Where's the Answer?

Ew.

Here it is. 7 games left in the season and the Red Sox are only 2 games up on the Tampa Bay Rays for that final spot for the MLB postseason. With 1 win and 2 losses to a terrible Baltimore Orioles in this current 4 game series in Fenway Park, things certainly do not look pretty.

There is really only one thing to talk about that is causing this problem, pitching. Starting with John "Dumb as a Rock" Lackey. My goodness is he bad. Finishing his second year in a 5-year $80somethingstupid million contract, he has managed to post a major-league worst 6.49 ERA and is now the worst pitcher in Red Sox franchise history when it comes to an ERA (minimum 150 pitches of course)... but he has 12 wins? Anyways I can't bare to watch him throw in the postseason. Something clearly is not right with him (injury?) or he is really just that bad. Hard to imagine when he was an ace for the Angels just a few years ago in the World Series and a Cy Young candidate as well. My real issue with this guy is his attitude. Sure show some emotion it's all good bro, but when Scuttero doesn't make a play or a ball lands between two outfields don't shit your pants. When you give up 8 runs in 5 innings to the Orioles that's on you dude. Also when your manager comes to pull you out of the game don't stare him down; that's Terry fuckin Francona.

On a positive note for the pitching staff, Clay Buckholtz is on schedule and I actually think he's throwing off a mound today. If he continues this pace, he is scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen for the Sox on their last game of the series in Baltimore. If successful and the Red Sox manage to squeak into the playoffs, he will be a valuable asset for the relief squad. But with Paplebon not coming through in the clutch like he should and other relievers having ERAs close to 5 and above, it's hard to find someone to rely on when the game is on the line. Where's Pedro when I need him god damnit.

The offense looks like they're out of their slump at least. They do have the third best run support in the league so by that stat they should be competing for the best record in the bigs; except their pitching rotation decided to break down and die in the first half of the season so we are scrapping together wins. I have faith in Terry to figure out a master plan and get this team in fighting condition for October.

Surrounded by White Noise

Experiments always have a chance of failure when they are first conceived. If it fails, look back at your process, reevaluate your techniques, and set it for success. The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick took on 2 extensive experiments this offseason in defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth and wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. So far one is looking on the upside and the other is about to explode in the organizations face. I'm talking about you Chad. Since you love all the criticism and attention here's my two cents.

If you haven't heard or aren't one of Ochocinco's 2.7 million followers on Twitter, Chad likes to fill in those 140 characters more than the Steelers like to turn the football over. He has somehow managed to turn it into a self-branding and promotion; probably one of the first athletes to start an account as well. The biggest debate over Ochocinco has been if the account is distracting to his game. Ever since he has been on the Bengals it gets brought up once a season at least. Well... Teddy Bruschi has had enough of the Twitterverse nonsense and had to put his foot down on Ocho. After Monday night's performance against the Dolphins, Chad sent out a tweet regarding Tom Brady's stellar performance and the fluidity of the Patriot's offense:

@ochocinco: Just waking up after a late arrival, I've never seen a machine operate like that n person, to see video game numbers put up n person was WOW.

Seems pretty harmless. He hasn't been a part of this offense before during a regular season game. Brad and the offense did look pretty good. This is the full transcript of Bruschi's beatdown on Chad's actions the next day:

"Drop the awe factor, OK, Ocho, Chad, drop the awe factor. You're not a fan, all right? You're not someone who's on another team or watching TV. You're not an analyst. You're a part of it. They want you to be a part of it. So get with the program because obviously you're not getting it and you're tweeting because you're saying, it's amazing to see? It's amazing to see because you don't understand it! You still don't understand it and it's amazing to you because you can't get it. Stop tweeting and get in your playbook. … Close your mouth. Put your hand under your chin and close your jaw. Then open your eyes and watch some film. That's what you need to do. If you're still in awe that means you don't get it because you don't understand it."

Sweet baby Jesus. Talk about going apeshit. Sad part is, Teddy knows probably the most about that organization outside Belichick and the front office. 13-year vet, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 3 Super Bowl wins; that's his resume with this one team. Probably bleeds Patriot colors.

Ocho certainly didn't have a very good game (1 catch, 15 yards, 18 plays on the field). Considering the lockout and when he arrived in the New England organization I would have to give him a bit more leeway than Teddy wants to. But this is what Ocho gets with his type of flaunting personality, lots of attention and lots of criticism. So until he can prove he is worthy of a Patriot uniform, no one will question Bruschi's comments.

I want to tie in one more Patriots story here that happened this week with the beautiful UGG wearing of a quarterback named Tom Brady. He didn't have the hotest media week either. Within the past day or two he had this to say about the fans at their home opener this coming Sunday. When asked if he had a message for the fans this coming Sunday, he responded with this:

"Yeah, start drinking early," Brady said with a snicker. "Get nice and rowdy. It's a 4:15 game, a lot of time to get lubed up. Come out here, and cheer for the home team."

And contrary to popular belief, he isn't talking about water and being properly hydrated. You have officially heard it all people. The prettiest face in the NFL encourages getting hammered. I am all for it. Here's where it ties back to Sir Ocho. Brady says go get drunk and yell a bunch, but because he is Brady it's no big deal. Being one of the most popular players in the NFL kind of earns you that right it seems. Of course he's receiving a bit of criticism for it. But he is right. Gillette Stadium is one of the quieter places within the league. But Chad, being one of the more hated players by analysts and players, can't burp in public without getting chewed out by someone somewhere.

I am going to end with this. Bill Belichick is the man. Master of media control. Expert in player remodeling. This is the message he will be sharing with Ochocinco. As you exit here, read closely the sign hanging by the door. "IGNORE THE NOISE". Who cares what people are saying outside this team and off that field. If you find your way to perform and you start playing football, it'll all go away.

Mom Always Said Practice Made Perfect

The effects are obvious. The dictators of the No Fun League are now seeing the consequences of this past 2011 offseason. After brushing up on my football highlights (long weekend for me) it's clear that the NFL has made the flip from defense heavy to offense heavy due to the lockout. Scores were outrageously high, unheard of offensive weapons were tearing it up, and defenses looked confused and tired, minus you Baltimore.

Here is a tweet from Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) that boggled my mind:
              "NFL teams passed for 7,842 net yards and returned 8 kicks and punts for TDs. Both represent the most in any week in NFL history, via Elias."
Mind you, this includes stats from 2 and a half rookie quarterbacks; Newton, Dalton, and I still consider Stafford one since he hasn't seen a full season yet; that got very limited exposure before Week 1 and didn't include my fifth overall QB Peyton Mannthang. If you take a look at the stats from who I consider the top 4 quarterbacks (fifth being Manning) it sounds like I'm playing Madden on rookie level.

1)Tom Brady- 32 for 48; 517 Passing Yards for a 10.8 Average; 4 TD; 121.6 QB Rating

2)Aaron Rogers- 27 for 35; 312 Passing Yards for an 8.9 Yard Average; 3 TD; 132.1 QB Rating

3)Drew Brees- 32 for 49; 419 Passing Yards for an 8.6 Yard Average; 3 TD; 112.5 QB Rating

4)Philip Rivers- 33 for 48; 335 Passing Yards for a 7 Yard Average; 2 TD; 85.0 QB Rating

These guys were just throwing at will to whomever they wanted and it was working. But stats like these are expected of the elite quarterbacks throughout a season. What if I threw Harvard Alum and professional white person Ryan Fitzpatrick or the Sally-Mae I like to call Tony Romo into the mix? Add an additional 650 yards to the total pot. The biggest surprises have got to be Cam Newton and Matt Stafford though. Newton threw for an outrageous 422 Yards and 2 TD while Stafford had a seemingly easy 305 Yards and 3 TD. Quarterbacks all around really did look top-notch and were controlling defenses as to the direction of the game. ESPN wasn't messing around when they called 2011 the Year of the Quarterback.

(P.S. Don't even try and think Mike Vick is a top 5 QB. One of my favorite players of all time but read this article here by my friend Jay Gildea and educate yourself. #readabook)

The other heavy effect the Lockout had on players leading up to Week 1 and during those games were injuries. Steven Jackson, Dan Koppen, Marques Colston, Nate Kaeding, and Willie Colon all suffered serious injuries resulting in season-ending or long term IR time. I know the purpose of this new collective bargaining agreement was to make the game safer but no one considered the Lockout itself to be detrimental to the players. Nothing really prepares these players for a game-time hit, but training camps certainly do help them get comfortable. The most common injury throughout the league was a surprising one however; cramping. When offenses went to their no-huddle sets and kept the ball moving, defenses were winded, dehydrated, and suffered a lot of leg cramps. The shockers to me were the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins especially. Playing in such hot weather all the time I would have thought the two teams would have been better conditioned.

It should certainly be an interesting 2011-2012 NFL season. After Week 1 I can't even think of playoff let alone Super Bowl predictions. I am rooting for Cam Newton Rookie of the Year though. Hopefully after Week 4 or so teams will start to gain their composure and the league might become more realistic.