Boston put the Wild in Wildcard

You know that old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in this particular case, I beg to differ. These photos aren't worth two words because they don't begin to explain the epic failure that was the 2011 Boston Red Sox season. The pictures can't tell you that Boston paid Carl Crawford millions to play left field, it can't tell you that Brian Cashman secretly staged phony calls to make Boston think New York was on the verge of signing Crawford, just to make Boston shell out more cash to get their guy. They can't help you understand that this team was built like a 12 year old playing MLB2K 2011, compiling all the best players with the biggest salaries to make sure he goes undefeated and wins a prize that doesn't exist. These photos can't begin to explain how the Red Sox started slow in April, were the best team in baseball by mid July and then it can't even begin to help you understand how fast they plummeted back towards Earth, blowing a 9 game lead in the Wildcard race only to lose it in game 162 to the worst team in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles.

What these pictures do tell you, is that it hurt, really bad. When you have high expectations in professional baseball, a fan base that calls themselves "Red Sox Nation" an owner and GM that have thrown money around as if they were the New York Yankees, all the while chastising New York for overspending and tainting the great game of baseball. Baseball is a very long season and for the average fan or for those who don't enjoy or love the game, I can understand that you think it's too long, too boring and not exciting enough to stay up late and watch every last pitch until the 27th out is made. But on the flip side of that coin, for those of us who love this game and have a burning desire to live every moment of it, last night was the winning lotto ticket.

Game 162, Boston and Tampa tied for the AL Wildcard. Tampa hosting New York and finding themselves down 7-0 to the mighty Yankees in the bottom of the 8th inning. Boston leading most of the game in Baltimore only to implode in most spectacular fashion. Bottom 9th two out and ESPN honks are already counting chickens, talking about how they are going to live another day. Papelbon was dealing and the Orioles looked dead. That's when it all went South. Papelbon proceeded to blow the save and then give up the winning run in what capped the biggest tank job in the history of MLB. Now they were Yankee fans, hoping that New York could beat Tampa in extra innings and give Boston their 10th second chance of the season and send them to Tampa for a one game playoff Thursday. Well, they didn't have to wait long because less than three minutes later in Tampa, Even Longoria hit a 315 foot homer over the short, 315 foot porch in the left field corner to walk off the Yanks and clinch the Wildcard birth for the Rays. It was yet another example of why hardcore baseball fans love the cliche of "27 outs" and it reminds us of Yogi Berra quotes like "it ain't over til it's over" because as silly as that all sounds, it's a fact of baseball life.

Now comes the fun part. We get to rip Boston to shreds for blowing a 9 game lead in September, with a payroll that's second to only the hated Yankees. Of course, that brings up a very important question that tends to go overlooked when a team like Boston shoots themselves in the face like they did in the month of September. Did Boston completely blow it or did Tampa rip it from them? I'd have to say yes. Yes to both and that's about as simple as I can put it. Tampa has a payroll of $40 million this year. They have maybe 5 or 6 guys that the average baseball fan would recognize if they bumped into them at Starbucks. Ok, that's a lie. They have two players that might be recognized in that situation. But Tampa has something that can't be bought and it can't be easily explained. They have "it" and that's more special than having 7 all stars on your roster. They have guys who were told they weren't good enough to play in the big leagues, they have guys who refuse to quit, they have guys like Dan Johnson batting .107 on the season who steps up in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and the season on the line, only to tie the game with a long homer after only hitting one homer the entire season. They also have a manager, Joe Madden, who was the bench coach for Mike Scioscia in Anaheim for many years. A baseball lifer who forces his way out of the spotlight by trusting his players and working his ass off each day to prepare his club to perform in this exact moment. Make no mistake about it, somebody will pay the price for this failure. It won't be the players who lost the games and choked it away because when you pay players that much money, they don't take the fall. It will likely fall on the nicest guy in baseball and one of the best managers in the game, Terry Francona. Hell, the ax might even fall on Theo Epstein, GM of the club who has been the rumored to join the Chicago Cubs and help break yet another 100 year old curse. But make no mistake, someone is getting hacked.

Baseball is one of the few games that takes it on the chin by countless pundits ripping the game for not having a salary cap and not giving the goldfish an opportunity to compete with the great white sharks. Just when that topic gets beaten over the head with a shovel, this happens. It happens because baseball is a game that nobody can predict despite everyone trying. I found myself captivated by those two games last night, screaming at the TV and jumping up and down when both games ended and that's a simple reminder, in that moment, that baseball is America's pastime.

The Playboy Club

NBC rolled out a show that they hope every man in the world will feel the need to watch. The Playboy Club takes place in 1960's Chicago and follows the lives of a bunch of girls who are on top of the world. No, they are not astronauts or politicians, they are well beyond that hemisphere. They are the sex symbols of America. It's currently 2011 and most of us don't have any magazine subscriptions, let alone Playboy magazine. The Al Gore provides us with all the sex we can handle and it's free, so why would we buy a magazine that's delivered to your door in a black plastic bag? Now imagine there is no internet, no cell phones and magazines are the only way to view sex. I know for a fact that most of our fathers have giant boxes loaded with countless Playboy magazines and that's how life was in the 1960's.

Of course sex sells and we all can agree on that point, but I don't think the peacock is willing to sell us enough sex to make this show last longer than one season. If you want a recap of the shows first two episodes, you won't find that here. I just want to give my opinion and let it fly.

The acting is dreadful and the cast is a who's who of the E list in Hollywood and if meaningful excitement comes from these actors, I will be utterly shocked. For the most part, I watch because I want it to be better than it is and ultimately than it will be. I remember watching the pilot episode of Lost years ago and the next day, it was all over the internet. So much so that ABC showed it again a few nights later for everyone who didn't watch it to catch up. Is this show the next Lost? A show that is going to rock the internet of it's axis and force people to watch episodes online? Hardly. But what it has done thus far is make me want more and that's the name of the game. Yes, I like a nice set of cans. Yes, I love to see sexy women strut their stuff. Yes, I will continue to watch and report back to those of you who have found me writing interesting enough to follow.

Coming of Age

UFC 135 featured one of the sports iconic figures, Rampage Jackson facing off against the sports most talented fighter, possibly in the history of the sport, Jon Jones. It's easy to say that a 24 year old kid who has been participating in MMA for just 3 short years can't possibly be the greatest talent in the history of the sport. It's even easier to assume that Joe Rogan is out of his mind when he claims that this young stud has everything it takes to be the greatest of all time. But, if you have watched Jon Jones fight in the octagon, you may agree with everything Rogan and possibly think he's underestimating the situation.

Jones has an unorthodox style that many have never seen before. His size is truly incredible when you see him for the first time. 6 foot 4, 205 lbs and his reach advantage is incredible. He is an athletic specimen that the sport has never seen before and his unique ability has taken the sport by storm. This fight was supposed to be the fight that presented challenges Jones would be unable to overcome. Rampage is a legend in the sport, he's been around for many years and has a track record of knocking guys out with one punch. One punch power can be an advantage in this game or it can be a disadvantage. In this particular fight, it was a disadvantage and opened the door for Jones to utilize his skills to command respect from Rampage.

From the moment the fight started Jones was in control. He took advantage of his tremendous reach advantage from the get go and kept Rampage at a distance, preventing him from getting close enough to do damage. Rampage looked more and more frustrated each time he tried to unload with power punches. Jones used some of the craziest punch combos I have ever seen to push Rampage further and further away from him, all the while checking him with strong leg whips, which seemed to affect the balance and approach of his opponent. Joe Rogan mentioned multiple times that Rampage needed to use kicks more frequently to keep Jones away, but Rampage addressed that after the fight saying that it's not a smart game plan to kick at a top notch wrestler because all it takes is one irresponsible kick for Jones to take him to the ground and end the fight. Once Jones stopped toying with his opponent and decided it was time to hit the ground, Rampage was in trouble. Jones took him to the ground, pounded on him with hammer fists and short, strong elbow strikes and that's when Rampage lost the fight. Well before Jones choked him out, he was in control of the fight with his intensity, with his ability to control the tempo and force the fight to the ground.

This sport is unlike any other. Today's up and coming superstar can get beat tomorrow and never be heard from again. The sport is unlike boxing, which overpays it's superstars, coddles their egos and makes them into ego maniacs practically overnight. This is the toughest sport on the planet, loaded with athletes who can kick your ass and send you straight to the bottom. If you are a champion, you don't get to fight cupcakes just to make a bunch of money and then defend your belt at your convenience. If you are the champ, you will get the #1 contender within a few months of your last fight and that's how it goes, like it or not. That's what draws us in, that's what makes this the fastest growing sport in the world and that's what I love so much about the fight game.