Sports Rumblings and Grumblings

Some tidbits, insights, slanted biased Bostonist type opinions, and other sports "knowledge" from the Bostonist's satellite office in Medford, on a lovely sunny Wednesday afternoon.

It looks like Bostonist's last attempt at explaining the Vinatieri situation was incorrect. Take a look at the Herald today, where the transcript of the interview Vinatieri granted at the Greatest Bar in the North End, yesterday. It looks like Vinatieri NEVER gave the Pats an opportunity to match the offer the Colts made.

So, let Bostonist get this straight. Indy "stepped up to the plate and showed me a lot of love." Well, Mr. Clutch, where is YOUR LOVE for the fans of New England? You know those people that rooted for you and paid your salary? 10 years of playing in New England, and not as much as a cursory call to the Pats organization to tell them that you were taking this offer, and that this was your last chance? Bostonist just doesn't get it.

The Sox start is a very nice surprise, especially considering all of the off-season turmoil with Theo, Johnny Damon, and all of the personnel changes on Yawkey Way. A nice 6-1 start to the season, Starting Pitching getting off on the right foot, and the closer situation addressed, and rightly so (Papelbon replacing Foulke). Boston has a lot of depth in their organization, thanks to 3 plus years of hard work by Theo Epstein and the Sox front office. There finally is a farm system that is developing young players, especially pitchers. This is a refreshing change from the Yawkey era.

David Wells gets the nod tonight, starting his first game of the 2K6 campaign. Wells was a little less than razor sharp in his last outing for the Pawtucket Red Sox, giving up seven runs over five innings. Let's hope David's homecoming is a little bit better, or the Sox bats will have some work to do.

Speaking of the bats, looking a lot better than most thought/predicated, eh (at least so far)? Mike Lowell's four hit game was a nice treat for the fans yesterday. Papi picked up where he left off. Manny is still "warming his engine". V-tek is getting clutch hits, as is Trot (who has a bit of a groin pull). Even with the small rash of injuries, the fill-ins have performed nicely. Adam Stern has performed admirably, and it’s nice to finally see Kevin Youkilis playing every day. Bostonist thinks that he could be a player that hits .290, 25 HRs, and 85 RBIs.

Lastly, Bostonist is going to the game tonight, and is lucky enough to have Monster Seats. Bostonist is a season ticket holder, but has never been up to the "best seats in the game". Come back tomorrow for a "Monster Report".

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Red_Sox. Here's hoping for a 2006 version.