There is NO fucking WAY I'm renaming my blog

Actually I am...
I am renaming my blog and moving to The Most Valuable Network www.MVN.com



Okay so here's the deal... I'm moving over to MVN.com sometime in the near future. So I've decided to have a little contest. There will be a prize (most likely cash money) for the winner of this contest I PROMISE.

In order to be considered you need the following...

Leave one dinger (comment) on this post with: Your Email, Suggestion for Blog Name.


Details...
If the blog name you suggested is chosen for my MVN blog I will send you the prize (most likely cash) to you!


The blog name HAS to be BOSTON RELATED!

Here are some suggestions:

Banks of the River Charles
Fenway Frank's Blog
Down by the Charles
Green line to Kenmore

NL West doing a last minute shuffle Thome to Dodgers and A letter to Brad Penny

Thome and Garland head to the Dodgers.



Thome is no longer a force in the American League. He had 23 HRS and 73 RBI's and an average below .250. This is what you should expect from Thome though, I wouldn't really say he's LOST all that much. He's not Albert Pujols, but he also hasn't been in the National League.

I think we're going to see a revitalized Thome joining the Dodgers with a legit World Series opportunity. I wouldn't be surprise to see Thome bomb 7 HR's in September and Early October. Look for Thome to be a large contributor to the Dodgers offense the next few months (if he gets the playing time).

Brad Penny signs with the San Francisco Giants



A letter to Brad Penny

I couldn't be more happy for an ex Red Sox player than I am for you, Brad. You're a solid starter on any team, now that you're in the National League I'll be looking for you to dominate the NL West. I'm really looking forward to seeing you pitch. Brad you have great stuff, you pretty much always have. I think you've learned a lot pitching in the American League for a few months. I expect you to be a key contributor to the already stacked SF Giants pitching staff.

By the way how good did it feel to see Junichi Tazawa get lit up the other day? Not "soo good, soo good, sooo good" on this end. I wish him the best wherever he is right now. I want to forwarn you that if we meet in October, I won't be cheering for you, but this doesn't mean we're not friends anymore... Remember.. this is a business.

Congrats Penny, I'm rooting for you in the NL this October.

P.S Thanks for not going to the Yankees. Good luck against the Dodgers.

Sincerely,

Diesel

Paul Byrd makes his first start for the 2009 Red Sox today

As if we haven't had enough of convicted steroid users, Paul Byrd will make his first start of 2009 this afternoon for the Boston Red Sox. As we all know this didn't fair too well for our other first time starters of 2009. We had old man Smoltz put on a Red Sox uniform and try to do his best impression of Curt Schilling, FAILED. We had Junichi Tazawa throw on the Red Sox uniform and do his best to put the Red Sox on his back and carry them into October, well he's in the GCL right now, FAILED. We had Michael Bowden come up for a guest appearance in the bullpen, well one inning and six runs later(something like that), FAILED.



So What makes the Red Sox think Paul Byrd is going to go out there and dominate the Jays like his counterpart has been dominating the league for 6 months? I have no idea. I don't believe they even remotely believe Byrd will make it through the third. My prediction is Byrd will give up 6 runs and won't make it through the third.



Here's what to expect from Paul Byrd (other than my 6 ER in 3 innings):



Byrd in his journeyman career is 2-2 against Toronto with a 4.86 Era over 33 innings.

At Fenway Park Byrd has an ERA of 6.29 in 24 innings.

Byrd has been known for a tough first inning so if Byrd gets through the first with no troubles we can probably expect a decent outing. If not... we might be seeing Nick Green tonight.

Yesterday I went 4-1. This brings my record to 30-16 (.652)

My picks for today...
There is no way the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays
There is no way the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees
There is no way the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers
There is no way the Oakland Athletics beat the L.A. Angels

8/29 I refuse to be wrong.

Todays picks:
There is no way the Yankees lose to the White Sox
There is no way the Cubs lose to the Mets
There is no way the Angels lose to the A's
There is no way the Rays lose to the Tigers

After yesterday (3-1) I am now 26-15 (.634)

Wild Card is too close

Megan Fox is back....

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Wild Card Race is on FIRE with the Rangers creeping up on the Red Sox. All the Sox need to do is WIN and they'll create space. I'd like to see a sweep of the Blue Jays if possible. If not 2 out of 3 will do.

I got nothing for you guys today sorry. Check the video its so good.

Yesterday was a great day, Nick Green is a nasty reliever, Tazawa sucks.

Unfortunately I went 2-2 which brings my record to a nauseating 23-14 (.608)

Todays picks are:

Red Sox over the Blue Jays
Dodgers over the Reds
Mariners over the Royals
Yankees over the White Sox

There is no WAY... Beckett gives up more than 4 runs tonight.

THE exception to the Steroid Era

Old news, David Ortiz came "clean" on being "dirty" a few weeks back. Since then things have been going fairly well. He now has 22 dingers and 77 RBI's a very nice line since he started out the season so terrible.

David Ortiz smoked 8 bombs since his announced "careless supplement" use. He's played in the most hostile of environments, New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Texas.

My big question here is: Why aren't fans booing Big Papi? The guy admitted to using steroids (kinda), but its assumed that he was. I mean the same thing happened with Alex Rodriguez and he can barely step into the box at Fenway the steroid chants are so loud. It appears to me that the Yankees fans and fans of baseball have dropped the ball on this one. If Yankees fans want to declare themselves the best fans in sports, you can't be whispering when David Ortiz comes to bat at Yankee Stadium. This is your time to shine.

Maybe you guys can take some pointers from the Fenway Faithful (see video 1)

Video 1:




Video 2: (keep in mind this is IN the balcony of Yankee Stadium so it might appear to be louder, the first video was ESPN mics which are typically quieter and pick up less crowd noise)



Also other than two days of Yankees fans knocking on Ortiz for "tainting world series" I think they kind of dropped the ball on the internet as well. I'm still shitting on A-roid for the things he did, why are the Yankees fans so quiet on the Ortiz front(it can't possibly be cause they secretly love him, could it?).. YANKEES FANS THIS WAS YOUR TIME TO SHINE!... YOU BLEW IT!

When is Alex Gonzalez good?

The Red Sox recently picked up Alex Gonzalez and I've heard a lot of scuffling from Reds fans. A few Reds fans told me, if you're expecting the same Alex Gonzalez you had in 2006, you're going to be extremely disapointed.

A-Gon's range has decreased substantially and his plate appearances have been awkward. So what did the Red Sox brass see in Alex Gonzalez? Allow me to ATTEMPT to break this down.

Alex Gonzalez IS clutch believe it or not. He is hitting .320 with runners in scoring position with 26 of his 29 RBI's coming with runners in scoring position. He's also batting .273 with 10 of his 29 rbi's with runners in scoring position and two out.

With a few games under his belt the Rogers Centre has been good to Alex Gonzalez. He's hitting .363 in 11 at bats (4 for 11). Against American League pitching Alex Gonzalez is hitting a solid .305 (18-59). Take away the Rangers and the Yankees from the AL, he's batting a remarkable .410. Fortunately for Alex Gonzalez he's only got three games left against Yankees pitching (not counting a possible playoff matchup). Compare these numbers to his numbers against National League pitching, where his average is just plain AWFUL (42-221) thats .190 for those who care.

I don't really want to get into Alex on the defensive side of things. His UZR/150 is lower than Nick Green's (4.0 to 4.9), Green has a stronger arm, etc. I still think Alex Gonzalez can be very valuable to the Sox. He's no ADRIAN Gonzalez, but he might be just what we need to win the Wild Card.




Last nights picks I went 3-3 bringing my season record to 17-11. (.607)

Todays picks are...

Rays will beat the Jays
Phillies will beat the Pirates
Braves over the Padres
Cubbies over the Nationals

Red Sox HATE... I mean.. pick up Billy Wagner

The Red Sox have come to terms with the Mets. The Red Sox trade two players to be named later for Billy Wagner.

To me this screams "ERIC GAGNE". You mention that name to Bostonians and be prepared for a hilarious response. Atleast this time we didn't give up too much for Wagner. Low risk, Low cost, potentially high reward.



"What has he done? Has he pitched this year?" Jonathan Papelbon told WEEI.com. "Is he ready to pitch or is he not? ... I think our bullpen is good where we're at right now. Don't get me wrong. But I guess you could always make it better. It's kind of like the Gagne thing, I guess."

Apparently Paps was thinking along the same lines as myself. Of course the Sox could win it all without Wagner. Bring him aboard? Ahh we'll see.

"We loved Gagne coming over here, just the stuff that he had, but it was an awkward situation this late in the season," Delcarmen told WEEI.com. "I think our bullpen is fine right now. It is what it is. If he comes and helps us win, that's what we want. But sometimes, shaking things up this late might work out different. We'll see what happens."

BTW why would Wagner ever waive his no trade clause to get into a situation like this. Papelbon retracted his statement and said "He would love to have Wagner aboard"... Which is a crock of shit if you ask me.

Either way .. I'm (NOT) excited to see Wagner take the mound in Fenway.

Hot Babes Riding a roller coaster... wow

This is the best... could you imagine being the lone boy on THIS ride.. i'd pay serious money for this..

New York Yankees 8/23 Live blog ( I hate Joe Morgan)

Okay so it's not really a live blog.
Right now I am listening to Joe Morgan, and oh my god I hate him.

He is saying how surprised he is about how Lou Gehrig has more hits than Derek Jeter. I can't believe his Yankee bias, Varitek doubles home the game tying run and Joe Morgan calmly says "oh Varitek pokes that one just by Teix". An inning prior Matsui hits a ball just over the right field fence and he celebrates like he's on the Yankees roster "MATSUI HITS ONE HIGH INTO THE NIGHTTTTT". Morgan you're by far the most biased color guy I've ever heard.

Jeter just got a base knock and I feel like he wants to lick the sweat off of Jeter's .... (use your imagination)....

Anyone else out there hate Joe Morgan more than me? I dont think so.

There is no way Joe Morgan sleeps with Jeter tonight.

Tex just doubled home the go-ahead run.

Meet your 1995 Boston Red Sox

As I was searching through some old statistics and rosters, I came across a team that triggered a ton of interest. I was thinking "Man, the team we had in 1995 was filled with interesting characters, I wonder if anyone feels the same way."

So what I've decided to do is break down the 1995 Boston Red Sox and by break down I just mean that I will introduce the top ten players of the 1995... and by top players I mean.. most memorable.

Todays player is Lee Tinsley.
In 1995 Lee Tinsley hit .284 with 7 HRs and 41 RBI's not too shabby.
Anyways I remember Lee Tinsley had a 15 game hitting streak that year and completed 14 consecutive steals (including 12 successful steals to end 1994). I remember him but do you ?

Thanks to www.pro-ball.com for the picture.



There is no fucking way the Red Sox beat the Yankees tonight
There is no fucking way Johnny Damon hits a homer off of Josh Beckett
There is no way San Diego beats St Louis.

8/21 Red Sox reveal secret weapon vs. Yankees

8/21 Red Sox have a secret weapon

Check out my latest post at www.firebrandal.com

As the AL Wild Card race heats up in Boston the Red Sox have reached into their bag of tricks. NESN has announced that Jerry Remy, who has been struggling mental and physically from a bout with lung cancer earlier this season, is well rested and ready to go part time in the booth.

Believe it or not this is a huge lift for the Red Sox, I’m sure it’ll be a huge emotional lift for Red Sox fans everywhere who have seemingly fell in love with the circus act that is Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. No offense to Dennis Eckersley, cause I love the man but Jerry is a legend.

The Sox lost Remy about May 7th and have held and lost their big lead in the division. Hanging on to a Wild Card spot is awfully tough when you have the Rays and the Rangers breathing down your back. One thing I must say is that the Red Sox can’t look back, look towards the Yankees. The whole “shoot for the moon even if you miss you’ll land among the stars” kinda deal. Shoot for the Yankees and even if you miss atleast you’ll be in good shape for the Wild Card (maybe).

Here’s todays predictions, I started out on fire my first three picks, since then.. it’s ugly man.. real ugly.

4-6 is my record going into Friday night.

There is no way the Red Sox and Brad Penny beat the Yankees tonight.
There is no way Jeremy Guthrie and the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox
There is no way the A’s beat the Tigers and Edwin Jackson

AL Wild Card Update

I was lucky enough to be featured on Firebrand AL check it out. http://firebrandal.com/2009/08/21/al-wild-card-update.html

The longer the Rangers stick around the more I feel like they’re here to stay. With the way Ian Kinsler is swinging the bat he throw the team on his back and carry them into October. With a 27-28 record on the road, the Rangers really need to pull things together down the stretch. The Rangers have 26 road games left, including three games at the New Yankee Stadium, four games in Anaheim, and a big three game series against the Rays in Tampa. It doesn’t get any easier at home either with three games series versus the Mariners, the Angels and the Rays.

You know how I know the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t here to stay ? They can’t beat the O’s. Last year if Tampa had been down 5-1 and then Ben Zobrist hits that same home run the Rays will come back and win this game in extras. This year, it’s not shaping up that way as the Rays have fallen back in the AL Wild Card to four games behind the Red Sox. Be careful counting these Rays out with Scott Kazmir heating up in his last four starts going 3-0 with a 3.26. They are also hitting .312 with a pitching E.R.A of 3.00. This upcoming series against Texas is going to be huge, Tampa has a dominating 40-20 record at the Trop, either way, a Rays sweep, Rangers sweep, any mix in between this race is far from over.

The Red Sox are looking at the month of September with inconsistant pitching, the Red Sox bats have finally come around with 14 HR’s in 7 days. Ortiz is on fire bombing 3 HRs in his last 4 games, Drew with two dingers last night and V-Mart showing Sox fans how great of a leader he can be. Varitek has been sitting more and more, which means he’ll be fully rested when/if we need him in October. Pitching is a whole different ball game, the Sox have a combined 4.50 ERA over the last 7 days tying them for 18th in the MLB. The good news for the Red Sox is that their competition will hopefully be beating each other up in September and early October, the Rays start a series with the Rangers tonight. Then the Rays have six games left with the Bronx Bombers, six games with the Rangers, and six games against the Red Sox. The Red Sox will have their hands more than full tonight with the Bombers in town. It appears that Penny has lost his swag and Pettite is turning things up a notch. It’ll be interesting to see if the Red Sox can take the first game of this series against a red hot Yankees team.

One thing is for certain, the team that wins the wild card this year will have most definately earned it.

8/20 Jon Lester defeats Toronto

Sorry that Opposite Day article was wicked lame. I was way off yesterday but did anyone really believe Verlander and the Tigers would lose?
I will still be doing my picks but I’m switching over to a little insight. Sometimes people read blogs for a little insight.

Here’s my take on the Red Sox going into September. David Ortiz is smashing the ball, Mike Lowell is playing well, Youkilis is getting plunked every single night, Dustin has the stress of a new born off his shoulder. Beckett has been dealing despite the performance the other night in Toronto. Lester is literrally UNHITTABLE. Buccholz just defeated Halladay, I’m feeling much better about our chances in the wildcard.

Okay so for the insight…
I was told the other day that the Red Sox should forget the division and focus on winning the wild card. Well to me no team should ever focus on winning the wild card. Who the hell wants to finish in second place. Granted if October rolls around and the Yankees have a 10 game lead on the Sox, I’m saying to myself, “We better take the wild card”. For now why not play like we can catch those Yankees cause believe me all it takes is a few guys to go cold or an injury anything.. and the Sox are right back on the Yankees tails. I have to say I’m very impressed with the way David Ortiz has recovered from his miserable start. 18 dingers? Thats an excellent second half for a slugger who couldn’t hit Ben Coley. How many HR’s does A-Roid have? 19 ? Granted I’d much rather have A-roid hitting for the sox than Big Papi. Wouldn’t you ? (forget about the fielding aspect)

How do you feel about Buccholz outing last night ? Is that a fluke? Do the Jays suck that bad? Or is Buccholz the real deal?

If you ask me, I think Buccholz is simply inconsistent, he’s got the stuff.. I dont think anyone questions that, when Buccholz brings his A game and focuses mentally and physically, he’s got dominating stuff. Just watch the Jays head back to the dugout slamming bats and shit, Bucc was in their heads. One last thing before I blow todays picks… Did anyone see the warning issued by the home plate umpire last night after Youk got drilled. Listen League is a schmuck i’d love to see Youk go out there again and this time no messing around. It doesn’t get much more intentional than League’s pitch into Youks back in the bottom of the ninth, Why does the ump step in here? I’d like to see Bard come in for the 9th zing one off of Overbays dome piece and we’ll see how League pitches to Youk next time.

Anyways what you’ve all been waiting for…

There is NO way… The Blue Jays beat lefty Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox
There is NO way… The Baltimore Orioles beat James Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays
There is NO way… The Cleveland Indians beat Mr. Lackey and the LA Angels of Anaheim.

This years record I am 3-3. (The opposite day thing didn’t work out so well for me)

GOT YOU GUYS! Yesterday was opposite day

Yesterday, I take the misses and two friends out to dinner at Longhorns. As we're walking in I decide to be a gentleman and hold the door for our group, another trailing (rival) group is walking nearby. Instead of slamming the door and taunting "NICE GUYS FINISH LAST" I decide it'd be nice to hold the door.. Just for tonight. So the four trailing ladies say thank you and walk in but they're still behind my group who is standing at the hostess "podium". This is where it gets rough. The hostess makes the worst call I've seen in a long time. Worse than the Tuck Rule.. worst than Jeters 1996 ALCS "homer". She says and I QUOTE "Alright ladies since you guys were here first, right this way". I look at my girlfriend and the group and I say "are you fucking serious?" and the misses says .. "Relax honey, today must be opposite day.."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth I was panick stricken! "MY PICKS!" I cried as we were being seated. "My PICKS!", Surely my followers must know that today is opposite day? Pheewwww I'm always the last to know. Soooo.. if anyone here didn't already know... yesterday was opposite day. So I guess the joke is on you.

Yup, by now you guys have figured it out.. you probably already knew about yesterday but, the trick never gets old. Of COURSE I knew that Halladay would pitch like John Smoltz. Of COURSE I knew that the Pirates would win three games in a row like they HAVEN'T all season! Of COURSEEEE I knew that the M's would beat Verlander.. WHO DIDN'T know that!

Crazy shit happens on opposite day. Next time i'll make an announcement at the top of my post maybe. Something like "REMEMEBER TODAY IS OPPOSITE DAY". Except if I'm going to do that ... you guys should post something in my comments on JUNE 26th saying "TODAY IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY!" or on July 15th saying "TODAY IS YOUR WIFE'S BIRTHDAY!"

Sooo... I'm 6-0.

In all seriousness... There's NO FUCKING WAY I make a wrong pick today.

Papelbon HATES Boston

It’s no secret I’m a huge Red Sox fan, but that doesn’t stop me from being their biggest critic. Night after night Papelbon takes the mound I start getting nervous. WHY?? The last few years Papelbon has been literally UNHITTABLE. Batters would go to the plate and leave their bats in the dugout, opposing fans would leave the park. When it was time for Papelbon it was LIGHTS OUT! Now it’s like last night.. walk this guy, give up a hit here.. a run scoring single here a double there.. it’s painful to watch him work. I’m calling you out Papelbon! I just wish you were reading.

I’ve been meaning to write this article for a while, but he never pissed me off as much as he did last night. Now we’re in the middle of a penant race and this guy is DOGGING it. There’s no two ways about it, He gets himself into these situations very “dice-k” like and then tries to amuse himself by getting out of them. It’s like a houdini trick (we all know how that ended).

So Papelbon has converted on all his save attempts except 3, which most closers would die for, so it’s not like he doesn’t have his stuff. I’m telling you Papelbon is messing with the fans and the opposing team for fun, he’s certainly a strange character, and I refuse to believe he’s lost his control.

I don’t really have too much evidence to back this up… but keep this in mind next time you’re watching Papelblown on the mound, He doesn’t have the same focus or intensity about him.

After hearing some of his comments:
“Oh, of course. I mean, I think if we can’t come to an agreement on terms here in a Red Sox uniform, I mean I think that’s pretty much the writing on the wall.” and…
”Not only the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility. You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can’t just be one-sided and think that, “Oh, I’m going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career” because nowadays that is very, very rare and hopefully we can because there’s no question I would love to stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform but I have to do what’s best for me and play in an atmosphere where I’m wanted.”

Well does he feel like he’s not wanted? What did we do wrong here? I feel like Papelbon is breaking up with Red Sox Nation… and maybe he’s pitching like shit to lessen the pain.

By the way.. There's nooo wayy Papelbon leaves the Red Sox for the Yankees.

When is it time for the NFL to say "NO" to Brett Favre

What happened to saying you’re retired and STAYING retired. You don’t just say “yeah i’m retiring.. ” you RETIRE and you stay retired. I’m not exactly sure where Brett Favre went wrong here. He treats being retired like its a game. “Nah i can’t play ball today guys.. i’m retired”.

If you ask me, I think it’s about time for the NFL to step in. Kind of like my mom use to when we’d be standing in the door way. “Either you’re in the house or you’re out”. Roger and staff should say to Mr. Fav-re ARE YOU IN or are you out? He says “out” you say.. “Wonderful now GET THE HELL OUT”.

Put a restraining order on this guy, do something he’s driving me nuts.. and .. I LIKE THE GUY!

Well.. as always…

There is NO way Brett Favre leads the Vikings to the playoffs. Put your money on it.

Boston Ranks #8 among most hated sports cities

Boston Ranks #8 Among most hated sports fans
Boston is by far one of the worst areas for sports fans.
I’d say :
1. New York
2. Boston
3. L.A.

There is NOOOOO way that the fans of the Boston Red Sox should drop that low. After all, all we do is win shit.. they probably didn’t want to put us at number one cause they didn’t wanna hear us brag about it… thoughts?

There is no way Boston is the 8th worst city for sports fan.

There is no fucking way...

Alright, so here's the deal. In the following months I will be doing this blog during my lunch break. I've been doing this thing where I look at the days MLB games and I can decide which ones are absolute LOCKS. Some days are much easier than others but to me it makes no sense why people can't make a million bucks off of these sports betting sites. Sometimes I can be correct on like 30 picks in a row. So instead of talking how about I just tell you how it's gonna be.
I will give you three picks (if there are three locks if not.. i'll give you two or one..etc.) but these picks will be guaranteed (not really guaranteed but they are pretty much locks...please don't take my word for granted use this site as an AID and don't use my picks for the wrong things) Also these are just my best guesses so you can argue with me about them but I can't honestly be correct 100% of the time. So if you decide that you are going to play my picks be prepared to lose!

Alright also when I am not doing the "There's no fucking way", I'm a huge Boston Red Sox fan so i'll probably be sharing some insights or some thoughts on the Red Sox. Since we're in the middle of the penant race and we're tanking it... it might not be the most positive Sox talk you've ever heard... but have faith my friend the BoSox will prevail.