SPARE NEURONS

Picking up the pieces of a crazy couple of days of Boston sports:

* In retrospect, unlike Bob Ryan at the Boston Globe, I am definitely buying into the hype around Kevin Garnett. Yes, the lack of depth is horrifying, but hearing that veteran minimum riff-raff like Dikembe Motumbo, PJ Brown, Troy Hudson, and Brevin Knight are already paging Danny Ainge at least gives me a little hope for some depth off the bench. I still think they Celtics bring back the Kandi-man.

* Can some Yankees fan tell me why a team with a desperate need for bullpen help trades away their best set-up man? I know no one would touch Kyle Farnsworth, but why trade Scott Proctor? Just because Regular Joe Torre cannot manage a bullpen and burnt the kid out is no excuse to dump him for a utility infielder (Wilson Betamit: No, no, shouts Brian Cashman, he is our newest first baseman of the future!). So, if the pen is a weakness, you should trade away the good guys? Hey, no complaints from Red Sox Nation.

* In five years, when looking at the Eric Gagne rental, Engel Beltre is going to be the one that got away. Or, maybe not. Anyone hear about Phil Dumatrait recently? (OK, I did, he is still laboring in AAA but is doing OK and could be a number 4 or 5 starter, but in no way the stud he was originally projected to be. Heck, if he is not cracking the Reds rotten rotation, there is less hope than originally thought).

* Geez, how low can the Bruins go now? The NESN execs must be gnashing their teeth being stuck with the black and gold all winter while the star-studded Celtics start pulling in the ratings for Greg Dickerson and Gary Tanguay and the rest of the FoxSports NewEngland. I hope they have a lot of Sox footage to replay this winter (Tito and his Top Ten Grimaces from the Dugout; Big Papi and the Curse of the Ninth Inning Pop-outs; How Manny Got his Groove Back; Alex Cora for President in 08; The Pontifications of the Schill).

* Regarding Joel Pineiro, well, what a waste he turned out to be, but kudos to the Sox brass for taking a chance on him. Now, we just need to find out who that player to be named later is going to be. When I advocated the trading of Yo-Yo Tavarez to St Louis in early June, here is what I dug out of the weak Cardinals farm system as a public service to Epstein and Co:
Bryan Anderson: Single A catching prospect. Hey, we need ANY catching prospect. Varitek is not getting any younger.
Chris Perez: Fast-track bullpen boy from the U (Miami of Florida) who has potential closer written all over him.
Mark McCormick: Single-A PROSPECT. Needs a lot of work but has a triple-digit fastball.
Other than these three, anything from St. Louis is an organizational guy (someone there to take up space in the minors).

* Yup, Eric Bedard is really that good. Second best lefty in the American League as far as I am concerned.

* When Ben Watson and Kevin Faulk are the forgotten guys on offense, it is no wonder I am salivating for the football season to kick-off. BRING ON THE %@#-#^&#@$ JETS ALREADY!

* Rod Beck and Cocaine? Gee, I never saw that coming from a million miles away!

* Garnett for Al Jefferson and a number one pick. In the end, that is what the trade turned out to be. OK, I can deal with that. I’m off the ledge, and I am ready for a RELEVANT Celtics team instead of looking three years down the road.

Comments