, only to have the ball short-hop the wall resulting in him almost being thrown out at first base, etc.), turned into uncomfortable, inappropriate incidents such as pushing a senior citizen after not getting his way, insulting Sox ownership with uncalled-for “two faced” criticisms, and stating unequivocally that the Red Sox didn’t deserve a hitter like him.

That’s not the Manny we’ve come to accept, and many of us to love. Jerry Remy, the Red Sox color commentator and biggest Manny Ramirez fan in the known universe, even said during the game following the trade that it was time for Manny to go. When the guy who has stuck up for you, explained your otherwise inexplicable mood swings to your fans and supported you since your first homer in your first at-bat in a Sox uniform at Fenway Park, says you’ve been too much of a pain in the collective butt of the Sox organization, it’s time to part ways.

So, despite losing a great hitter in Manny (inarguably one of the greatest hitters of all time), the Red Sox picked up a very good hitter in Jason Bay, still in his prime, instead of at the tail end of it, like Ramirez. They picked up exponentially better defense, another year at less money, and that ever-so-important but completely immeasurable chemistry that has allowed the Sox to catapult themselves into a strong Wild Card lead.

I, for one, will miss Manny. He broke up, shattered actually, the monotony of an endless summer of balls and strikes with inexplicable laughter, inexcusable errors and diving cutoffs of throws from the outfield and completely unexplainable petting of Julian Tavarez’s head. There was the attempted sale of his grill on E-Bay, which was banned by the online auction company after bids reached over $100 million. Then there was maybe the best “Manny” play of all time, when, in a game against the Orioles at Camden Yards, Kevin Millar smoked a ball to left field that seemed sure to sail over Manny’s head. Just then, to the shock and awe of the hundreds of thousands watching on TV and in person, Manny made a fantastic running, over-the-shoulder leaping catch, ran up the left field wall to stop his momentum, high-fiving a perfectly placed Red Sox fan in the first row. Then, once he was back on the ground, he whirled around to throw the ball back to the infield, which Dustin Pedroia relayed to Kevin Youkilis to double off an Aubrey Huff who fell asleep on the basepaths. Even watching the replays, one had trouble believing what had just happened.

He’s been our friend for many years. Like any friendship, we’ve had our ups and downs. He’s gotten too drunk at a party and hugged our girlfriends for 15 seconds too long. He’s said something inappropriate in front of an elderly member of our family, but he also came through for us as well. He’s held our hair back when we got sick, and he’s been a wingman when we needed to distract a potential hookup’s annoying friend. He’s been everything to us except an everyday, run-of-the-mill, boring baseball player. He’s been family. Often weird, sometimes cute, frequently frustrating, infinitely talented, occasionally infuriating, but always family.

So, the Sox organization finally said goodbye to a member of our family. A member who deservedly won a World Series MVP in 2004 (although one could argue very easily the credentials of Keith Foulke for the award). He was an integral part of perhaps the greatest thing to ever happen to Boston sports. And, in case you haven’t noticed, we take our sports pretty seriously. For 86 years, Boston pined for baseball glory; Manny and friends made it happen. One can argue how much his playful attitude and all-around goofiness helped unseat the straight-laced Yankees from their perch above the A.L. East, but to me, there is no argument.

In order for what was left of the Yankees dynasty to come crumbling down, the Red Sox needed to be everything New York wasn’t. In 2004, they were just that. Even down three games to none in the ALCS, they were determined, loose, and almost insanely confident. Considering coming back from 0-3 had never been done since the playoffs started being played, some would say this insane confidence warranted a diagnosis from a mental health professional. But, they perservered. On the strength of great pitching (including the best post-season performance of all time from Curt Schilling in Game 6), timely offense (including the greatest stolen base in the history of baseball, preceded by the greatest “I’m doing this whether you like it or not” smirk from Dave Roberts since Arnold Schwarzenegger strode through tear gas to disable 20 SWAT team agents in Terminator 2: Judgement Day), and clutch, game ending hits from David Ortiz which, let’s face it, he’s not getting even close to if he’s not hitting in front of Manny Ramirez.

Despite the fact it was absolutely the right move to make, that it was time for Manny to go, and what a good and potentially great hitter Boston got in return for this year and next, I’ll miss the guy. And, if you don’t think you will as a Sox fan, remember this column when you’re bored during a Sunday afternoon ame and there is nobody in the Boston dugout petting the head of a relief pitcher or conducting a silent, in-depth interview with himself for the dugout camera. Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to learn that Hall of Fame hitting + some intentional comedy + lots of unintentional comedy - hair cuts = Manny Ramirez, and that truly makes me jealous.

Thanks for all the memories, Manny, and I do mean all. The good, the bad, the ugly, the bizarre, the exciting, and the kind of joyous ones that only come from the 1st World Series championship for the most loyal fan base in sports in 86 years. Thank you, Manny Ramirez.

Not enough to write one article about, too much to just keep quiet… this is what I affectionately refer to as: Brain Vomit. On with the recent random thoughts…

Saw “The Dark Knight” on its opening weekend, and it has caused me to rethink my favorite superhero movies. It wasn’t quite enough to move Iron Man from the top spot, but boy, was it close. My revised list of the top 10 superhero movies is as follows:

1. Iron Man
2. Spider-Man 2
3. The Dark Knight
4. Spider-Man
5. Spider-Man 3
6. The Incredible Hulk
7. Superman II
8. Batman (Tim Burton Original)
9. X-Men
10. X-Men III

Aside from being a great movie with everything you could ask for (except possibly a little comedic relief [why Iron Man and Spider-Man 2 are still atop the list], and a female lead that is attractive enough for Bruce Wayne to be believably attracted to), it provided moviegoers with quite possibly the greatest movie villain of all time. Heath Ledger will get a ton of posthumous attention for this role because of untimely death, but it should be because he created a character with memorably terrifying looks and deranged dialogue. The Joker was completely devoid of any reason or motives for his crimes, yet had just enough human nature in him to chill you to the bone, thinking this could happen in real life. This also caused me to rethink the top movie villains of all time.

1. James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, Star Wars
2. Heath Ledger as The Joker, “The Dark Knight”
3. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, “Silence of the Lambs”
4. Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, “The Shining”
5. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, “Psycho”

Yeah, Darth Vader, then Heath’s Joker. That’s how good it was. Runners-up include Arnold’s Terminator and Jaws.

Josh Hamilton recently reached 100 RBIs in 99 games, making him the best fantasy sleeper in the history of internet-assisted fantasy baseball. Sure, there have been a plethora of 9th and 10th round superstars, but have any produced at the consistent, sky-high level that Hamilton has this season? Most sleepers have great half-seasons, or take over a starting job at some point during the season, but what this recovering drug and alcohol addict is doing all summer long is simply unprecedented. And the reason I’m praising him with such joy? I drafted him in nearly every league I participated in this year.

Speaking of fantasy sports, due to the paper-thin depth at shortstop, I recently picked up Nomar Garciaparra in a deeper league. I was honestly very happy to see this guy as relevant again. Since the wildly enjoyable “Nomah’s Bettah!” chants of the early 2000’s, we’ve had only Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo to pretend we’d rather have than Derek Jeter. Then, not a week after he contributed to a solid head-to-head win for me, he injured his knee during a game and hasn’t played since. This guy simply can’t catch a break. What a injury-ruined waste of pure hitting talent.

“Manny being Manny” has become “Manny being a Maniac” and the Red Sox should not exercise his option. $20 million for a 37-year-old 85, 25, 95, .290 hitter is approximately 5-7 million dollars too much. On the other hand, the Sox have pieces to trade, and Matt Holliday would look great in a Sox uniform patrolling left field for the next 5-6 years. Can anyone argue gainst a triple-crown threat hitting behind or in front of David Ortiz for the next few years? I thought not…

While we’re talking trades, Mark Teixeira needs to be removed from the Red Sox’s “To Trade For” list immediately. Besides being a frustratingly streaky hitter, he is not as good a fielder as Kevin Youkilis, and would force him to move to the outfield if acquired. Playing a position he’s not comfortable with weakens the outfield defense, and the infield defense by simply by his absence. And, also, um, has anyone he is a Scott Boras client and asking for approximately 78 billion dollars more than his performance merits? I’ve gotta hire this guy to get me a raise at my electrical sales job.

Fresh off being swept by L.A., then sweeping Seattle, the Red Sox came within a stellar Jon Lester outing of being swept by the hated Yankees in their own backyard. These are not the trends of a championship-caliber team. David Ortiz is a huge X-factor here, however. He adds a tremendous amount of run production, lineup protection (to batters before and after him), and improves team chemistry by 89.7% when he’s healthy and producing. Doubt that number? Look it up, it’s been proven. But, if Big Papi can’t return to “Don’t pitch to me under any circumstances” form soon, it may be the key subject in the 2008 Boston Red Sox obituary.

That seems to be all I can yell about for the moment. Thanks for joining me this, check back again later this week for the top ten fantasy football players to reach for, and top ten to avoid in 2008. Reporting live from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I’m Bobby Price.