Responding to some comments...

A few of you have left comments, some with questions, and I'd like to respond to them. I'm going to make it a point from now on to respond to people's comments so ask any question you want and I'll respond. Here goes...

Amit said...

whats up man..can i request a post re your thoughts on the TEIXERA saga/sweepstakes?? Also, any thoughts re the CELTS semi-historic run (23-2)

December 17, 2008 3:00 PM

I kind of alluded to this yesterday, but I'll go a little more in-depth with it. I think Scott Boras, the agent for Mark Texeira and a bunch of other big name players (see list of clients), is a snake. He has no regard for the fans or for a player's well-being. He only cares about money because he's getting roughly a 5-10% cut of each contract that is signed. So for example, if one of his clients signs a $100 million contract, Boras gets around $5-10 million of that. So basically, whichever team offers the most money is most likely to sign his client. To be fair, that is what most players and agents are looking for, so it's not just him. However, Boras is the most cut-throat, greedy, sinister, and unfortunately, SMARTEST agent out there. He savagely makes teams bid against each other to skyrocket the price, and perceived value, of a player. In the case of JD Drew, he even went as far as making the Red Sox bid against THEMSELVES. From a fan's perspective, he's a complete asshole who manipulates the player's union, the team, the owners, and the fans. But from a player's perspective, he's probably the best agent to have if you are a good player looking for a great contract.

As for the specific Texeira sweepstakes/saga, this is just a typical Scott Boras induced tug-of-war where Boras will set the "market price" and wait for a team to match (or come to close to matching) it. He's not stupid. They've set Texeira's value at 8 years and roughly $180 million. Texeira has stated that he wants to play for a championship contending team and most likely wants to go back to play on the East Coast where he's from (Annapolis, Maryland). The Red Sox reportedly offered 8 years and roughly $165-170 million. The Angels wouldn't go that high so they backed out. The Orioles and Nationals need to bid even higher than $180 million if they want to get him because they have no chance of winning a World Series anytime soon. So theoretically, if Texeira lives up to his word, then he's most likely going to sign with the Red Sox because they have offered the biggest contract, are on the East Coast, and have the infrastructure in place to win a World Series. So who do I think is actually going to sign Texeira? The YANKEES. They have so much money coming off the books from last year that they could afford to sign CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and still have enough money to sign Texeira (which would be a royal "F-U" to the Red Sox). If you think about it, their biggest hole now is in their offense as their players are getting old. Add to the fact that they are opening a brand new stadium and want it to be a historic event with a historic team, and my bet is on the Yankees landing Texeira for 8 years $190 million. I hope I'm wrong.

Quick mention of the Celtics run. They have now won 18 straight games and are going for #19 tonight at home against a Philly team without Elton Brand. Most people would assume it'll be a blowout from the start. I'm predicting a close game at halftime and then the Celtics pull away in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Celtics by 15. If they win tonight, it'll be the best 29 game start in NBA history, so hopefully it happens. And then we have the Lakers on Christmas day. This team is obsessed with us it's not even funny. Read this article and tell me how much of a baby Sasha Vujacic is, or you can just watch this clip from last year's NBA finals to see that this guy is a turd.




Needless to say, the Lakers are gonna be amped to play so I'm predicting that they miss a ton of shots early like Atlanta did when they played us the other week, but finally settle in near the end of the first quarter. This is gonna be a close game. Celtics by 5.

Danny said...

Yo, you might be a redneck if you are holding a shotgun in your fantasy football profile pick, sorry you had to lose another one to "the man"! Say hello to your mother for me!

December 22, 2008 11:41 AM

Yeah, my buddy was a redneck for halloween so that was his fantasy football profile picture. I am still seething over the shit bomb my team put up this past weekend, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. In other news, I'm starting a fantasy MILF league. Say hi to your mother for me!

John Hopkins said...

After years and years we get to hear some hockey talk - Fuckin A - Great call free em all { At least for a day }

December 22, 2008 9:25 PM

At first I thought this comment was from JM but now that I think about it, I think it was from a random person. In any event, I appreciate the comment. The Bruins are on a major tear right now. They are the best team in the Eastern Conference, hands down. Now this is very early in the season, and you never know what could happen down the road, but we could be witnessing something special here. The only thing bad about the situation is that the Bruins are still owned by Jeremy Jacobs, one of the biggest douchebag owners in sports for the last 30+ years. This guy basically ran the team as a business, and ONLY a business, which caused this site to be created. See, the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics value profit, but they also realize that you can increase your profit by investing in winning talent. For 30 years, Jeremy Jacobs didn't understand that. Once the Red Sox and Patriots created the winning formula, the Celtics caught on and now finally the Bruins have as well. In the last few years, they hired a good general manager (Peter Chiarelli), who then hired a great coach (Claude Julien), eased off the purse strings a little bit and now we have a championship contender.

We have a great team. All of our even strength lines are solid, our power play unit and shorthanded unit are solid, our goalies are solid, and Milan Lucic will punch you in the face if you think otherwise. I know a lot of people never got into hockey, or didn't (and still don't) consider hockey as a real sport, but I always have liked hockey and liked the Bruins. I grew up playing street hockey with my buddies and a lot of my friends played hockey in high school, so I have fond memories and a great appreciation for the game on ice. I am not a fairweather fan. If you think so, Milan Lucic will punch you in the face. By the way, we just ordered NHL '09 for PS3. Can't wait!

This is a great time to be a Boston sports fan. The Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics are perennial championship contenders, and now we have the Bruins looking unstoppable. We are definitely spoiled. I just feel bad for all the people who had to suffer years and years of turmoil and finally felt the sweet taste of championships because we have kids who are only 8 years old that have already witnessed 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 World Series championships, and 1 NBA championship. Sports are cyclical and in 10 years we could have all sub par teams. So I guess we should milk it while we can.

Rosa: can u please write a blog post about how i crushed u last week in fantasy bball? thanks

December 22, 2008 11:56AM via Google Chat

Just because it was your birthday yesterday, and because I apparently suck at fantasy sports, here you go.

Click picture to see me getting owned in fantasy basketball.

Yeah, so my friend Rosa, who is playing fantasy basketball for the first time, just murdered me last week as you can see from the above image. Most people would rationalize her winning as"beginner's luck". I'd like to call it "I suck at fantasy sports". By the way, happy 30th birthday Rosa!!!