Papelbon-ehead

Had a friendly debate over Joba Chamberlain recently, with the other side thinking he's best suited to the pen. My side? Here is all I ask of them: prove to me that 200 innings is fewer than 70 and we can talk. Your best pitchers should be aiming for 600+ outs, not 210. It is not really complicated. You know who would make a good pinch hitter? Albert Pujols, he’s a really good hitter. But you want him up four times, not once, no? How is that different?...the one thing you knew for certain about Terrell Owens move to Buffalo: James Hardy was going to give up his #81, and he did...Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez might want to be careful what he wishes for in saying they're getting Manchester United at a good time tomorrow. Recall, of course, that Inter Milan skipper Jose Mourinho said he wanted United when the Champions League draw went a few weeks back, and we know how that turned out. Kickoff is 8:40 tomorrow on Setanta...the United Football League is starting operations this fall with a contract on Versus. How's that for an association, Gary Bettman?...Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon went off about how Manny Ramirez had to go because he was a distraction. Because talking about last August isn't a distraction, of course. Papelbon also likened Manny to cancer. I'm sure teammate Jon Lester, a cancer survivor, appreciates that...as enthused as I am for the coming Toronto FC season, I'm the polar opposite when it comes to their new unis. Fugly...Charles Barkley says he's driven drunk at least 100 times a year. Is there anything this guy doesn't do to excess?...sad news for RandoMango. After 334 consecutive days posting, your faithful blogger is putting down his proverbial pen, until Monday that is. Moving over the next couple days and will be largely unplugged from the sports world and the interweb. Have a great few days.

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

This is all starting to feel pretty familiar, no? The Boston Red Sox looking all but dead and buried, down 3-1, start the comeback and are now level in the ALCS after a 4-2 win last night. Jon Lester and Matt Garza take to the bump tonight...three first half goals were all Toronto FC needed en route to a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Fire. If you believe in symbols, Danny Dichio's walk around the field with his kids sure looked like a goodbye from the legend...you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. New York Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain hit the trifecta of being nailed for speeding while under the influence with an open container in his vehicle...Kelly Pavlik lost to old warhorse Bernard Hopkins? Wow, not sure anybody thought that was even possible with the seemingly washed up B-Hop...Chelsea and Manchester United poured on the offense in their wins yesterday. Hard not to see both of them as the top two in the end...good of Lou Holtz to compare Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to Hitler...been a tough haul of late in the Prime Time Picks, now sitting a 6-6 and a mere $6 ahead. The Seattle Seahawks are +11 tonight at Tampa Bay, and taking the Bucs seems the most obvious play because the Seahawks are, well, brutal. But in gambling, the easy play is usually the dumb play so we're going contrarian here and taking the Seahawks to get a cover on that spread...now you'll have to excuse me, I've gotta go talk to satan about selling my soul for a Red Sox loss...have a great Sunday.