A bust in the Bronx: Priciest Yankee Stadium seats unfilled
Posted by admin on 23 Apr 2009 | Tagged as: Sports
OK, I’ll admit it. I am a Red Sox fan, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see the Yankees miss the playoffs after spending a half a billion dollars in the off season. Poor sales of luxury boxes would just be icing on the cake.
Natinals
Posted by admin on 22 Apr 2009 | Tagged as: Musings, Sports
As if losing was not tough enough, take a look at the spelling on Ryan Zimmerman’s jersey.
Free Cone Day
Posted by admin on 22 Apr 2009 | Tagged as: Musings
There is a long standing Ben and Jerry’s tradition of giving out free ice cream one day a year. This is in keeping with their tradition of generosity to organizations about giving ice cream for communities (like churches and schools) ice cream for various events.
Google April Fools
Posted by admin on 01 Apr 2009 | Tagged as: Musings
Just in case you are getting a little bored, check out this web page about Google’s April Fools jokes.
From the Globe: Sox Should Back Bay
Posted by admin on 24 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
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RED SOX
Sox should back Bay
Email|Link|Comments (49)Posted by Tony Massarotti, Globe Staff February 24, 2009 11:27 AM
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Standing in the chilly morning shadows at the Red Sox’ spring training complex this morning, Jason Bay asked if he could move into the sunlight. Given that Bay is a man who spent virtually his entire major league career in Pittsburgh before coming to Boston at the July 31 trading deadline last season, maybe it is only fitting that he would just as soon stay out of the darkness in the long term, too.
“I’m comfortable here,’’ Bay said when asked about his time with the Sox he enters the final year of his contract. “No one likes to move around all the time. Especially if you get the chance to become a free agent, there are a handful of places that have a chance to win and Boston is on the short list.
“I guess if you’re asking me if I’d like to stay here, the answer on a lot of accounts would be yes,’’ Bay said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s ultimately going to happen.”
The story lines of this spring have long since been defined for the Red Sox, the majority of them built around key players returning from injury. Here is one equally as important: Bay’s long-term future with the team. Acquired last in the seismic deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bay batted .293 with nine home runs, 37 RBI and 39 runs scored in 49 games with the Red Sox. He had an .897 OPS, very much in line with his career number of .891.
Then, in his first career exposure to the postseason, Bay batted .341 with three home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored in 11 postseason games, fortifying the notion that he could blossom in a big market.
Suddenly, in the aftermath of an offseason highlighted by the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, Bay looks more important to the Red Sox than ever before. Along with Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, he is one of the only relatively sure things in the Boston lineup. The Red Sox were concerned enough about their offense that they were prepared to throw $170 million over eight years at Teixeira, which leads to an obvious question:
How much more concerned will they be if they lose Bay, too?
Now 30, Bay has averaged 29 home runs and 95 RBI over his first five full big league seasons. He is a good baserunner and solid defender. The group of upcoming free agent outfielders includes, among others, Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, Matt Holliday and Vladimir Guerrero, and it could be argued that each is a better pure hitter than Bay. But factoring in age, defense and mobility, there may not be a more desirable free agent outfielder on the market next November than the man who currently plays left field for the Red Sox.
As familiar as that may sound, don’t expect the dignified Bay to turn that into nearly the soap opera that his predecessor did.
“Until I have something [in the form of an offer] to consider, I’ve got a year left,” Bay said with regard to free agency. “I’m playing it and I’m happy.”
Here comes the proverbial $64,000 question:
Exactly what is Bay worth?
And for how long?
Over the winter, when asked about the prospect of signing Bay to a long-term deal, one baseball source indicated that the team was waiting to see how the market developed for hitters on the open market. Since that time, Pat Burrell (two years, $16 million), Milton Bradley (three years, $30 million), Adam Dunn (two years, $20 million), Raul Ibanez (three years, $31.5 million) and Bobby Abreu (one year, $5 million) all have signed. As it pertains to Bay, the first four of those deals are far more relevant than the fifth, meaning Bay’s value falls somewhere in the range of $10 million (at least) for a minimum of three seasons.
And in all probability, given Bay’s skill set and age compared to that group, he would warrant a longer deal for more guaranteed money.
For Bay, the frustrating part is that he might have received more money last fall had he negotiated with the red Sox upon being traded, but he said this morning that issue never came up.
“There were bigger things out there than me,’’ he said. “If it’s in their plans now and they want to discuss it, I’ll definitely listen.”
And as for the downturn in the market?
“That’s the position I’m in,” Bay said. “Regardless of the market or what’s going on, I can’t forgo free agency until the market gets better.”
Which means he has to use any and all leverage now.
In the end, will this deal get done? The chances seem good, since the fit is good for both player and team. During this offseason, the Red Sox already have secured Pedroia and Youkilis to long-term deals while adding depth to their pitching staff in the form of several low-risk, high-reward signings. The minor league system seems loaded with young pitching talent. Meanwhile, the Boston offense has more than its share of questions at this point, and Bay looks like one of only three sure things entering the 2009 campaign.
Of those three, for now, he is also the only one without security beyond this year.
From the Globe: Marbury buyout expected soon; C’s a front-runner to land him
Posted by admin on 24 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Sports
The Knicks and Stephon Marbury have reached agreement on a buyout of the guard’s contract and could announce the agreement as soon as today, according to an NBA source. After Marbury clears waivers and becomes a free agent, the Celtics are a front-runner to sign him, the source said. With a salary for this season over $20 milllion, Marbury is expected to clear waivers without a problem.
Marbury has expressed interest in joining the Celtics. An NBA source said the Celtics are strongly interested signing the two-time All-Star and will likely offer a contract to him to fill their final vacant roster spot once he becomes a free agent. Boston filled its 14th roster spot by signing forward-center Mikki Moore today.
Celtics president Danny Ainge said today that now with Moore signed, the team was focusing on signing a combo-guard or wing player.
From CNN: Dubin Thinks Burris Should Resign
Posted by admin on 24 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Politics
Sen. Dick Durbin
“I believe with what he faces, if I was in that position, I would resign,” Durbin said.
Durbin said Burris indicated he will not step down.
Durbin also said he would not support Burris if he runs for the seat in 2010.
From the Trib: Dick Durbin: Burris should resign
Posted by admin on 24 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Politics
Posted February 24, 2009 3:50 PM
by Mike Dorning and updated
Sen. Dick Durbin said today that he told Sen. Roland Burris that, if Durbin were in Burris’ shoes, he would resign.
But Burris, the junior and appointed senator from Illinois, told the senior senator from Illinois and No. 2 Democratic leader in the Senate that he would not resign, Durbin said.
“I told him that under the circumstances, I would resign,” Durbin told reporters after an hour-long meeting with Burris. “He said, ‘I’m not going to resign.’
“I can’t force him,” Durbin added.
Durbin said Burris refused to tell him whether or not he would run for election in 2010 Durbin said was “disappointed” in Burris’ conduct — in his failure to fully disclose dealings with the former governor who appointed him — and said he would not support Burris in any election bid. He said he would work with Burris as long as he remains in the Senate.
Durbin joins Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and others in suggesting the resignation of the senator appointed by the former and impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich after Burris acknowledged that he had tried to raise campaign money for the governor.
Burris (D-Ill.) left a 55-minute meeting with Durbin (D-Ill.), through a back door of Durbin’s office this afternoon.
Surrounded by reporters as he waited for an elevator and asked if he would resign or run for re-election in 2010, Burris said: “I’m under orders not to say anything.”
Asked whose orders, Burris responded that he was following his attorney’s instructions.
Burris had received a polite but not warm response as he returned to the Capitol today, with a phalanx of television cameras waiting for him outside his office.
Burris Returns
He spent most of the 15-minute vote standing by himself at a desk, apart from the throng of senators milling about in the well of the chamber catching up after the Senate’s one-week President’s Day break.
(It’s largely reporters who are paying the most attention to Sen. Roland Burris, above, returning to the Capitol. Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Durbin each shook Burris’ hand, and Reid had a conversation with Burris lasting several minutes on the Senate floor. The majority leader could be seen gesturing with his hands as if enumerating points with his fingers, but a Reid spokesman said the two only exchanged courtesies and did not have a “substantive” conversation.
A spokesman for Burris denied a report that Burris is ready to give up on seeking election in 2010 for the seat he holds by appointment.
“Sen. Burris has made no decision about whether he will run in 2010,” said James O’Connor, a spokesman for Burris. Durbin and Reid spokesmen said they had not heard anything from Burris’ office about running in 2010. Durbin and Burris scheduled a meeting for 2:30 pm EST with a press availability planned afterward.
Players Should Step Forward
Posted by admin on 09 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Sports
I am no A-Rod fan. (Though I might have been had the Red Sox been successful in acquiring him). But it does not seem to me to be fair to watch A-Rod take the heat for steroid use when others were certainly just as guilty. Other players should step forward, for the good of the game.
To be sure, the steroid era in baseball was wrong. Players should not have been taking them, and the “records” produced during that time should be viewed suspiciously. And, while they were not illegal, they should not have been taken.
If baseball is to move past the steroid era, than it must do everything it can to help people see that things are different. While the tests were confidential (and that should be respected), there is no penalty today for use then. It would be in the best interest of the game for players to come forward to admit their mistake, and promise not to do this again.
Failure for players to do this makes all other players suspect, even though the anonymous testing revealed only about 5 percent of players tested positive. For the sake of the 95 percent who tested negative, and the integrity of the game those players represent, players who tested positive should admit to it, and move on.
Baseball too must work to make sure this does not happen again. Tougher stands, such as a lifetime ban, would help take steroid use out of the game for many players. Moreover, it would send support to organizations like the Illinois High School Athletic Association, which began random testing of high school athletes, that steroid use at any level, to enhance athletic performance, is wrong.