Blogging With A View

First of all let me say that this blog is coming from my back patio outside. I absolutely love wireless technology.

This weekend has been a good one for Red Sox fans. A sweep of the Giants in their first trip to Fenway since the 1912 World Series is a nice addition to any Nation member's weekend. It's brought about quite a few revelations, at least in my mind. That said, here's another list of Things I've Realized This Weekend:

1. Even though it may cause a hole in the time-space continuum to open up, or maybe because this has already happened, J.D. Drew has emerged as a solid leadoff man. I know that this really does upset many of you, just like it upsets me, but it works. As long as it keeps working let's not change it.

2. Wily Mo Pena and Julio Lugo have got to go. I know I've been calling for the Sox to pull off, essentially, a Coco for Torii Hunter deal, but Coco is too valuable to the team in comparison to these two guys. Coco is just great in the outfield; a clear five steps above Wily Mo as far as defense goes. It's interesting to point out that Wily Mo was recently voted by Major League players as the player with the most talent who does not take advantage of that talent. Way to go, Wily Mo. They're essentially saying you're a bum. You're that stoner from high school who was brilliantly intelligent but too blazed to ever do well in school, except you're (probably) not on pot. You're just a waste, and you need to go. Hopefully we can package you along with Julio Lugo and ship you off to somewhere else. Lugo, you're a nice guy and a great baserunner, but .207 just ain't gonna cut it in this town, pal. There's plenty of guys out there who can bat ninth, 30 or 40 points above you, and steal bases just as well. Look out, because you're going to be calling a different clubhouse home soon. This brings me back to the rumor about Tejada. He'd fit in our clubhouse, he's already great friends with David Ortiz, but I just don't think I like the move at all. He's past his prime, not the type of hitter we're looking at, and doesn't really provide anything we're lacking. Then again, anything besides Lugo is a step up, but I just don't see a trade forming between the O's and us. I wouldn't mind seeing Orlando Cabrera come back. Although the Angels are looking for a power hitter to protect Vlad, and I don't see them taking a chance on Pena. Did someone say three way deal? That would be nice, but I'm definitely not knowledgeable enough to figure that one out, so we'll just leave this speculation for your minds.

3. This one is about the Phillies. I'm going to be pretty harsh right now on Pat Gillick, because Philly, not only do you guys have Charlie Manuel managing you team, but you've got the GM equivalent of him too. Back in the spring you had six solid starters and a shaky bullpen. I'm not going to harp on Pat for the Freddy Garcia trade like Andrew did. He and I disagree on this point, but I think the Garcia move was a good one. Nobody could have really foreseen this injury. That being said, Gillick should have given you guys a solid bullpen if not in the offseason, than by at least the end of the Spring. Maybe Myers should have been the closer from day one, maybe a trade should have been made, but going into the season expecting to use Gordon as long as he'll hold up, and then figure it out on the run whenever he breaks down is NEVER a good strategy. Now Philly is forced to move Aaron Rowand when he's such a valuable part of the team. Granted, he's playing well above average right now and his stock will surely fall, but it will never be as low as Burrell's. There's a guy who's wasting the talent you have in Dobbs, Bourn, and Werth. They could be platooning right now, but no, Pat Burrell is a suck-fest out there in left. Just take it as a loss and eat his contract. Pull a Pittsburgh-Jason Kendall type deal and ship him off to a team who won't be paying the majority of his contract for its length. I'm worried about the Phillies. They need starters, they need a bullpen, and Ryan Howard needs to remember that it's okay to hit the ball inside the park too, and not at anyone either.

4. Getting shot in the manboob with a paintball gun hurts. Ok, so this isn't baseball related, but during our paintball battle today Rocky caught me right in the chest. I don't recall ever being hit there before, and now it kind of looks like I have a third nipple. Great.

5. Wearing a tie-die shirt is hard. I'm a rookie to this kind of fashion, and I can't keep my damn eyes off of it. It's kind of like one of those bug lights: I can't look away.

Well folks it appears the sun has gone down and the crickets are coming out. The 'skeeters have also come out so maybe blogging outside wasn't the best idea.

-Flig