Buchholz Is Lights Out Again

As I write, Clay Buchholz is helping the Sox school the Angels yet again with six shutout innings. In what will likely end up as a disappointing season for the Sox, Buchholz has been a major bright spot. Not including the present game he is 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his first three starts of August. On the season he is 13-5 and has an AL best 2.49 ERA. (By the way, this drives me crazy every time I look at pitching stats. This: 7.1, does not mean seven and one third. It means seven and one tenth. It should look like this: 7 1/3. I know it's not easy to represent 7 1/3 with a decimal since 1/3 is a repeating non-terminating decimal, but 7.1 is not correct.)

I'm pleased to see Buchholz develop and flourish in his first full season in the majors. He seemed to hit a snag after his no hitter in 2007. But now in my mind he has leap frogged Josh Beckett and joined Jon Lester as one of the Sox top two starters. Hopefully this a clear sign that the Sox will have excellent starting pitching for years to come.

A short football digression: I am selling the Jets right now. I just want go on record as saying that New York football's second class citizens will win not more than 10 games. If the sports media is high on your team, especially in the NFL, run for the hills. Also if Brett Favre comes back I'm setting the over/under on ints this year at 18.5. Which one are you taking?

NFL Division Round 2010

• So much for me bad mouthing the Saints. I really thought, at the very least, that this game against the Cards would be competitive. It was the high scoring affair that most were predicting. It's just that the Saints did all the scoring.
• And so much for me bad mouthing the Colts. They beat the Ravens Saturday through good, old fashioned hard work and determination. The Colts get most of their press clippings via big plays by Manning and the receivers. But over the past few seasons, they have really learned to grind out wins and how to win ugly. Though the 20-3 score would indicate otherwise, their victory was the result of a full game of battling the tough Ravens' D and the Colts' defenders tightening their chinstraps against the Ravens' vaunted running game. The result was still in doubt for most of the fourth quarter.
• It was enjoyable to see the hated Cowboys feel the pain of having kicker Shaun Suisham on the roster. He missed two makable field goals Sunday. Not that it made much difference. The Vikings' pass rush is back and forced Tony Romo into more turnovers than a German bakery.
• And just when you thought we would see all front runners in the conference title games, the Jets come along and screw things up. The defense kept them in the game and the offense made just enough plays to win. Meanwhile, are the Chargers the new Colts? The super talented team that fails time and again in the playoffs?
• I tell you what though. The Colts better beat the hell out of the Jets next week. And the Saints better beat the Vikes. I don't think I could stomach the sports media if one of them made it to the Super Bowl. Worse yet what if the Jets AND the Vikings make it. It may be the first Super Bowl in 20 years that I skip watching. I couldn't deal with replay after replay of Joe Willies index finger held aloft in 1969 or god forbid Farve Fest 2010!

NFL Hyperbolic Statements-Week 16

A couple of super lame items this week that make me want to spit...

Super Lame I: Really, Colts? Really? You're going to let your undefeated season end like that? Without even trying? I know they have an organizational philosophy of resting starters once they've clinched everything they can clinch. It would be one thing if this philosophy was actually successful. But it's not. It's just not. First of all, when the Colts played out the string with their starters in 2006, they won the Super Bowl. They haven't won a playoff game since with this philosophy of rest.

Secondly, they're already getting a week of rest. That's what the bye is for. What's the point of working for the bye if you're going to start resting three weeks ahead of time. I could accept, if not condone, resting starters with a 14 point lead or 14 point deficit. But the Colts were only up 5 with five minutes remaining in the third. Like I said, if this strategy had a proven track record go ahead, but it doesn't, and again the Colts are not going to be successful in the post season. Basically, by the time they get to their first playoff game, Manning and Co. will have been resting for a month. Hope you're happy with 14-2 and no hardware, dummies.

Super Lame II: The Giants, with everything to play for in their final game at Giants stadium, get shellacked by the Panthers. A loss is one thing, but 41-9? After winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago the Giants have been the most underachieving team in the league if you ask me.

Look Who's Back: The Jets. After all of the criticism, browbeating at the hands of the NY, media, and living and dying by their rookie quarterback, the other NY team is in the driver's seat for their playoff destiny. Of course, they got some help with the aforementioned Colts laying down. Whodathunkit?! If you listen to WFAN you would think they're 0-15.

File This One Under WTF: I have a 7 foot piece of asbestos pipe in my house. It's going to take $975 to remove it. I swear, if it wasn't on record and disclosed on the MLS report, I would take it out myself. I'm not too scared of cancer, it's a few feet of the stuff. It's not like I'm blowing foam installation without a respirator everyday. Oh well, I'm just glad it's getting done.

NFL Top 10

Here's what you've been waiting for kids. Dan's first installment of the NFL Top 10. I have also included a special weekly feature at the end of the post. Enjoy.

1. Titans (7-0): This team has a nastiness that I like and a great O-line. I think they need find an offensive focal point. Chris Johnson perhaps.

2. Giants (6-1): I've never seen a team so deep with offensive play makers. They showed they can win a slugfest as well by beating Pittsburgh last weekend.

3. Patriots (5-2): You just can't count them out... ever. If you can't be the '07 Pats, then be the '01 Pats. They won it all, if you remember.

4. Redskins (6-2): The league's #1 rushing offense + no interceptions for Jason Campbell= Wins. Beware the second half swoon, 'Skins fans.

5. Steelers (5-2): They win when Big Ben plays well. So why can't they protect their best commodity? If Ben can't stay upright, they will be in trouble. He's partially to blame for not getting rid of the football.

6. Panthers (6-2): John Fox always gets this team to play tough. They will not be an easy out.

7. Bills (5-2): Yeah, I know they just lost to the Dolphins, but I'm not going to down grade for a close divisional loss. They're young and talented. Will they have enough to get past New England? B-squared likes to eat young and talented for breakfast.

8. Bears (4-3): The D is back and Rex is on the bench. How did they miss the fact that Kyle Orton is actually kind of good?

9. Buccaneers (5-3): They're in the playoff race as of now, but I don't like them very much. There's something about John Gruden I don't like. Maybe it's his face.

10. Cowboys (5-3): I don't know why, but here they are. I feel like things will get better when Tony Romo gets back (namely my fantasy team).

What the hell is up with....? Media coverage of the Jets. They complain that the Jets should have blown out the Raiders and the Chiefs in consecutive weeks because they're so much better. They lost to the Raiders in OT and barely beat the Chiefs. This is all I heard on New York radio on Sunday. Has it ever occurred to you that the Jets may be closer to the level of Oakland and KC than they are to the playoffs? They stink and so does Brett Favre. I like Favre as much as the next guy, but he's had it. Thanks to the media market we're in I get to watch his slow, torturous decline every Sunday until the Rapture.