ROBZRANTZ 8-18

DEAR JOHN, THANKS FOR NOTHING

The John Smoltz era is over in Boston and not a minute too soon. Theo and company made us suffer for 8 starts and a 2-5 record from this once proud hurler. He made his debut on June 25th and got lit up by the lowly Washington Nationals. His ERA after that game was 9.00 and his ERA was 8.32 when he was finally released. DID WE REALLY NEED 8 STARTS OF THIS GARBAGE?????. While the Yankees and Rangers were on a tear the Red Sox were giving games away playing Dr. Frankenstein, trying to turn dead body parts into a #5 starter.

Meanwhile, Clay Buchholz was pitching at his peak in meaningless games in Pawtucket. The Red Sox can't hit hit good pitching nor can they win on the road (28-33) And just to add another kick in the nugget pouch, The Red Sox can't hit pitchers who were born in the 80's.

If you're looking for a point when this season made a turn for the worse, look for the first night John Smoltz toes the slab. The Sox were 44-29 that night. Since then they have gone 22-22 and are outside looking in to the playoff race. I enjoyed the Smoltz era as much as I enjoyed his E-R-A

HYPE FOR VICK DOESN'T CLICK
HELLO? IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE WITH A CLUE??? What's the big deal about Michael Vick? A career QB rating of 75.5%? Are you serious? 155 yards passing per game? That's nearly Dilfer-Like. 52 int's with only 71 TD passes. Sorry, I'm not seeing it.

Back when Vick used to play, 2 YEARS AGO, he could run. (21career rushing TD's) But assuming he can get back into football shape this year, what exactly is Philly expecting here? If he lines up in the backfield or in the slot he's going to get killed. He wasn't exactly IRONMAN whenever he got hit those years in Atlanta. Does Andy Reid really need this circus for a mediocre QB? Philly already has one of those. Does Vick make the Eagles better at all? The answer is NO.


Did you enjoy the John Smoltz era? Do you expect anything out of Vick.

FINAL WORD ON STEROIDS

Like most baseball fans, I was a novice when it came to the subject of "Steroids". But then Jose Canseco came out with his first book and shined a light on what steroids really do . It suggested that most players who took them did so not for obscene muscle gain but for it's accelerated healing power. From that point on all bets were off as far as predicting who was on them and who was not. An often hurt relief pitcher, now, was just as likely to be "Juicing" as a bloated HR machine. This is where they so-called un-even playing field becomes much more even.

I was on the fence on whether or not the likes of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. It was when A-rod got caught is when I figured it out. It seems ALL the Big Names were guilty. Just look around at all the .250 averages this year from lifetime .290 hitters. They may only be a handful of 40 HR guys this year and probably no 50 HR hitters, when a short time ago, batters were hitting 40 in their sleep. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

So there's 2 choices: 1. Shut down the Hall of Fame for 20 years and let no one in. 2. Let them all in. Who's to say every time Big Papi hit a clutch HR he wasn't facing a pitcher who was on PED's as well? We don't know. But it's getting more an more likely that is the case. What if every big strikeout Clemens threw was blown by a batter who was juicing? The un-even playing field seems to be a lot more even then we thought. The Steroids Era is what it is. Sadly it is a snapshot of our current society where artificial stimulants is believed to cure all.

SWINDLER'S LIST

Just who is the person (or persons) who has slowly been leaking out names? Conspiracy theorist would have us believe it is MLB. But why would they risk hurting the game and it's gate receipts during these economic times? Contrary to public belief the Teams have and know who is on that list. Theo and Co. knew Papi was on it and any other name we haven't heard yet. As long as the leaks keep coming from NY I have to believe it in Fact is some MLB officials looking to make waves or a quick buck.

So What do you think Red Sox nation, Would you vote any player found to having taken PED's into the Hall of Fame? Do you believe the Red Sox knew Papi was on the list and they have a copy of it themselves?

WHY HALLADAY WON'T FIT IN BOSTON

Baseball purists love to say "It's all about pitching" and to an extent it is. Sure, A rotation of Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay and Jon Lester would be quite formidable, however they guarantee NOTHING. How many World Series did Maddox, Glavine and Smoltz win? ONE. Because they couldn't hit and patient teams like the Yankees just wore the starters out.

OK, Back to today. Trading for Halladay wipes out your Farm system for the foreseeable future. You can also wave Bye-bye to Josh Beckett in 2011 when he's a free agent. He's not taking a hometown discount this time and the Sox will (and already are) crying poverty (I'll deal with that issue later). Papelbon will also expect a max deal and he will be gone as well. So one year of Halladay, Becker, Lester, and Paplebon. then that's over, now you're right back where you are today minus a proven big game closer AND your farm system is 2-3 years away from bearing any fruit. In my mind, best case scenario, he gets dealt to San Fran and we never see him again.

SOX' POVERTY CRY MAY NEED PIT STOP

It started with the less than "blow 'em away" offer to Mark Teixeira when the Sox would go to more years or more $$$. That laid the ground work for what I fear is coming next. The Cries of Poverty. I can almost hear it now. We won't offer Bay a 5th year because it wouldn't make economical sense. Or, "Papelbon rejects 5 years 45 million". Lowballing players is a good way to shoo them away. You can't cry poverty if you're paying 15 million a year to JD Drew especially when you were bidding against N-O-B-O-D-Y for his services. You can't cry poverty if you just wasted 44 million on Julio Lugo who you were also bidding against NOBODY for his services. And you certainly can not cry poverty when you own half of a NASCAR Racing Team. I'd say 70-80% of Sox fans don't give a royal hoot about NASCAR.

Sox fans, Will you put up with any poverty cry from the Sox? What are you thoughts on Halladay?