Lie To Me, A-Fraud

NYTimes: Reading Microexpressions During a 2007 interview with Katie Couric, Alex Rodriguez demonstrated what Dr. Paul Ekman calls, from left, gestural slips, unilateral contempt and microfear.

The psychologist who inspired the new TV show "Lie to Me" reviews A-Fraud's 2007 interview with Katie Couric and finds lies aplenty. Shocking!

NYTimes: The Voice Was Lying. The Face May Have Told the Truth.

A-Fraud A Complete Fraud

ESPN: Report: A-Rod tested positive in 2003

According to a report by Sports Illustrated, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003, when he was with the Texas Rangers and won the AL home run title and MVP award.

According to the report, which was posted Saturday morning on SI.com, sources told the publication that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive that year, when Major League Baseball conducted tests to see if mandatory random drug testing was needed.

In 2003, there were no penalties for a positive result.

Put the tiny hypodermic next to his stats in the Baseball Encyclopedia, because he's just another Juice King. Fraud.

Happy birthday to Hank Aaron, BTW, he just turned 75 this week. Hank Aaron is the Home Run King of baseball and all these modern blow-up players are frauds. Liars, chest and thieves the lot of them.

A-Rod! The Musical

Act 1
July 24, 2004
NewYorker.com: Fragments from A-Rod! The Musical

hat tip to Art Martone at ProJoSoxBlog

Big Papi to Play "The Babe" at Yankee Stadium

Left, National Baseball Archives via Associated Press; Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
In a nod to Babe Ruth’s famed called home run, the All-Star home run derby at Yankee Stadium is planning a contest in which a fan will try to call a shot for David Ortiz.
NYTimes: Who’s Calling the Shots, the Yankees or Ortiz?

The Yankees were upset when they found out about a promotion that would cast David Ortiz of the Red Sox as a modern-day Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium during the All-Star Game festivities.

Who better to play the rotund home run hitter with a giant personality? Who would the Yankees have play the Babe? Jason Giambi, the juicer? (Maybe before he calls his shot, he could reenact his grand jury testimony and show the boys and girls how he shot his testosterone "in the ass". That would be heart-warming.) A-Rod, the pretty loser? (A-Rod's unfortunate habit of caving under pressure might affect the TV schedule; it could take him days to hit a home run on command).

No, Ortiz as the Babe is perfect. Babe did start off as a Red Sock, after all. And like Ortiz, Babe was renowned for his larger-than-life personality. While Babe did not own a Bedazzler and is not known for rhinestine-studded sportcoats, you can imagine him wearing one with Ortiz in some Red Sox-Yankees promotion for MLB.

A-Rod: Stay Out of Our House

Alexa Rodriguez was in the upper deck behind home plate, where the tour was being seated. The hawk swooped down as the student was getting ready to leave.
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

A middle school teenage girl on a tour of Fenway Park -- whose nickname is A-Rod -- was attacked by a red-tail hawk in the stands behind home plate. The hawk had a nest in front of the press box overhead, with one egg in it. The hawk scratched the girl's head, and she was taken to the hospital, treated and released. After the attack the hawk's nest was removed:

This spring the raptor used a brown-knit cap and twigs from trees on Yawkee Way to build a nest on a green overhang near the press booth above home plate. She laid a brown-speckled egg last week, but it rolled off the nest, wasn't properly incubated, and was no longer viable, French said.

Wildlife officials removed the egg and the nest yesterday after the hawk lashed out at Alexa.

Obviously the hawk struck out because the girl's name was A-Rod. For all we know, she was in the park on July 24, 2004, during the famous fight where Varitek took A-Rod by the throat.

The hawk wasn't just protecting her nest. She was protecting our house.

The Boston Globe article used above contains a hilarious typo. "Yawkee Way" is actually "Yawkey Way". The writer must have been thinking about the Yankees, not the Yawkeys. Just like the hawk; a little confused, but heart in the right place.

Boston Globe: Teen finds fowl territory at Fenway

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: Hawk attack at Fenway Park

Boston Globe: An omen? Hawk attacks girl with a familiar-sounding name at Fenway

July 24, 2004

Rudy In Freefall

Smell the desperation: Mr. "Immigrants Should Speak English" releases Spanish ad in Florida

Yesterday it was announced that Rudy Giuliani's senior campaign staff ("voluntarily", right) wouldn't be paid for the month of January. Not a good sign. He has also pulled all his paid staff out of Michigan and South Carolina. But it's not helping. In the most recent CNN poll, Rudy is third in Florida with 18%, far behind McCain at 34% and trailing even no money, no organization Mike Huckabee at 21%.

I think it's over for Giuliani, and the writing's been on the wall for some time. However, he still has a few days left to make his signature gaffes. Like this one (from Newsday, via firedoglake):

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Rudy Giuliani loves baseball, but does he know the game?

According to a clip played by sports reporter Jared Max on WCBS-AM Thursday morning, Giuliani spoke about the impact of the steroids scandal on the pursuit of the record for all-time most home runs by Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez.

"Is Bobby Bonds' record a legitimate record that A-Rod should be shooting for," Giuliani asked, "or should A-Rod be judged by the Babe Ruth standard, assuming A-Rod did not take steroids?"

A good question, except Bobby Bonds, long retired from baseball, is the late father of the current homerun record holder, Barry Bonds. It's Barry who is accused of using steroids, though he denies it.

And if Barry Bonds is stripped of his record, it reverts not to Babe Ruth, who had 714 home runs, but Hank Aaron, the former Atlanta player who hit 755 before retiring years ago.

He should have stuck to his usual "Noun, verb, 9/11" script.

Here are some of the headlines in the media about Rudy's flailing campaign:

LATimes: Giuliani is feeling the squeeze
Some staffers forgo their pay as the GOP presidential hopeful bets heavily on a victory in Florida.

Miami Herald: Salary cuts dull Giuliani message

The Weekly Standard: The Giuliani Implosion
From frontrunner to also-ran in eight short weeks.

Melbourne (AUS) Sun:
Rudy Giuliani's nomination snub gamble backfires
ONE-time Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani's high-stakes gamble of bypassing the early presidential nominating contests has stamped a "big L" for loser on his forehead.

Later that day; edited to spell "desperation" correctly, I hope.

Baseball Notes, Mostly Sawx

Boston Red Sox' Jacoby Ellsbury hoists the World Series trophy prior to the Boston Celtics basketball game against the Washington Wizards in Boston Friday, Nov. 2, 2007, as teammates Manny Delcarmen, left, and Tim Wakefield, right, look on. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

- Curt Schilling takes the hometown discount to sign with the Sox; he inserted a weight clause that pays him:

$2 million in bonuses for 6 seperate [sic] weigh ins.

I inserted the weigh in clause in the 2nd round of offers, counter offers. Given the mistakes I made last winter and into Spring Training I needed to show them I recognized that, and understood the importance of it. Being overweight and out of shape are two different things. I also was completely broad sided by the fact that your body doesn’t act/react the same way as you get older. Even after being told that for the first 39 years of my life. Now I can’t get on Dougie anymore, which sucks, and I am sure the clause will add 15-100 more jokes to Tito’s Schilling joke book.

Maybe that's what I need to lose weight, a $2,000,000 incentive? I'll just declare free agency and see how that works out for me. I feel the pounds dropping already.

- Kevin Youkilis wins his first Gold Glove; only George "Boomer" Scott ever won the award playing first base for the Sawx. Too bad the Sawx didn't keep Orlando Cabrera after the 2004 World Series; he won the Gold Glove at SS in the National League.

- Charlie Pierce (the man who gave us "C+ Augustus") on the Sawx winning the Series: Slate: The Red Sox Win Again
And it feels great, thanks for asking.

- Alex Beam, dyspeptic columnist but true Red Sox fan, gloating about the Yankees in the Globe: The sorrow and the pity: a Bronx tale

- And my non-Sawx note, just another reason why the Sawx MUST NOT SIGN Me-Fraud: A-Rod's recent post-season performance (hat tip to Red Sox Stats Guy):

Since Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS — the night Boston began its epic comeback from three games down against the Yankees — (Alex) Rodriguez has come to the plate with 38 runners on base, over the span of 59 at-bats. He left every single one on base, going 0-for-27, right through the Yanks’ Division Series loss to Cleveland this month.

Peter Gammons Calls Out A-Fraud

The dean of baseball reporting rips A-Fraud a new one live on SportsCenter last night for announcing his contract opt-out in the middle of the World Series (which, as Gammons says twice, Rodriguez has never played in). Sweet.



hat tip to Red Sox Monster

Sox Sweep 2007 World Series 4-0

Again, I am exhausted by another exciting, nail-biter of a game. Congratulations to the Red Sox and their organization. I was also really impressed by the Rockies fans who never gave up on their team. They were still cheering lustily with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.

Mike Lowell wins a well-deserved post-season MVP. Perfect. He was the regular season MVP, and he did everything right, especially in those two close games. You'd think he was fast from the way he ran the bases. But he was better than fast -- he was fundamentally sound and he took every inch the Rockies gave. Please God let the Sox resign him. At least don't sign the odious A-Fraud. Please, please, I'm begging you, don't sign him. Just step away.

Reason 728 why I love Jerry Remy: On the postgame show on NESN he is asked about Alex Rodriguez's agent announcing during the 7th inning of the World Series that Rodriguez is opting out. Remy spits out: "It's disgusting....disgusting and despicable." And of course the dopes at Fox were happy to hijack the attention from the Sox to the attention whore Rodriguez.

Like most of Red Sox Nation, I would be physically sick if the Sox signed the pretty loser, PayFraud. Although it would be fun to see how he gets along with Mike Timlin. I can see Timlin impaling him with the bullpen rake if they really got into it. Why would the Red Sox, a team that prides itself on character, associate the franchise with the hooker-patronizing StrayRod? And it's not like you'd be getting him for post-season production, 'cause he disappears when the stakes are high. Do you need to know more? That's why fans last night were chanting two things: "Re-sign Mike Lowell" and "Don't Sign A-Rod." Good advice, Theo. Take it.

Oh god, I'm pulling a Fox and getting distracted by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Done with that.

Didn't you love Timlin's Ode to Wake, while standing right next to him, making them both cry? That was awesome.

Speaking of MVP performances, while I agreed that Lowell was the man, it was close. Coach Mom thought it would be Ellsbury. He did hit a scorching .438 in his first World Series, with an OBP of .500 and a SLG of .688. Those are just phenomenal numbers for our phenom. And he fielded every position they put him in like a pro, and his speed terrorized the Rockies pitchers and fielders. I wanted him to get MVP just so he could win the Rookie of the Year award next year after winning World Series MVP.

My friend G wanted Pedroia to get the award, but I think that was sentimental as much as anything. DP had a better shot at MVP of the ALCS. My favorite quote of the postseason by far is Julio Lugo in the clubhouse after the ALCS clinching game, speaking of Pedroia: "That little midget is THE MAN!"

The third player who should have gotten serious MVP consideration has to be Papelbon. Nails didn't give up a run, only 2 hits in 4.1 innings, with three consecutive saves to close out the four game sweep. He did get a lot of help from one Jacoby Ellsbury catch in the 9th inning last night at the wall. Can't wait to see Pap dancing on the duck boat tomorrow!

Final thought: People who weren't here for the entire season who deserve a full World Series share: Kason Gabbard -- his four wins while Schilling was out were huge, and Bobby Kielty -- the guy had one chance in the World Series and really had that one shining moment, a one-pitch home run that was the winning run of the clinching game. Seven years in the majors, four different teams, one pitch to win the World Series. Priceless.

Sawx Fans Mawk A-Rawd

Fans at Fenway Park in Boston wear blonde masks as New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez goes to bat in the first inning of their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston Friday, June 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

A-Rod getting caught with a stripper (not his wife) by the tabloids brought out the blonde ambitious at Fenway for their three-game series this weekend. A-Rod had the last laugh when he hit a home run off Papelbon to win the third game Sunday night, but the Yankees are still 12 1/2 games back and going nowhere.

NYPost:
A-ROD'S A YANKEE DOODLE RANDY
HITS A STRIP JOINT WITH TORONTO BABE

For more photos of the blonde bombshells at Fenway, check out this Boston.com photo gallery.

Sweep

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, left, celebrates as New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez (13) grounds to third base to end the baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Sunday, April 22, 2007. The Sox won 7-6. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Didn't you just love A-Fraud weakly grounding out to end the game? Papelbon rules.

SI.com: Friendly Fenway
Red Sox cap sweep of Yankees by playing long ball

Boston Globe: Game photos

How People Get Here

I installed a site meter a few months ago, and it's fascinating.

For example, would you have suspected that if you search 'President Dumbass' on google, I'm the #1 result? On yahoo, if you searched 'john murtha wackenhut', again, #1. On cnn.com, someone searched '"death toll in gulf coast"', #1.

I get a lot of hits from people searching for info on David Ortiz, or people who must be wondering if he got named American League MVP (as he should have been). Sorry, hate to have to say this again, but the Baseball Writers gave it to the pretty loser, Alex Rodriguez (Slappy McBluelips).

I see Wackenhut a lot on my results. I ended up on the blogroll of the "Eye on Wackenhut" site, a watchdog organization maintained by SEIU, because I included them in one of my "The Incompetence, The Corruption, and the Cronyism" posts in October. Wackenhut is one of those shadowy outfits raking in the money hand over fist from Bushco for poorly performed "security" services. They're mucking up security at the Statue of Liberty, for example.

Finally, Jabar Gibson, the kid who commandeered the bus in Houston and drove 80 people to the Astrodome from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (recently busted for drugs) continues to generate a lot of traffic. That's in part because Steve Gilliard posted my post on his site, The News Blog, which generated and still generates a lot of traffic. He's one of those Top 250 bloggers, so there you go.

Pretty Loser Wins AL MVP

Alex Rodriguez Wins AL MVP Award

A-Rod is the Anna Kournikova, the Pavel Bure, of baseball: pretty loser. He's got the numbers, all right, if only you don't look at one crucial component: his numbers in the clutch. Clutch (close-and-late) hits, a statistic in which David Ortiz lead the majors; A-Fraud wasn't even in the top 50.

Stats Inc. describes close-and-late situations as ones that occur from the seventh inning on, with the batting team ahead by a run or tied or the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. Ortiz leads the majors with 33 close-and-late RBIs. Rodriguez is not even in the top 50.

Need I remind you that David Ortiz has a World Series ring, and Slappy McBluelips has none?

This award is a travesty. David Ortiz is the true MVP.

I wonder if the repulsive one, the CHB, voted for David Ortiz?

David Ortiz Is MVP

According to the players, that is. Not F-Rod. Ortiz, the true MVP.

Big Papi was voted American League Outstanding Player in the 2005 Players Choice Awards, as voted by his fellow players.

Let's hope the baseball writers do the right thing. Dan Shaughnessy, the cowardly writer/steno who helped run Theo out of town, gets to vote. That makes me sick.

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, the latest curse-breaking team!

Dog F-Rod

A-Rod: 'I played like a dog the last five days'

2-15 (.133), 5 K in 2005 ALDS vs Angels

A-Rod wilts in dog days

ANAHEIM - After good games or bad, Alex Rodriguez has a habit of jutting out his bottom lip so it curls into a pout. It's a pose that stains his cover-boy charm.

Appearances can be deceptive. When A-Rod truly connects with other humans, when he looks them in the eye rather than at a spot on their forehead, he can be quite enchanting. The trouble, as with most everything regarding A-Rod, is deciphering the authentic from the fake. Even the man at the center understands he sometimes creates nearly as many questions as he does answers.

David Ortiz is the American League MVP

MVP! MVP! MVP!

My brother tells me David Ortiz will NEVER win the AL MVP award because he's a DH.

He gives it to Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez (known in these parts as "Slappy McBlueLips").

Besides me, all these folks (many of whom actually vote for the award) disagree:

Ray McNulty, Knoxville News Sentinal: (registration required; use bugmenot.com)
Saluting baseball's best

MVP: David Ortiz, Boston.

I know, he's a DH. And doesn't play defense. And his team didn't win its division. But nobody in baseball got more big hits this season, nobody was more valuable to his team, nobody is more deserving of this award.

Jeff Passan, The Kansas City Star: Red Sox’s David Ortiz the true AL MVP

Tom Hanson, Naples (FL) Daily News: Big Papi deserves MVP

Kevin Hench, FOXSports: Ortiz, not A-Rod, is the AL MVP

Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer: Award voters face some tough calls

American League MVP. People like to point out that a designated hitter has never won the MVP, as if defense has carried a lot of weight with voters in recent years. (Witness Barry Bonds. He long ago stopped playing left field the way he once did, yet powered his way to the last four NL MVP awards.)

This might be the year that the prejudice against DHs ends. That's how big David Ortiz has come up for the Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez has had a huge offensive season for the Yankees, and he has done it while playing brilliant third base. But Ortiz has become baseball's most intimidating hitter with the game on the line.

Take Thursday night, for example. Ortiz tied a game the Red Sox could not afford to lose with his 47th homer in the eighth, then won it with a single in the ninth.

Twenty of Ortiz's homers have tied games or put the Sox ahead. Of those 20, 10 have come from the seventh inning on, with eight of those after the all-star break.

Stats Inc. describes close-and-late situations as ones that occur from the seventh inning on, with the batting team ahead by a run or tied or the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. Ortiz leads the majors with 33 close-and-late RBIs. Rodriguez is not even in the top 50.

The picks: 1, Ortiz; 2, Rodriguez; 3. Travis Hafner, Cleveland.

Jack Todd, Montreal (Can.) Gazette: Gainey makes right call

Oh, yeah, AL MVP? Split it between Manny Ramirez and Papi Ortiz and tell Alex Rodriguez to shove it in his, uh, wallet.

Dennis Deitch, Delaware County Times (Philadelphia): In final voting, here are the award winners

[T]he Red Sox would have been nothing without Ortiz hammering his team through the pitching woes it had all season.

David Borges, Journal Register News Service: Big Papi is at his best when game is on the line

For reasons that extend far beyond the stat sheet and render his status as the Sox DH moot, Ortiz for MVP is a slam dunk - or, as David Wells puts it, "a no-brainer."

He is, as the plaque presented to him by owner John Henry a few weeks ago attested, the "Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History." He is the straw that stirs the drink in the middle of the Sox’ lineup, flip-flopped with Manny Ramirez from cleanup to the third hole back in May and putting up record-breaking numbers ever since.

He is a magnanimous figure in the Sox’ diverse clubhouse, a jovial presence who unites players from all backgrounds.

Alex Rodriguez might be baseball’s Player of the Year, if such an award existed. But he’s not even the MVP of his own team - that honor belongs to closer nonpareil Mariano Rivera.

David Ortiz is the American League’s MVP.

Salt Lake Tribune: [G]ive the MVP to David Ortiz, who produced a superhuman number of game-changing hits.

Dan Connolly, Baltimore Sun: In tight MVP races, go with your heart

David Ortiz, Boston. I've flip-flopped on this hair-puller three times now. New York's Alex Rodriguez has had the best all-around season -- he has even stolen 18 bases -- while Ortiz leads the league in RBI and dramatic moments. Ortiz probably is more important to his team than any other player in baseball, and that's the difference. However, A-Rod has helped carry the Yankees and he plays a great third base, while Ortiz, a designated hitter, sits throughout most games. That's a compelling argument, Yankee fans. But, simply put, the stats-driven mind says Rodriguez, and the unrelenting baseball heart screams for the never-give-up Ortiz.

David Del Grande, InsideBayArea.com: Ortiz has big edge as MVP in AL

Carl Steward, The Argus, CA:

-Forget the DH argument, there's absolutely no way David Ortiz isn't the AL MVP over Alex Rodriguez, regardless of how the weekend turns out between the Yanks and Sox.

Dave Roloff, OnMilwaukee.com: Roloff doles out baseball honors

Winner: David Ortiz -- despite my feeling about A-Rod dominating both sides of the game, nobody has been more clutch over the past months than Ortiz.

Bob Matthews, Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle: 'Big Papi' deserves MVP honors for sure

Ray Hamill, Eureka (CA) Times-Standard: A great time of the year

[G]ive David Ortiz a deserved MVP award over A-Rod.

And finally, from the home of the d**m Yankees:

Mike Lupica, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS (Yes, you heard that right, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS): No one tops this Papi
DH or not, he's MVP

Mike Vaccaro, NEW YORK POST (Yes, you heard that right, NEW YORK POST!): PAPI PULLS AWAY IN MVP BATTLE

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case. David Ortiz is the MVP of the American League.

Best Alex Rodriguez Nicknames

He calls himself A-Rod, but here in Boston we call him

A-Fraud
F-Rod
Slappy McBlueLips (credit to Joy of Sox blog)
A-Lot
Pay-Rod
A-Wad
K-Rod

ICR: One of my favorites. Here's the explanation:

ICR
From Baseball Think Factory Wiki, the free encyclopedia.

ICR is one of the many nicknames given out by Yankee fans in Game Chatters, this one coined by sjohnny. ICR is short for "Inanimate Carbon Rod", and is the nickname given to Alex Rodriguez in lieu of "A-Rod". The reason for the nickname was A-Rod's poor performance in 2004 with runners in scoring position. Many sent ICR to the nickname graveyard after his game-tying double in the 2004 ALDS Game 2.

The phrase "Inanimate Carbon Rod" comes from a Simpsons episode where an inanimate carbon rod is named Employee of the Week at the power plant instead of Homer. This insult leads Homer to become an astronaut, where he averts a catastrophe (after starting it) on a shuttle mission using an inanimate carbon rod, which receives much more acclaim than Homer does.

A-Rod - Bush League Play from a Bush-Leaguer

You gotta believe. The Sawx are gonna win tonight in the Bronx, completing the greatest series comeback in baseball history.

The high & lowlight of last night's game for me was watching A-Rod get caught swatting the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the 8th inning. A-Rod is a big Bush man (see previous post) & this was definitely a bush-league play. He's a paper MVP, after all, never really won anything, and this is the kind of play that lets you see why. Kevin Millar called it "unprofessional," and other commentators have weighed in their disapproval. Ugly moment almost sullies a classic series

The other interesting thing about the game to me was hearing Schilling's post-game comments saying that he had become a Christian 7 years ago & dedicating this win to God. I didn't know Curt played on the God Squad though it doesn't surprise me.

And like so many other members of the God Squad, he believes that Bush is the messiah. On an appearance on ESPN radio today, he corrected the host who called A-Rod's play "bush-league" to say it was a Kerry-league play.

I forget sometimes that every one of these ballplayers is a millionaire. They're all part of Bush's base. The haves.

Stick to baseball, Curt.

Go Sox!

Keep Your Sawx On

Yet another reason to root for the Old Towne Team & hate the Yankees:

Baseball's Owners Go To Bat For Bush

More than a dozen current and former owners and family members are among the president’s top re-election fund-raisers, an Associated Press review found. Seven are Bush “Rangers,” each raising at least $200,000, and six are “Pioneers” who have brought in $100,000 or more.

The Bush campaign has also received direct contributions from owners and executives of more than half of the sport’s 30 teams, the AP analysis of Federal Election Commission reports found.

Those include $2,000 contributions from owners George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees, Fred Wilpon of the New York Mets, Carl Pohlad of the Minnesota Twins, Peter Magowan of the San Francisco Giants and Michael Ilitch of the Detroit Tigers.

When you go to the actual article on MSNBCCNBCSB, it gets worse:

For example, FEC reports show, Bush received $2,000 contributions from Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who played for the Rangers when Bush was an owner, and from New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the highest-paid player in the game.

I guess since Rodriguez is a millionaire, he's not just a "have", he's part of Bush's base.

So, the only decent baseball team to root for is the Sawx. (Sawx owner Tom Werner is one of the few baseball owners to have given money to Kerry.)

YANKEES SUCK! And they got no pitching, either.

Curse of the Bambino

Not exactly news, but farewell to Nomar Garciaparra, my favorite player on the Red Sox. Nomar always played the game the way it should be played. Plus he married Mia Hamm confirming his good taste in my book. (Real men marry athletes.) The writing was on the wall ever since his dumb agent Arn Tellem advised him to turn down the $60 million/4 year offer last year. And it was pretty much all she wrote when dumbf*** "I ate a bucket of steroids & now I think I'm a ballplayer" Kevin Millar went on Sportscenter during the A-Rod talks last year and said, I'd rather have A-Rod than Nomar. You know Nomar would never forget that. He never would have done that to one of his teammates, either. He had too much class for that.

But Theo? You just traded a first ballot Hall of Famer for two guys who are going to have to buy bus tickets to get to Cooperstown? Dude, get ready to be looking for another job in a few years. This one's gonna hurt us for a long time. Not that we thought you were a fine judge of horseflesh after you traded Shea Hillenbrand, .300 career hitter, for Byung Hyun Kim, pitcher & head case. Why would you trade for a pitcher who melted down against the Yankees in the World Serious? Ah, the eternal mystery & pain of being a Sox fan.

Good luck Nomar. If the Red Sox aren't going to win the World Series this year (they may not even get the wild card) I'll be rooting for the Cubbies.

LINK This was a bad deal: How could the Sox deal Nomar without getting a pitcher in return?

LINK (From El Guapo's Ghost blog) NOMAH FIVE IS NO MORE

LINK Jim Fennell:Don’t blame Nomar for this one, Sox fans

LINK (registration required) Trashing of Garciaparra continues in Boston

OK, this article is so good I will put it in in its entirety:

By RICK MORRISSEYChicago Tribune
CHICAGO - Day 4 of the attempted demolition of Nomar Garciaparra included an assertion by Red Sox owner John Henry that his former shortstop recently had to be talked out of demanding a trade.

This followed accusations in Boston that Garciaparra was a slacker, a malcontent, a clubhouse cancer, selfish, weird, an injury waiting to happen, a faker, a liar and anything else you can think of except a cheap tipper, although that's being nvestigated.

The way it's going, Day 6 will dawn with news that Garciaparra often wore lacy Yankees-logo undergarments and that close personal friend Osama bin Laden, though thinking the bra was a bit much, approved.

The Red Sox know they messed up. We know the Red Sox know they messed up because, ever since they dealt him to the Cubs, they have tried to tear him down. This is what you do to buildings that are dilapidated and lack character. You don't do it to one of the best players in team history.

But the Red Sox carry on, sledgehammer in hand, because they know they received the weaker part of the deal. They know their fans are upset about losing a Boston icon, a man with a career .323 batting average.

I'm not sure I can recall such a lengthy, all-out verbal assault on one player after he had been traded. Know this: The harsher the attacks, the more indignant the protests, the more likely it is that a team is doing the backstroke. The Red Sox have backstroked so much, they're halfway to Europe and spitting out saltwater.

Garciaparra is a Cub now, and although it's all that matters, he would need news conferences between innings to answer the onslaught of charges against him. Somehow he has managed to play well.

The most surprising thing is that his Achilles' tendon, the one that kept him out 57 games this year, hasn't turned into angel-hair pasta. The Red Sox seem to be waiting for that to happen. That, or they're waiting for his Pinocchio nose to take out about seven Cubs' kneecaps in the team clubhouse. They can't seem to decide whether he's delicate or disingenuous.

The Red Sox are getting heat for acquiring Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera in the four-team trade that sent Garciaparra to Chicago. You'd get blow-torched, too, if you made that deal. What they'd like everyone to know is: It's not our fault! That's what all this petulance is about.

The Red Sox weren't able to sign Nomar to a four-year, $60 million contract extension, presumably because Garciaparra didn't like the deferred money in the deal. The Red Sox didn't like their chances of signing him when he became a free agent after this season. So they traded him. Fine. But be adults and swallow it.

They aren't talking much about their role in the lead-up to the trade. They're the team that tried to acquire superstar Alex Rodriguez in the off-season. They're the team that would have traded Garciaparra if the Rangers had traded Rodriguez to Boston.

If you were trying to offend a man who considers himself one of the best shortstops in the game, the best way to go about it would be by trying to acquire Alex Rodriguez.

They expected a proud superstar to put it all behind him? To remember it's just business and to not take it personally? And yet, despite the slap in the face from the Red Sox, Garciaparra and his agent both have denied that he wanted out of Boston.

Trying to put the blame on Garciaparra for Saturday's trade is like blaming Hawaii for Pearl Harbor. This is about Red Sox officials Larry Lucchino and Boy Wonder Theo Epstein attempting to clean up their mess without getting dirty. The egg on their faces would seem to indicate they haven't succeeded.

So almost a week after the trade, Garciaparra is still defending himself against an extremely defensive franchise. Character witness Todd Walker, a former teammate in Boston and a current one in Chicago, said Garciaparra was well-liked in the Red Sox's clubhouse. That doesn't match up with the characterization in the Boston media of him as "cancer."

Wonder where that could have come from.

How the trade will be remembered will depend on how well Garciaparra plays and whether, perish the thought, he wins a World Series ring somewhere other than Boston. It won't be the curse of the Bambino, but it will feel like a close relative.

LINK From the ObeyPedro blog:

The best quote I've read so far concerning the Garciaparra trade has to be from Larry Mahnken:

Meanwhile the Red Sox pointed a shotgun at their face, pulled the trigger, and said, "I think we look better now." A lot of reports list the Red Sox as trade deadline winners, which is true only in the sense that everyone who participates in the Special Olympics is a winner.

I don't necessarily agree with him, especially now that Bellhorn is on the DL with a broken thumb, but it's funny nonetheless.