Jason
Its was with mixed emotions that I read about Trot Nixon being traded to the Mets. First and foremost, I'm happy that Trot has the opportunity to help a big league club. However, I would much rather have seen him with the Brewers, Dodgers, A's, or Devil Rays -- all of whom could use his veteran presence and skills. Atlas, he'll be playing ball in NYC.

It's a good match though. Trot is a big time player with a lot of grit. He could help to fire up the Mets, who have been nothing if not lethargic all year. Trot won't be able to carry this team, but he could be the spark that lights the fire under the rears of players that could (read Beltran, Reyes, etc).

The problem, for me anyway, is that I'm now conflicted about the Mets. With Pedro pitching only, at best, every fifth night, it was possible to cheer for him and still relish in the short coming of the Mets. With Trot possibly getting more playing time, my calculus is challenged.

I'd like to see Trot to well and prove that he should get a shot at a job next year. I'd also like to see the Mets continue to wallow near the bottom of the NL East. Thus my conflict. So, here's to Trot doing well and getting the Mets good enough to just miss the post-season.

Dan:

Check out this list of the Top 10 athletes to keep your girl away from. Surprising, no Kobe reference. But Manny made the list, and Big Papi got an honorable mention (with 'they don't call him Big Papi for nothing').

Dan:

I'm still not terribly rational about what went down last night and how to respond. So instead of ranting and saying things that are at the very least offensive and at the most could get me monitored by Homeland Security, I'll give you this exclusive footage I found: video of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays ultimate fighting workout. Enjoy.

Continue reading 'Devil Ray Fight Club'...

Dan:

The Sox and Rays just had their fight . . .

• With Navarro pinning Coco Crisp down, Johnny Gomes runs over and starts reigning down haymakers on Coco. The Sox need to throw at Gomes' head every time they see him this season. That was outrageous. He needs to be suspended and fined . . . but he also needs to take one off the helmet. I know that's pretty serious, but it is certainly justified after that.
• Sure, Coco should have just gone to first. No doubt. But Gomes' sucker punches were nuts.

• Coco's dad was a boxer. You could see that. Beautiful how he slid away from Shields' right and came back with a counterpunch. Didn't land, but nice technique.

• Just saw the replays with Crawford punching Coco while Navarro, Gomes and Crawford where all on him. Instead of stopping the fight, they dropped bombs with three guys on one. Crawford needs to take a fastball in the kisser.

• Yes, I am less than rational right now, and I think my wife has stopped talking to me.

Dan:

This week, we found out the Red Sox are losing a popular figure of Red Sox Nation, someone who certainly excites the fanbase. No, I'm not talking about Big Papi's injury. NESN announced Hazel Mae will be leaving the station at the end of this month.

Like many hetero male Sox fans, I've enjoyed Hazel's . . . reporting. And she will be missed. I don't know who they'll replace her with, but I think it's a pretty safe bet it will be an attractive female. NESN has brought on all female reporters over the last few years in an effort to bring more female fans into Red Sox Nation. Us guys could charge sexism; after all, why not hire guys and gals at least 50-50? Instead, we have a steady stream of these attractive young female reporters -- Mae, Katherine Tappet, Heidi Whatley, and others. Now, NESN at times seems less like a sports network and more like a club I want to hang out in. Don't get me wrong, their reporting skills are excellent and they all seem to have very solid baseball knowledge. I do respect them. I don't want to be seen as a sexist pig . . . even if the snout fits. Anyway, I'm not going to complain.

Of course, we also lost Big Papi to the DL this week, and who knows for sure when he'll be back and close to 100 percent. Obviously, losing one of the game's most imposing hitters will hurt tremendously. But it shouldn't sink the Sox. This is a deep lineup. Heck, even Drew has shown signs of using the wall. He does that, and this team should be fine.

Dan:

My favorite chant of all time is back . . . I hope. C's fans need to be screaming this at least one-hour prior to game time tomorrow night. If not, we need to yank those fans out of the Ga'den early on and put our bench fans in there.

Now, you may not remember this, but once upon a time, there was an era when the Red Sox couldn't beat the Yankees. What's that you say? You can't imagine that? We've won two World Series in four years, and the Yanks . . . ? But, trust me, it is true. Prior to Big Papi's historic Game 4 home run in the 2004 ALCS (oh, did I mention I was there and you can see me in those highlights???), the Sox always found a way to lose to the Yankees. We felt oppressed. We got made fun of by Yankee fans. Some even believed we were cursed. Really.

As a sign of rebellion, some Sox fans started what became a popular chant -- "Yankees Suck." I never liked this chant. Sure, I had my moments of weakness, and there were times I chanted it when the Sox played the Yanks . . . or the Royals . . . or the Mariners. But, still, the chant stunk. That's because it wasn't true. The Yankees were winning four World Series in five years. (Honestly. They did that once.) Four rings in five years is not sucking . . . unfortunately. I tried to advocate a "Beat New York" chant. Same syllables as the "Beat L.A." chant, and equally encouraging and energetic. Alas, it never stuck.

Maybe I should have made T-shirts for it and sold it outside the park . . . like that other chant.

Anyway, I can't wait for that to ring through the Ga'den tomorrow night. I am so pumped for this series. Although, I am a little apprehensive. Not about the fate of the series. I just . . . . I just hope the Massachusetts State Police make Kobe where a GPS tracking device. We don't need any trouble.

BTW, one last thing about the Pistons series: I couldn't believe Pistons fans were lame enough to have all those Thunder Sticks in Game 6. I thought Detroit fans were better than that. But, just when I thought they couldn't get any lamer . . . . with the Pistons down by just 6 points with little over a minute left to go in a playoff elimination game, fans started streaming for the doors. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Since when did the Detroit fanbase become Atlanta?