Dave D

Schilling Has Right To Be “Pissed” About Osama bin Laden Burial, But He’s Wrong

By Dave D ⋅ May 2, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

On Monday morning, former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling called the Dennis and Callahan show on WEEI, telling listeners he was “pissed” about the fact that Osama Bin Laden was given a proper Muslim burial at sea. While I couldn’t disagree more with Schilling’s sentiments, I absolutely respect his right to express his opinions. That’s how we do [...]

Perk-olations on the Celtics Trade

By Dave D ⋅ February 27, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

We saw Kendrick Perkins transform from a ham-handed, pudgy and angry teenager into the main player in the Celtics’ championship ensemble of toughness. Kevin Garnett brought the fire. Paul Pierce brought the balls. Ray Allen brought the smooth. Kendrick Perkins brought the tough. A sudden and austere move by Danny Ainge, Perk’s disappearance was Keyser [...]

Red Sox 2011 Infield Preview: Jed Lowrie

By Dave D ⋅ February 20, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

We complete our week-long series of previews with our jack-of-all-trades infielder, Jed Lowrie. I have much love for Jed Lowrie, who is the only set-in-stone Sox reserve infielder as of now. The mononucleosis-having, wrist-breaking mystery quietly constructed an OPS of .907 last year. Even more impressive was his OPS+ of 139. Now, he didn’t make his debut [...]

Red Sox 2011 Shortstop Preview: Marco Scutaro

By Dave D ⋅ February 19, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

We continue our week-long series of previews with shortstop Marco Scutaro. Signed as a placeholder to keep the seat warm for Jose Igelsias, who you’d think is the second coming of Ozzie Smith with all the Sox generated hype, the only thing I liked about the Marco Scutaro contract (two years/$12.5 million) was its length. Offensively, Scutaro regressed [...]

Red Sox 2011 Third Base Preview: Kevin Youkilis

By Dave D ⋅ February 18, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

We continue our week-long series of previews with former first baseman and now-third baseman Kevin Youkilis. I’ve recently figured out why Kevin Youkilis is so popular. It’s not his bat. It’s not that he plays the game with reckless, Patrick Ewing-level sweaty abandon. It’s that most men in Boston look like him. We see him in us. [...]

Red Sox 2011 Second Base Preview: Dustin Pedroia

By Dave D ⋅ February 17, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

We continue our week-long series of previews with second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Unlike Gonzo, whose injury is slightly disquieting because it is a wear-and-tear thing and he is about to ink the aforementioned seven-year deal, Dustin Pedroia is coming off a broken foot, which shouldn’t give him any problems going forward. Pedroia’s numbers have remained fantastically [...]

Red Sox 2011 First Base Preview: Adrian Gonzalez

By Dave D ⋅ February 16, 2011 ⋅ One comment

We continue our week-long series of previews with new first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Red Sox fans have been hearing about Adrian Gonzalez for the past few years. Not only is his inside-out lefthanded stroke made for Fenway but once former Epstein consigliere Jed Hoyer was hired as GM of the San Diego Padres many believed it [...]

Red Sox 2011 Designated Hitter Preview: David Ortiz

By Dave D ⋅ February 15, 2011 ⋅ One comment

We continue our week-long series of previews with designated hitter David Ortiz. For the second season in a row David Ortiz’s April was as bland as Big Papi’s Salsa. Check out the carnage. April 2009: .143 AVG / .237 OBP / .286 SLG / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 58 AB April 2010: .230 AVG / [...]

Red Sox 2011 Catcher Preview: Jarrod Saltalamacchia & Jason Varitek

By Dave D ⋅ February 14, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Coming off myriad injuries and another notable sloooooooow Big Papi start in 2010, the 2011 Red Sox infield and DH situation is a mixed bag. It’s like a daring new dish that master chef Theo Epstein has concocted. It will most likely yield tasty results but we won’t know until we sit down to dinner. [...]

Alomar, Blyleven Get In: Final Thoughts on the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

By Dave D ⋅ January 7, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

“Bert Blyleven, Hall of Famer has a nice ring to it” – Bert Blyleven on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio. Personally, I’m not quite ready to live a world where Bert Blyleven is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Named on 79.7% of the ballots, he is still number one on [...]

2011 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot: Does The Hall Bell Toll For Thee?

By Dave D ⋅ January 3, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

This isn’t going to be quick and dirty like a Craigslist date outside McDonald’s. By this point we’ve heard all the statistical arguments, read the voluminous hagiographies penned by breathless sportswriters about why so-and-so should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as the damming, invective filled diatribes of why that same so-and-so [...]

Bronx Bombing: Cliff Lee Spurns Yankees, Signs With Phillies

By Dave D ⋅ December 16, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

I guess Cyndi Lauper was wrong. Money doesn’t change everything. With Cliff Lee eschewing over $30 million of the Yankees money to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies, who do you think was more pissed: Brian Cashman or Michael Weiner? The Yankee’s cash man Cashman has been left at the altar, forlornly holding a bag of [...]

Patriots-Jets “Game” Rewind: Rex Nuts Up, Jets Don’t Show Up

By Dave D ⋅ December 8, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Well then, I guess that settles that. Expecting a knock-down, drag-out fight in the Ward-Gatti tradition, we instead got Tyson-Spinks, except this bout had a predetermined, rigid time structure and no standing eight count. But 45-3? On Tedy Bruschi Night? Not even in Pete Sheppard’s wettest dreams did anyone see this bloodletting coming. You could [...]

Bill is a Pill, Rex’s in Effect

By Dave D ⋅ December 6, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Exhibit A is short, truculent, crabby and comports himself with the miffed, detached air of someone running late for a colonoscopy. Exhibit B is large, boisterous, expressive, sometimes downright jolly, possessing an everyman wit you could easily see coming from a barber or short-order cook. They are as different and as similar as the Grinch [...]

For Tony Allen Three is the Magic Number

By Dave D ⋅ July 12, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Tony Allen is taking his talents to southwestern Tennessee. There was no gaudy, made-for-TV special (probably would have been broadcast on ESPN 8: The Ocho live from his garage) but having agreed to a three-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies worth just over $3 million per year, Allen is leaving the only NBA home he [...]

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