LeVar Arrington was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident yesterday; usually that would be the top off-season NFL story if not for the consistent and reliable—–PAC MAN JONES!!
    I don’t understand the risk/reward of riding a motorcycle when so much money is on the line. There are so many other ways to get a rush—-parasailing, skydiving, bungee jumping—–that I don’t see why these guys need to ride motorcycles. Every couple of months there’s always some famous person getting seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Arrington, unlike Ben Roethlisberger, was wearing his helmet. Considering that NFL contracts are not guaranteed, why do these guys insist on running that risk? Regardless of what they do, baseball players are going to get paid because of their guaranteed contracts and insurance policies (and occasional creativity with their cover stories), yet it’s a relative rarity that baseball players troubles of this kind are played out in the press.
    As for Pac Man Jones, I was dubious as to the wisdom and reasoning behind suspending him for the entire 2007 season. One thing that you do not want to do with a guy who tends to have trouble follow him around (or puts himself into a position where he courts it) is take away the structure of his job and send him off into the world with nothing to do.
    In his heyday, Mike Tyson was the same way; when he was training seriously for a fight, he was in a figurative box; there were structured activities for every part of his day. During those times, he managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. It was when his original training staff and management group were slowly stripped away, and during his down time that he got into the majority of his scrapes. Now Pac Man Jones is wanted for questioning in a shooting involving a member of his entourage and another group of men with whom they were arguing.
    If Jones is truly trying to change his behaviors as he supposedly claimed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, then he shouldn’t be hanging around with the same people in the same places. Now he’s in trouble again and doesn’t have to worry about mini-camp, pre-season, etc. I don’t think anyone should be surprised if and when one of the incidents in which Jones is on the outskirts winds up catching him in the crossfire and his face and the "tragedy" of his fate are lamented for all to see. No one will be able to say it wasn’t foreseen or that he wasn’t warned.

    Everyone who watches the Sopranos knows that tomorrow night is the series finale. Supposedly they shot five different endings to the show so that even the actors don’t know what is going to ultimately happen to Tony. Here’s my best, educated guess: Tony survives and becomes a witness for the federal government. There are a couple of reasons I think that this is the most logical way for them to go.
    For years, I said that the only realistic way for the show to end was with Tony dead or Tony in jail. I never thought that he would turn government witness; but with the turn of events on the show, he really has no other options. Both of his closest cohorts are dead (Bobby "Bacala") and in a coma (Silvio Dante); he wants to live; his widowed sister and her family are going to need someone to take care of them; he wants to see his children rise into adulthood.
    The relationship with New York and Phil Leotardo is probably damaged beyond repair and he’s probably not going to be able to get to Phil to kill him. What better way for Tony to A) survive; and B) get back at Phil than by sending him and his lieutenants to jail for the rest of their lives?
    Another thing that has to be considered is how difficult it is for the creator of a character to kill that character off; I’ve experienced this in my fiction; it’s like someone really dying and is very hard to do. I don’t know that David Chase and the writers are going to be able to bring themselves to kill Tony when it comes down to it. The guess here is that Tony becomes a government witness and is relocated.

    Here are my NHL first round playoff predictions for anyone interested in hockey:
Eastern Conference
1) Buffalo Sabres vs NY Islanders—Islanders in seven.
2) New Jersey Devils vs Tampa Bay Lightning—Devils in five.
3) Atlanta Thrashers vs NY Rangers—Rangers in six.
4) Ottawa Senators vs Pittsburgh Penguins—Penguins in seven.

Western Conference
1) Detroit Red Wings vs Calgary Flames—Red Wings in six.
2) Anaheim Ducks vs Minnesota Wild—Ducks in seven.
3) Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars—Stars in six.
4) Nashville Predators vs San Jose Sharks—Sharks in five.

    Steve Trachsel has been a most unappreciated 15 game winning free agent. The perception appears that Trachsel’s 15 wins came as a result of great run support and that he would have been lucky to win 10 games with a weaker team than last season’s New York Mets.
    In all fairness, Trachsel didn’t pitch all that well last season, but he didn’t pitch all that badly either. The thing that is sticking in everyone’s mind is his embarrassing performance in the NLCS against the Cardinals; but that shouldn’t prevent someone from giving the man a job as their fifth starter. Now, the injury to Kris Benson of the Orioles may have opened a spot for Trachsel.
    Benson, like Trachsel, isn’t the best pitcher in the world; but his statistics are relatively similar to Trachsel’s. They can both be counted on to pitch 190 or so innings and win 12-14 games while losing close to that number. If the Orioles now deep bullpen performs as expected and their offense produces up to its capabilities, they’re only going to need someone like Trachsel to pitch as he did last season with the Mets. I think within the next few days, the Orioles will sign Trachsel to replace the injured Benson and get a similar performance.

    I rarely agree with a certain bloated (mentally and physically) radio talk show host here in New York, but he’s right about the Yankees not needing to have signed Doug Mientkiewicz at the expense of Bernie Williams’s roster spot.
    While I completely understand and agree with the Yankees desire not to have Jason Giambi playing first base, Mientkiewicz wasn’t a necessary signing. The Gary Sheffield to first base experiment was a disaster and the experiment may have also cost the Yankees a spot for Williams. Had the Sheffield experiment gone a bit better, the shifting of one of the Yankees outfielders (Bobby Abreu most likely) to first base would have been a more viable option. Abreu has won a Gold Glove in his career in the outfield, but he is not a good outfielder. (His former manager in Philly and now a Yankees coach Larry Bowa, who adores Abreu, said as much in an interview before the Yankees got him.) Abreu could have been shifted to first base.
    Mienkiewicz’s image isn’t exactly sterling either; I can see him irritating Joe Torre if he is as petulant as he was while playing with the Mets and whining about not getting playing time while hitting .220. Then there was the ugly fight with the Red Sox over ownership of ball that recorded the last out in the World Series.
    Looking at the situation objectively, would the Yankees be better off with Abreu at first, Williams in right field splitting time with Melky Cabrera, or with the probable platoon of Mientkiewicz and Josh Phelps at first base? I think it’s the former, on and off the field.

    For a guy as physically fragile as J.D. Drew; and with the number of times he’s gone from team to team for reasons varying from wanting more money to being traded to appearing to look for something he’s never going to be able to find; what is the hold up in introducing him and placing him on the 40 man roster?
    This contract is taking longer to complete than the SALT agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union. The longer this drags out without the lavish press conference with the verbose Theo Epstein spouting his corporate catch phrases and everyone—–from Drew and Scott Boras to the Red Sox officials who seem so unenthusiastic about this signing—–performing their best selling job to the media and fans, the more it appears as though this marriage is going to be doomed from the start.
    Drew is giving me the impression with all of the continuous moving from one venue to another that  the fans reaction isn’t all that important to him one way or the other; that he’s trying to make as much money as he possibly can doing something he doesn’t particularly like and bouncing from team to team to find a situation that is at least tolerable. But the Red Sox fans, who have been open in their skepticism regarding Drew, must be wondering what’s going on with this contract that it’s taking so long to finalize and why Drew still isn’t listed on their roster.
    This is a bad start and both the Red Sox and Drew; all involved had better hope that it isn’t a portent of what is to come once the deal is done and the season begins, because if it is, things can go very bad, very fast.

    As horrendous as Jeff Weaver was with the Angels last season; with the colossal failure he was in New York; and the disappointment he was in Detroit; what makes the Seattle Mariners believe that three months in St. Louis under the tutelage of Dave Duncan and Tony LaRussa and some success in the playoffs will translate into a smooth transition back to the American League?
    Weaver didn’t even pitch all that well during the regular season with the Cardinals; he pitched relatively well in the post-season in some high pressure games, but that doesn’t mean he’s "turned the corner", as the Mariners undoubtedly hope. This move seems more desperate than anything else.
    On the plus side, Weaver only signed a one-year contract; he should still be motivated to prove that he deserves a long term deal; so it’s no long-term commitment for either side; there really isn’t much for either side to lose. The Mariners shouldn’t place their hopes particularly high with Jeff Weaver.

    Todd Helton would be a good pickup for the Red Sox; the change might wake up his bat; but it’s doubtful that, at age 33, he’s ever going to approach the ridiculous numbers he put up from 2000-2003. It’s interesting that as the whiffle ball numbers diminished for everyone in Coors Field, so did the numbers of Todd Helton.
    Yes, his on base numbers are still huge, and yes, he’s a Gold Glove winner at first base and an intense competitor; but is he worth the salary the Red Sox are going to have to pay him even if the Rockies pick up a large chunk of it? Regardless of what they have to surrender in the trade (Mike Lowell and Julian Tavarez aren’t much of an asking price); and perhaps they can afford to throw in one of their young arms; but is Helton a necessity or a luxury item designed to gain attention for the Red Sox in January to distract from the reality that they still don’t know who their closer is going to be?
    With the addition of J.D. Drew, the expected seasons from Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz; the understated production of Kevin Youkilis; along with Julio Lugo, Jason Varitek and a comeback year from Coco Crisp, the Red Sox have more than enough firepower. They don’t need Helton, especially since he has struggled with injuries over the past few years. Unless the Red Sox address their problem in the bullpen, all the firepower in the world isn’t going to help them make the playoffs; and unless they have secretly planned all along to place Jonathan Papelbon back into the bullpen, they still don’t have anyone who they know can be trusted in the back of the bullpen.
    If they trade Manny Delcarmen and/or Craig Hanson along with Lowell and Tavarez, the Red Sox fans should ask themselves why they didn’t put together a similar package to get Chad Cordero from the Washington Nationals because he fills a need that the Red Sox have, rather than feeds a desire to see another big name like Helton’s splashed all over the Boston tabloids along with another nauseating Theo Epstein press conference.

    With Todd Helton’s production having dwindled from it’s ridiculous heights of a few years ago, it does make sense for the Rockies to try and trade him to get some value while taking his salary off the books; but given his history, Dan O’Dowd is not the guy I would want making this deal for the Rockies. O’Dowd’s ineptitude is become the stuff of legend. What exactly is it that has allowed him to continually make these absurd decisions in running his team and yet still keep his job?
    The rumored "bounty" for trading Helton (and paying a chunk of his salary) is reported to be Mike Lowell and Julian Tavarez. I’ll let that digest for a moment.

    Yes. He’s going to get back Mike Lowell and Julian Tavarez and he’s going to pay a chunk of Helton’s bloated salary. The Rockies are supposedly asking for young pitching in the form of Craig Hanson and/or Manny Delcarmen, to which the Red Sox have said no. There will supposedly be some pitching prospects going back to the Rockies, but with O’Dowd, who knows?
    Dan O’Dowd should tell the Red Sox that if he’s getting Lowell and Tavarez in exchange for Helton; and the Red Sox are refusing to include any of the requested pitching prospects, then the Red Sox have to pick up Helton’s entire salary. Will O’Dowd do that? Apparently not. How much more are Rockies fans going to take of this absurd reign of the inept Dan O’Dowd?
    As for the Red Sox, Helton would be a good addition and the change to a possible contender would quite possibly wake up his bat; but shouldn’t they be more focused on addressing the pressing problem in the bullpen? Unless they intend to let Jonathan Papelbon start for awhile and return him to the bullpen if none of the "tryout" closers works out, there isn’t anyone on the roster who can be counted on in the late innings. If they can get Helton for what the rumors are stating is the asking price, they should do it; then they should tell Papelbon that he’s going to be needed in the bullpen. Only then will they be able to truly consider themselves contenders, because without a dependable closer, there are going to be a lot of games blown regardless of how many runs that reconstituted lineup is able to score.

    Until Roger Clemens definitively retires, we’re going to have to deal with the constant speculation as to which team he will join for his half season of work. Clemens’s agents have said that the only teams that Clemens will consider joining are the Astros, Yankees and Red Sox; now with Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano surrendering the uniform number 22, which Clemens wore while with the Yankees, in hopes of Clemens’s arrival in mid-season, the pros and cons of which team would be best for Clemens to join should be weighed.
    The pros for each:
    The Yankees will offer Clemens the opportunity to win another championship and to do it while pitching with his close friend Andy Pettitte. They will also probably offer him the most money out of all the interested suitors.
    The Red Sox would offer Clemens comparable money to the Yankees and his return to Boston would right a supposed wrong that was perpetrated by then Red Sox GM Dan Duquette in letting Clemens leave in the first place. The Red Sox have also said that they would be willing to be flexible with Clemens’s schedule, as the Astros are.
    The Astros continue to offer most of the same things that they’ve provided over the past three seasons, except that Andy Pettitte is no longer there. They’re going to be competitive this season; they have a strong bullpen; and there is the matter of the special perks that Clemens receives in that he doesn’t have to show up at the ballpark unless he’s pitching, and that he doesn’t accompany the team on all the road trips. There are also the matters of Clemens’s son Koby, who is in the low minor leagues for the Astros; and the personal services contract that Clemens has with the Astros; those things make it very attractive for Clemens to remain with the Astros.
    The cons:
    The Yankees aren’t going to let Clemens make his own schedule as the other teams appear willing to do.
    The Red Sox bullpen is looking like it might be a problem; they really don’t need another starter, they need bullpen help. Why would Clemens want to join a team that is going to have a hard time making the playoffs while drawing the ire of both the Yankees and Astros?
    The Astros probably wouldn’t be very happy with Clemens if he abandoned them to selfishly re-join the Yankees or Red Sox after the Astros have been so generous financially and accommodating to his desires to be a "part-timer". One other thing that shouldn’t be discounted is the presence of Clemens’s son in the Astros minor league system. In looking at Koby Clemens’s stats, he doesn’t appear to be much of a prospect. If Clemens wants his son to make it to the big leagues, the only chance he may have is if Clemens himself is still a member in good standing with the organization. If he leaves, the Astros might up and release Clemens’s son.
    All of this speculation is ultimately meaningless. Clemens himself knows the pros and cons of each situation. I believe that the decision is going to come down to the Astros competitiveness in their division; money won’t be such an overriding factor. If the Astros are in contention for a playoff spot, then Clemens will return there. If not, then he will choose between the Yankees and Red Sox. Since the Astros look like they’re going to be pretty good this year, it’d be a huge surprise if Clemens is pitching for anyone other than the Houston Astros this season.