FCS Football Playoffs

I've been doing weekly bracket projections based on my updated opinion of what the polls will have to say on Monday.  I'm a total nerd when it comes to stats and standings, I updated them for football (college and pro), basketball (college and pro), NHL and the MLB.  Everybody who finds out that I do this asks why I do it and can't you just get all that info online instantly.  And yes you can, but I find it fun, it keeps me in track of who's beating who and by how much.  So I think I know about as much as someone can know about teams that I can't see on TV.  And believe me if it's on TV, I'll have found a way to see it.  I love when I can spend all day Saturday just switching from game to game, which is what I do when I can.  So if you ever watch games with me, I will switch from game to game, so if you don't like that you probably won't like watching games with me.  So 8 weeks into the season the playoff picture starts to be a little clearer and yet it will change for sure before selection Sunday.  I've always wanted to be on the selection committee so I put a lot of thought into my projections.  If the playoffs started today there would be 4 teams from the Big Sky-Eastern Washington, Montana St., Cal Poly(who is still getting undervalued) and Northern Arizona.

Big South- Stony Brook

Colonial Athletic Association- Old Dominion, New Hampshire and James Madison

Mid-Eastern Atlantic- Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley- North Dakota St., Illinois St. and Indiana St.

Northeast- Albany

Ohio Valley- Eastern Kentucky

Patriot- Lehigh

Southern- Georgia Southern, Wofford and Applachian St.

Southland- Central Arkansas

Ok so those are the teams, you have 20 teams in the playoffs.  Each of these conferences get one automatic berth for their conference champion, the other 10 teams are at-larges chosen by a committee.  So here's my current bracket.

1st Round		2nd Round
Central Arkansas*		#1 Eastern Washington*
Indiana St.
		James Madison*
		Stony Brook
Appalachian St.*		#4 Montana St.*
Bethune-Cookman
		#5 Sam Houston St.*
		Cal Poly
Northern Arizona*		#3 North Dakota St.*
Eastern Kentucky
		Wofford*
		New Hampshire
		Old Dominion*
		Lehigh
Illinois St.*		#2 Georgia Southern*
Albany

My top seeds are Eastern Washington, Georgia Southern, North Dakota St., Montana St. and Sam Houston St.  The way the playoffs work is the highest seeds hosts each game until the title, which is in Frisco, Texas.  The asterisks are the host teams for the games.  You might wonder so what about the games that there is no seed, I choose the hosts for these games based on highest attendance last year, but the committee uses a bid system, in which schools submit a bid for how much money they can raise by hosting a game.  So I selected the top seeds first, then I determined the other 7 hosts, 4 for the 1st round and 3 for the 2nd.  Then I make sure to avoid schools from the same conference playing each other very soon (they aren't even allowed to in their first game) and then I tried to get geographic appropriate parings which is easier back east where there are more schools.  The committee tries to get as many bus trips as possible.  Hope this was informative and next week I will dig in deeper about specific teams if people want.

MLB Preview 2012

AL East
1. New York-  As much as it pains me to do this, Red Sox fan here, this is clearly the best team in the east. The only question marks are if the new pitching acquisitions, Michael Pineda and Huroki Kuroda can adjust to pitching in a major market and if their older veterans can continue to produce.  The jury is out on Pineda right now as his fastball isn't quite what in was in Seattle.

2. Boston- It's crazy how the September collapse and fried chicken and beer incidents can overshadow the fact this was baseball's best team for most of the year.  The lineup is all back minus J.D. Drew and Marco Scuataro, which aren't big losses.  Carl Crawford should have a better season than he did last year and the top 3 of the rotation is up there with the best in the league.  Question marks are the bullpen and the back end of the rotation.  With Andrew Bailey out for a significant period of time, the last thing they should do is move Daniel Bard back to the bullpen.  Baseball players crave stability and this would mess this up, see Joba Chamberlain for example.

3. Tampa Bay- One of the best, if not the best rotations in the game.  What will hold them back is a uncertain bullpen and lack of a true offense except for Evan Longoria.  When he was out for a while last year the team really struggled and lets not forget it took a historic collapse by the Red Sox last year for this team to just make the playoffs.

4. Toronto- This a team that has got to be extremely happy about the addition of another wild card this year, so maybe they can finally have a realistic shot at the postseason.  This is a good young team with a lot of nice pieces and would probably finish higher in other divisions.  They have always tried to go out and sign the big name free agents but never had much luck in signing them.

5. Baltimore- What to say here, this could be one of the worst teams in baseball and the sad thing is this probably won't change anytime soon.  I feel bad for Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters, because these guys are really good players who often go overlooked because of where they play.

AL Central
1. Detroit- Should walk away with this division as bad as it is, but this is a really good team.  Doug Fister is one of the best pitchers you've probably never heard about.  Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder should form one of the best middle of the order lineup pair in baseball.  I do question moving Cabrera to third, even though he's in better shape, I'm still not sure you want a guy that big playing third.

2. Kansas City- I really like this team, they have done everything the right way.  They picked the right guys in the draft and now they are becoming major leaguers.  This is a team that can win this division, maybe not this year but it will happen sooner rather than later.

3. Cleveland- A team that snuck up on people last year, won't have that luxury this year.  Their success will be determined by if their young players can continue to develop and if Ubaldo Jimenez can become the pitcher he used to be.  I do like Grady Sizemore, he's just had some unfortunate luck.

4. Minnesota- Ron Gardenhire is one of my favorite managers and he always seems to get the most out of his talent, I'm just not sure he has much to work with.  They gave huge contract extensions to Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, which is unheard of in a small market team, only to have them miss much of last season to injury.  Mauer should be fine but Morneau has concussion issue which can linger for an extended period of time.

5. Chicago- They lost Ozzie Guillen to Marlins, and has even if some people think he was a little out there, he can sure coach.  When the White Sox won the world series, I went unnoticed by a lot people, because the White Sox will always be second fiddle to the Cubs in Chicago.  They either let most of their star players either walk or traded them away, signaling a rebuilding effort on the South Side.

AL West
1. Texas-  I went back and forth on this but I have to go with the defending AL champs.  They have one of the best lineups this year and Josh Hamilton is on a contract year, so he should be extra motivated.  Yu Darvish was one of the best pitchers in Japan but that doesn't always translate, see Dice-K for example.  He will be part of a good, but young rotation.

2. Los Angeles- This should be a real interesting race, especially with them going out and signing C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols.  I think they have a better rotation than Texas but the lineup, even with Pujols isn't quite as good as Texas's.  It will be interesting to see how Mark Trumbo adjusts to playing first, this isn't always easy as it seems.

3. Seattle- We all now they have pitching, that's why they could afford to trade away Pineda, but their offense is significantly behind their pitching.  I think they got the better part of the deal with Jesus Montero.  He should really help with their lineup.  They have a good young core and they will be a playoff team within the next 5 years.

4. Oakland- There really isn't much here, for this season at least.  They went out and signed Yoenis Cespedes to a large contract something they usually don't do, but should help contribute this year, but also give them something to build around for the future, because like the Mariners, this is a team building for the future, not this year.

NL East
1. Washington- Call me crazy, but I've been riding this bandwagon for a while now as they've been building a solid core that is finally ready to compete on the big stage.  This is probably the best rotation you don't know about, especially Jordan Zimmermann.  Everybody wants to talk about Steven Strasburg, but Zimmermann is a solid pitcher in is own right.  I believe Bryce Harper will get called up and make a significant contribution.

2. Philadelphia- Amazing rotation, lineup with a lot of question marks.  Nobody really knows how long Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will be out and I wonder where the offense will come from while they are out.  This has all the signs of a team on the decline.

3. Atlanta- Just like the Red Sox, they Braves had a historic collapse that led to them missing the playoffs.  I really like the rotation but they seem to be laking that big bat in the lineup.

4. Miami- Everybody seems to love the Jose Reyes signing, but I question the impact of this on Hanley Ramirez.  A lot of the experts seem to believe Ramirez will be a good little soldier and move over to third without a problem.  I think this bothers him more than he is letting on, as this looks like a demotion to me.  The rotation has a lot of question marks.  Josh Johnson is a good pitcher but coming of a serious injury and other than Mark Buehrle there's not much else there.  They made a lot of flashy moves this offseason, but will they pay off, or will the tarps be back out sooner rather than latter.

5. New York- A team in flux with legal issues and no real improvement in sight.  It looks like Johan Santana might finally be healthy and it was that long ago he was one of the best pitchers in the game and maybe for once one of their big moves would finally pay off.  I think David Wright gets traded at some point this season.

NL Central
1.  St. Louis- They are the defending champs and even with the loss of Albert Pujols, this should still be a very good team.  The middle of the lineup is still very solid and I love their pitching staff, especially if Chris Carpenter isn't out long.  There lineup isn't quite as good as Cincinnati's or Milwaukee's but their pitching staff is leaps and bounds better.  We will just have to see what impact the retirement of Tony La Russa has on the team.

2. Milwaukee- What might get overlooked is that the Brewers won this division last year and return most of their team, with one big difference, no Prince Fielder.  If they can get a couple guys to step up they could win this division again.  Getting Ryan Braun's suspension overturned was huge for them, because without him I wouldn't be picking them this high.

3. Cincinnati- I think this has to be a big year for them or Dusty Baker's probably done.  I like the trade for Mat Latos, just wonder how he'll handle pitching for a contender for a change.  Aroldis Chapman is a star in the making and he's one of my favorite players to watch.  Joey Votto anchors a solid lineup and needs to perform well this year to defend his contract extension.

4. Pittsburgh- Could they finally finish with a winning record this year?  I think there's a strong possibility of it, as they were a much better team at points last season.  I like Clint Hurdle, he's the perfect guy for a young team like this.  The key here is how the young talent continues to develop.

5. Chicago- As a Red Sox fan, I got to see the kind of rosters assembled by Theo Epstein and I believe Cubs fans should really be excited about what moves he'll make.  With that this team has to wait out some bad contracts, Alfonso Soriano, for example.  Old management went out and signed big names but failed to develop any young talent around them.  It will be a long year in Chicago, but give Epstein time, he'll turn things around.

6. Houston- This is the worst team in baseball.  The only name people recognize is Carlos Lee and he's old.  They are moving to the American League next year, so this is probably going to be a transition year not only in the majors but also in the minors.

NL West
1. Arizona- They have a very underrated pitching staff and they continue to get better.  Paul Goldschmidt is a star in the making and I've been saying that since the first time I saw him play in Missoula at the start of his career.  He's just a masher and doesn't appear to be intimidated by the big stage.

2. Colorado- Best lineup in the division and one of the best if not the best players in baseball in Troy Tulowitzki.  They were a hot pick last year and I think it got to them, as this team is better when expectations aren't that high.  The year they went to the World Series, there wasn't many people who thought they'd make it there.  People are being too quick to dismiss this rotation, there are some good options there that are young but talented.  Moving Ubaldo Jimenez was this best thing they could have done.

3. San Francisco- If they had a better lineup, this team would be my pick to win the division.  Their rotation is the best in baseball and who doesn't love Brian Wilson.  I said this when the won the World Series, this team just got hot at the right time and they got career years out of most of their lineup.  It won't be that way every year.

4. Los Angeles- Other than Clayton Kershaw, there isn't much of a pitching staff there.  I really like Kershaw don't get me wrong, but I just don't think that's enough.  Everybody loves them but I think they have too many question marks, but will be back on top soon now that they finally have a stable ownership.

5. San Diego-  There really isn't much here, but they do have some young guys that have good potential.  They are just stuck in a tough division and they don't have the talent to keep up.  I do love Petco Park though, hope to go there someday.

AL Wild Cards- Boston and Los Angeles

NL Wild Cards- Colorado and Milwaukee

AL Champions- Los Angeles

NL Champions- Arizona

WS Champs- Arizona

AL MVP- Jacoby Ellsbury- Boston

NL MVP- Troy Tulowitzki- Colorado

AL Cy Young- Jon Lester- Boston

NL Cy Young- Steven Strasburg- Washington

AL Manager of the Year- Ned Yost- Kansas City

NL Manager of the Year- Davey Johnson- Washington

AL Rookie of the Year- Matt Moore- Tampa Bay

NL Rookie of the Year- Dee Gordon- Los Angeles

Putting Together a Baseball Team

With Spring Training just starting, I thought I would take the time to write about how I would put together a baseball team.  For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge Red Sox fan so most of this will be centered around them.

First things first lets talk about the makeup of lineup, there are many different thoughts about this, but I will give you mine.  I like the first 2 spots in the lineup to be guys that have speed and get on base frequently.  They need to get on base, so when the 3 to 5 sports in the lineup come up, they have runs they can drive in.  These hitters should have good power and RBI numbers, think of guys like Albert Pujols, Price Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, etc.  The 6 through 8 spots can be a mixture of both, but when it comes to the 9th spot in the lineup, I really like to have another batter with speed and a good on base percentage just like the top 2 spots in the lineup.  This helps turn the lineup back around and helps have more guys on base when the big hitters come up again in the lineup.  Ideally you would like to alternate back and forth with left and right handed batters, but this isn't always necessary.  You just don't ever want more than 2 same handed batters in a row.  Some people worry that a lineup is too left-handed or too right-handed, but if you have hitters that hit both lefty and righty pitching, that doesn't matter.

So when it comes time to assemble a team, the general thought is you want 12 pitchers (5 starters and 7 relievers) and 13 hitters.  This is the standard but if I was running a National League team, no DH, I would like maybe 14 hitters and 11 pitchers.  If it was an American League team, with a DH, I would want an extra pitcher giving me 12 hitters and 13 pitchers.  Now this all matters on what talent you have on a team, the Red Sox would like to carry a third catcher, which rarely happens, so they would probably end up carrying only 11 pitchers, so they can use the extra hitter.  Man, I hope that actually made sense, let me know if you want me to explain this further.

People often think they know more than the person who makes the decision and this couldn't be more true when it comes to baseball general managers.  This is especially true in Boston, where if you turn on talk radio you can pretty much hear people calling in to complain how the team is run year round.  I'll try to make sense of some of the moves the Red Sox made this last offseason.

1. Let Jonathan Papelbon leave in free agency.  I'm sure the Sox would have liked to have him back, but they didn't want to give him the ridiculous amount of money the Phillies did.  They signed him for 50 million over 4 years which is crazy to give to a reliever.  Even though he is a really good closer, he was a little crazy and the way last year finished, the Sox could do with less of that.

2.  Traded for Andrew Bailey.  They gave away Josh Reddick, a player who probably had no future in Boston with the prospects behind him and got a very solid closer in return.  If Bailey can stay healthy, which is a big question mark, he can be one of the better closers in the game.  If that wasn't good enough they also got Ryan Sweeney in the trade, who is regarded as a good outfielder who would probably play fit well in Boston.  They also signed Cody Ross, who will probably platoon (share the same position in the lineup) with Sweeney.

3.  Traded away both of their shortstops from last season, Jed Lowrie and Marco Scutaro.  This was the big one in Boston, as fans are worried they have no shortstop.  Before people go jump of the Tobin Bridge, it's a saying in Boston, I believe they did this to create room for star prospect Jose Iglesias to make the opening day roster.  His offense still needs work but his defense is good enough to justify this move.  They didn't get much in the Scutaro trade, but they did give up an aging shortstop who was overpayed and will give them more money to spend next offseason when there will be some good pitchers on the market next year.  In the Lowrie traded, they acquired a really good young pitcher in Mark Melancon, that should really strengthen the end of the bullpen this season.

Finally I want to propose a trade, just to show you what I think goes into making a trade.  This trade would be with the Tampa Bay Rays, a team the Sox don't usually trade with, but I believe this trade would benefit both teams.  The Red Sox would acquire Wade Davis, a good starting pitcher but the 6th man in a 5 man rotation, which means they wouldn't mind moving him if they got a good offer and here's that offer.  The first guy in the trade is Luis Exposito, a good young catcher, who is probably MLB ready, but really has no fit in Boston.  The other guy would be Lars Anderson, a good young first baseman who is also ready to play in the majors, but with Adrian Gonzalez locked up in a long term deal, he also has no place in Boston.  These 2 players would give the Rays players they could use, because while they have some of the best pitching in the game, they are really lacking when it comes to their offense.

Thanks for reading!!

Music

I've always been into music, but singing was something that came to me in high school.  My senior year I was the lead percussionist in my high school band, but didn't participate in pep band, because I was managing basketball at the time.  Back to my original point, when in high school I struggled to fit in, I had good friends, but still spent a good chunk of time by myself.  I've never had much of social life, and don't drink, so I didn't get invited to many parties.  So, while everybody was out partying I was driving around in my car listening to music.

This tradition continued into college and still happens today, but I do it home instead of in the car.  When I sing, I've always really tried to match the pitch and sound of a song and until recently never realized that I was actually getting better at this.  Most people had told me that I wasn't very good, but this last summer I went to visit one of my best friends and his in-laws.  I was just singing along to the music like I always do, when for the first time, people actually told me I was good and actually wanted me to enter a talent show that was going on.  I didn't because I wasn't ready at the time and I didn't really have that much confidence and I'm not sure that I even do now.  I am getting more confident though and believing that I might actually be good at this.

Now I'm not saying that I think I could ever be a big time singer, but I've always thought it would be cool to be in a local band that played bars on the weekend.  This would be fun for me, because I wouldn't have to drink but I would still feel like I fit in.  My friends have always done their best to make me feel like it's cool that I'm not drinking, but when you're the only one in the group, it just feels weird.  I could change, but why would I want too, I love who I am and I won't change for anyone.

So, what kind of music would sing?  Country, of course!!!  I'm sure most of you know, I love country music, but I'm not sure you all know why I do.  I love it, because I think that's where most of the real artists are, they aren't all fake, poppy or especially autotune (which I hate).  Music has to have a feeling, it comes from pain, heartache, joy and just life in general.  You have to draw from something, and I feel like I've had enough of all this in my life to really put feeling into my singing.  Nothing is better than just a singer and their guitar, because that's where you can separate the real singers from the wannabes.

This last part is why I love the show the Voice.  If you've never seen the voice, which you really should, there are 4 coaches and they have their backs to the contestants as the audition.  If they like what you sound like, they press their button and you're on their team.  If more than one coach turns their chair, it's the contestant's choice of which coach they want.  I love that it's purely based on voice, not appearance.  When people look at me they probably wouldn't think I had a deep singing voice, but just give me a chance and I think you'll be surprised.  Thanks for reading.

Coaching

Tonight I want to write about why I think I would be a good coach and some of my philosophies.  First things first, I was a manager for our girls basketball team at my high school.  After my freshman year in high school I was struggling to find a place to fit in when our girls basketball coach at the time asked me if I wanted to be a manager.  I said yes and never looked back, even after he left after that year I stayed on with the new coach and while things weren't quite the same, she didn't let me do near as much, but I still enjoyed it.  When I first started I had no idea on how to keep the scorebook at the games, which seems strange now because whenever I'm at a game you'll probably see me keeping score.  It's a fun way to stay focused on the game and I nice way to analyze players.  

I grew up a Cat fan, mainly because it was close and my grandpa went there, but I never hated the Griz.  The men's coach at the time was Mick Durham, who has his jersey retired at my school and is a family friend.  I met with him my senior year and was going to be a manager there, which I'd hope would lead to becoming a graduate assistant.  Then he retired which changed my plans.  I was angry because I felt he was forced out.  It's pretty obvious he didn't want to retire because he had a job the very next year.  So instead of going to Montana State, I went to the University of Montana, which is one of the best decisions I've ever made.  

So you're probably wondering how could a guy who only played the game in the 4th grade could be a basketball coach.  See while I don't know as much about the fundamentals as I probably should, I don't think that really matters.  This is especially true at the college level where players should already know them.  I think it's mainly what you get out of the talent you have.  Motivating players is something I think I would be good at.  Teams that have the most talent don't always win, which is evident in the NCAA tourney when mid majors don't match up on paper, but their coach is good at getting the most out of their players.  

My style of basketball would be a lot of fun to watch, that's if you like fast, uptempo basketball.  My players wouldn't be the biggest but they would sure be in the better shape.  When the other team is tired and out of gas, my team would be still full of energy.  I'm definitely a fan of shooting threes, they are not the most high percentage shot but if you have guys that can shoot them, it's a good way to blow out a team.  When it comes to defense, I believe in using a 3-2 zone against a team that likes to shoot threes and man to man for teams that like to play in the paint.  The best thing a coach can do is to be flexible and coach a style that best fits the players they have rather than force them to play a style that doesn't work.  Sometimes you get players that are really tall, like Derek Selvig, but aren't very bulky.  While you could play him inside, because he's 7'0", his athleticism and ability to shoot the three make him a better fit at the wing or 3 spot in the lineup.  In this spot he would create a huge mismatch which would benefit everyone involved. 

Thanks for reading

Why I Love Baseball

February 11th is a big day for me, cause this marks truck day.  In case you didn't know, and I'm assuming most of you don't, truck day is when the trucks leave Boston bound for sunny Fort Myers, Florida for spring training.  This is a big event tons of people show up and there's music, food, games and other fun things.  I've never been there for this, but it's definitely on my bucket list.  It's the sign that even though there may be a foot or more of snow on the ground baseball's not far away.

Let me explain something, in case you didn't know baseball is huge in Boston.  I would say as popular, if not more popular, than football in the south.  Kids are raised around baseball and learn the game and the legends early in life.  This is one of the reasons I want to live in Boston, it's a place that I can go that people actually want to talk about baseball.  It's January and I find that it's really hard to find somebody who wants to talk baseball.  

I've never been a person who's had a much of a social life cause I don't like to drink.  I do have friends that I spend time with, but baseball has always been there for me.   Most of my friends are what I like to call work/school friends.  These are people who are real friendly and nice to you when you are at work/school but are basically strangers away from there.  These are great people and after some of the things I've been through growing up I feel real lucky to have them.   I consider myself in a relationship with baseball considering I've never had a girlfriend so most of my time gets devoted to baseball in the summer.  If I was in Boston this would be no problem but I find it's hard to find girls who are into baseball here in Montana.  

Keeping score during games, even ones that I'm watching on TV is a lot of fun for me.  Those who know me probably have no trouble believing this.  A good friend of mine compared me to Peter Brand, the character played by Jonah Hill in the movie Moneyball.  For those of you who haven't seen this, it's a must watch, one of the best movies I've ever seen.  His character is obsessed with baseball stats and that's me to a t.  He understand the value of buying wins, you don't always need the big names, you just need players that get on base.  My favorite part of the movie is when Hill's character calls Kevin Youkilis the Greek God of walks and one of his favorite players.  Being a baseball GM is a dream of mine, I know it's the perfect job for me, but I don't know how to get there.  I never played the game, but that doesn't mean I don't know the game.

Thanks for listening and one more thing this is the tattoo I'm thinking about getting I'd appreciate the feedback

The Boston Red Sox Collapse

I'm a big time Red Sox homer, and that is the primary reason I wanted to wait to post this blog.  Red Sox fans are known to overreact about everything involving the Sox and I'm no different, so I can't lie this collapse upset me.  While it upset me, watching them and times this season, I'm not surprised.  For this post I'm going to break down the responsible parties and why they should be responsible.

Players
Not all of the players are the problem.  First off Dustin Pedroia(pedey), is the lifeblood of this team.  If everybody in the league had the heart he does, everybody would be better off.  He gets there early, leaves late and works his butt off like he still has something to prove.  Too many times you get guys that once they get their big deal, they don't care anymore, so it's refreshing to see a guy like him.  Jonathan Papelbon(paps), really rebounded this year and proved, along with the terrible season of Daniel Bard, proved why the Sox need him next year.  The catchers, tek and salty, improved as the year went on and Lavarnway looked like he could be a star in the future.  Ellsbury deserves to be the mvp, or at the very least comeback player of the year.  Last season he only played a few games in the season and critics, including myself questioned if he really cared, he showed he cared this season.  Josh Beckett also had a nice rebound year, showing he's still the ace.  Now the negatives, Adrian Gonzalez put up stellar numbers in the first half but looked like a completely different player in the second half.  At times I really questioned if he wanted to be out there and he started to make excuses.  Not sure what happened with Jon Lester, he really took a step back this year and he looked far too hittable and times.  The biggest disappointment by far was Carl Crawford, he couldn't get his bat going this season and went from being a gold glover to maybe the 4th or 5th best outfielder on his own team.  I think the pressure of playing in Boston got to him this year.

Terry Francona(Tito)
I think most people, myself included, have really enjoyed listening to him do the color for the ALCS on Fox, and I'm not surprised.  Tito has a great personalty and really loves the game and he brings that to the booth.  I really liked Tito and I'm really sad that he's gone from Boston, he brought us 2 titles, what's not to like?  Boston's media market is one of the toughest and he was great at handling it.  I believe he was fired, they said it was mutual, but I don't agree.  They had to find someone to blame the fall on, and he was the easy target.  He even said he felt that he didn't have the ownership's full support.  It's not his fault the players wouldn't listen to him and some of his pitchers were more interested in drinking beer then supporting their teammates.  They would rather film this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDKwpbkIpQ4   This isn't his doing, these are guys that need to learn to grow up.  He doesn't need to be their babysitter.  He can only use the players the GM gives him.

Theo Epstein
This is the man who needs to be held responsible.  He put this team together, he's the one who failed to make the necessary moves.  The Red Sox could tell at the trade deadline that they needed more starting pitching.  Dice-K was already done for the year, Clay Buchholz didn't look like he was going to come back, so who does he trade for, Erik Bedard.  I like Erik, but he's said over and over that he doesn't want to pitch in this type of market.  It wasn't like they were Cleveland, having a nice season and not expecting to contend this year, this team was built to win the world series.  I don't care if you need to trade star prospects, you go get that pitcher no matter what, worry about next year, next year.  John Lackey got a joke of a contract, along with Dice-K and now we are stuck with them.  The Sox don't need more hitters, they need pitching and Theo needs to realize that or he needs to go.