Time Out for Sports Talk: Holiday Departures and Arrivals
Todd: Jon Lester won 110 games with the Red Sox, including a no-hitter. He was part of two World Series championships in Boston, and his postseason numbers are among the all-time best. He is a cancer survivor, and by all accounts one of the genuine good guys in the sports world. Now that the door has been officially slammed shut on a return to the Sox, I’ll miss him.
All that being said, I’m not terribly disappointed that Lester will be pitching in the Windy City next year and likely the five or six years after that. At over $25 million per season, he is now the second highest paid pitcher in baseball.
As good as Lester has been, he’s not worth that kind of insane money. I had a hard time thinking of Lester as a $20M player, which is the minimum of what it would’ve taken last spring for the Red Sox to lock him up before hitting free agency.
That was when the Sox truly lost the opportunity to keep Lester, not this week when Theo Epstein wrote up a contract bigger than the space currently residing where the Wrigley Field bleachers used to be (major renovations going on in Wrigleyville these days).
If there wasn’t already a part of me rooting for the Chicago Cubs to snap that 106-year championship drought, there certainly is now. Thanks for the memories Jon, and good luck pitching into Joe Maddon’s defensive shifts.
And while the Sox may not have an ace, the additions of Wade Miley, Rick Porcello and old friend Justin Masterson to Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly does give the rotation five #3 arms.
Which is fine because everyone knows that five threes make a winning poker hand! Wait, they don’t? Maybe it’s a winning hand in crazy eights? Uno?
Believe me, I’m not doing cartwheels over the Sox current pitching staff (good thing, because I’d really hurt myself). But Ben Cherington’s strategy so far this offseason of paying big for bats and less for arms isn’t as off-the-rails as you might think.
Scoring is down more than a full run over the last fifteen years, with home runs also on the significant decline. The ERA throughout MLB in 2014 was the lowest it’s been in twenty five years. Right now it feels like it’s harder to find good hitting than it is good pitching, and perhaps Cherington will look smart giving the big money to Sandoval and Ramirez instead of Lester. Only time will tell.
There’s also plenty of heat left in this hot stove season, so the Sox might not be done adding presents to their Christmas wish list.
Also still providing plenty of heat are the Patriots. Here’s a stat you might not have read anywhere: over their last four games coming off the bye, the Pats’ defense has allowed only one touchdown in the second half. ONE. That was back on November 16 at Indianapolis on a pass caught by left tackle-turned-eligible receiver (and BC alum) Anthony Castonzo.
So not a single skill player has found the end zone in the second half against this defense in nearly six weeks, and in the last three weeks the Lions/Packers/Chargers have combined to score a grand total of two field goals after intermission.
Chew on those factoids, Pats fans. Bill Belichick hasn’t had a defense this reliable since their Lombardi-hoisting days.
Case in point came last Sunday night in San Diego. Tom Brady had far from his best night--that abhorrent throw intended for Gronkowski just before halftime had me doing my best Chris-Griffin-from-Family-Guy ‘Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!’ impression.
Brady’s struggles, combined with the Pats being down 14-3 early on (and knowing Josh McDaniels would abandon the running game as a result—BTW I hate when they do that) turned the game into a low-scoring struggle where the only chance for victory relied on the defense coming up big time and time again.
Let’s not forget the play of the Brandons, both Bolden’s punishing punt block and Browner’s crushing tackle that would have not been a penalty two years ago. Jamie Collins also stepped up big to call defensive signals and make sacks.
Could this D get even better with the return of both Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones? Trying…to…contain...excitement.
With the difficult stretch of the Pats’ schedule behind them (and succeeding with a 5-1 mark), it’s on to the final three regular season games, all against divisional foes. First up is Miami, and we all know how much the Dolphins love to travel up to Foxboro in December (I can still picture Tedy Bruschi kneeling down in the snow while a blizzard of white was being tossed by the fans).
At 7-6, Miami really needs to win this week to remain in the playoff hunt. But which Dolphins team will show up, the one that soundly beat the Pats in South Florida the first week of the season and a team that nearly won tough road games in Detroit and Denver? Or will it be the team that barely beat the Jets and got thumped at home by both the Chargers and Ravens?
I think Team A shows up for the first half, but something closer to Team B arrives after halftime, especially having to face the Pats’ defense. Patriots 28, Dolphins 14.
My Week 15 picks (1-2 last week, 24-14 season): So Mike, I’m proposing to remove the tie from my record and you to eliminate your ‘Cowboys over Lions’ pick from last week--the problem with that pick was they didn’t play each other! This gives you a full three-game lead over me and we eliminate the whole tie business.
Knowing I need to gain ground fast, I like the Ravens over the Jaguars, Colts over the Texans and Chiefs over the Raiders.
Mike: So long Jon, and thanks for the memories.
I'm not really all that shocked that the Sox lost out on the Lester sweepstakes. After all, I agree with Todd that the cause was really lost last year, and all of this possible return talk was just a PR move on both sides. After all, Lester can say all he wants about a "hometown discount," but I think in the end, he was going to go for the biggest bucks, and I can't fault him for that.
As for the flurry of moves the team made right after the Lester news, I'm underwhelmed to say the least. It seems to be almost a panic move, and they are dumping a lot of assets and not getting equal value in return. I hope I'm wrong there, but I don't have a good feeling about this.
This team needs an ace, and it needs it badly!
As for the Patriots, this week is going to be another division title celebration, as there is no way New England loses to Miami at home in December. Patriots 35, Dolphins 17.
For my picks (2-1 last week, 27-11 season): As for your proposal Todd, I'm fine with however you want to keep score, especially since it seems I can't tell the difference between Bears and Lions (and tigers...oh my!). So this week I'll take the Packers over the Bills, the Eagles over the Cowboys and the Seahawks over the 49ers.
Our next LIVE show is coming up on Monday night, December 22 from 8-9pm. You can post your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #TOSTdec22 or call in at (617) 484-2443.
More From 92 Moose
