Thanks, Curt!

After 20 Major League seasons, Curtis Montague Schilling has decided to retire from baseball. Even though his tenure with the Red Sox was only 4 seasons, his impact is unforgettable.

I remember watching the 2001 World Series where the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks were facing a dynasty in the New York Yankees. The Diamondbacks gave the Yankees all they could handle and other than the loathsome Byung-Hyun Kim choking away leads late in games, the Diamondbacks could have won the World Series earlier than they did.

Game Seven of the 2001 World Series pitted Yankee Roger Clemens against Curt Schilling. At the time, I thought to myself, "Why can't the Sox get a guy like this? You'd have to pry the baseball from Schilling's cold dead fingers to get him come out of a big game."

Two years later, Schilling came to the Red Sox in a laugher of a deal in which the Diamondbacks dealt him to the Red Sox for Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, Michael Goss, and Casey Fossum.

Schilling came to Boston promising to end an 86 year drought and bring a World Series Championship. Boy, did he ever deliver on his promise! He brought two in his four years with the team. His performances in Game Six of the ALCS and Game Two of the World Series in 2004, are legendary. How did he pitch 7 innings on a very bad ankle in which his ankle tendon was stapled in place via surgery and allow only 1 run to lead the Sox over the Yankees to force Game Seven? Then, having the ankle tendon re-stapled five days later, he went 6 shut out innings to earn the victory in Game Two of the World Series. Amazing!

After missing a significant portion of the 2005 season, recovering from that bad ankle, Schilling
bounced back with a solid 2006 season. In 2007, Schilling missed some time on the DL with a bad shoulder. No longer the flamethrower of a few short seasons before, Schilling got by on guile and an 88 mph fastball to go 3-0 in the postseason in which he helped the Red Sox win their second World Series in 4 years. Schilling's 5 1/3 inning, 1 run effort in Game Two of the World Series, in which he earned the victory, was his last Major League game.

Now the two big questions are is he a Hall of Famer and if so, what hat will he wear into the Hall of Fame? Yes he is and he should wear a Red Sox hat. His regular season numbers are very good, but his postseason record indicates he's the best postseason pitcher of all time - 11-2, 2.23 ERA . He also was selected for the All Star game six times. When he does get in, despite winning a World Series with the Diamondbacks, he should wear a Red Sox hat because his impact in Boston is greater than it was on the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Astros, and Orioles.

In retirement, I'm sure we'll hear from Schilling, particularly on the radio. He would be a natural as a radio host because he's never shy to express an opinion. I particularly enjoyed his endorsement of George W. Bush for President in 2004, in liberal Massachusetts where John Kerry was the Democratic nominee. What was comical was he made so many Sox fans in the Northeast happy with their first World Series Championship in 86 years, then a few days later, ticked many of them off by endorsing Bush. Gotta love it.

So, thank you Curt for your immense contributions to the Boston Red Sox and being a key contributor to two World Series championships. You'll always be appreciated and cheered in Boston.

The Dog Days of Spring Training

Some interesting news came out of Ft. Myers yesterday, where the Red Sox decided to release veteran catcher Josh Bard and go with rookie George Kottaras to be Jason Varitek's backup. This is a bold and risky move, particularly considering Varitek's obvious decline last season. I like the idea of the Red Sox developing a young catcher by putting him in the backup role and easing him into the mix. Kottaras hit 22 HR last year in the cozy confines of McCoy Stadium and the Red Sox brass seems enthusiastic about his progress defensively this spring. Here's hoping he can relax, not put too much pressure on himself and continue developing.

Veteran Pawsox player Jeff Bailey has been tattooing the ball in spring training. Despite his monster spring and his experience last year at the major league level, Bailey may not make the big club when spring training breaks. The problem with Bailey is the same with Chris Carter. Both could probably hit big league pitching, but both have gloves made of cement. They both play 1B and LF, and are below average defenders at both positions. While it is nice to have such depth in the minor leagues, it would be better for their careers if they were sent to a team such as Kansas City or Seattle where they could get some AB's at DH, 1B, or LF; something they won't get with Ortiz, Youkilis, and Bay ahead of them.

Other than Michael Bowden's struggles, the Red Sox young pitchers have certainly impressed this spring. Daniel Bard, Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Junichi Tazawa have all had excellent springs. I can't wait to get to some Pawsox games this spring to catch some of the younger players in action.

NFL offseason bits

After reading the news yesterday that the Patriots are supposedly interested in acquiring Panthers DE Julius Peppers, I got a bit fired up about the thought of Peppers and Richard Seymour on one side and Ty Warren and Adalius Thomas on the other. In theory, such an alignment would mean it would be a track meet to the QB. Considering that a pass rush was sorely lacking last year, the idea of such studs on the defensive front seven is extremely appealing. Remember, it was the play of the NY Giants' front four that ultimately won the Super Bowl vs. the Patriots because they overwhelmed the offensive line.

By having DL's and LB's that can get to the QB quickly, it takes some pressure off the defensive backfield, which was unquestionably the Patriots' weakness last season. The Patriots have already made efforts to improve the secondary with the signings of Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, and the re-signing of Tank Williams, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.

I'd like to see the Patriots and Rodney Harrison come to an agreement where Rodney is on the Junior Seau speed dial plan. Because he plays such a physical game, Rodney can no longer handle the rigors of a potential 19 game NFL season. My ultimate plan would be for Rodney to lift weights with the team and be in a "coaching or advisory role", but to rejoin the team in a playing capacity sometime around December 8th. It would give him 3-4 games to get back to being in game shape, so that he'd be right in form for the playoffs.

Memo to Jay Cutler: GROW UP! It's professional sports. What have you ever won? The Denver Broncos have some of the best fans in the NFL and one of the best organizations in the league. Josh McDaniels' offensive scheme will be great for Cutler, if he opens his mind up and stops acting like a prima donna.

Who's going to play QB for the NY Jets?

Look for the Minnesota Vikings' offense to be improved. Sage Rosenfels isn't a superstar at QB, but he's certainly better than the overmatched Tarvaris Jackson, who was terrible in most of his games last year, as well as journeyman Gus Frerotte. Rosenfels will at least keep the Vikings offense from being one dimensional and give Adrian Peterson a break.

The Importance of Rajon Rondo

Since last year, I've noticed a particular pattern with the World Champion Boston Celtics - the team goes as point guard Rajon Rondo goes. It's not the Big Three that matter most, it's Rondo.

Check out the team's losses this year, and you'll find that Rondo didn't play well or didn't play due to injury. Last year in the playoffs, the losses occured when he didn't bring his usual A game.

Last night's game was a prime example. Rondo didn't play due to injury. There just isn't a flow to the offense when Rondo's not bringing the ball up. Marbury tries and is going out of his way to try to distribute the ball, but the results just aren't there. Marbury is still rusty and I believe he will be an impact performer off the bench come playoff time.

The reason why Rondo is so good is due to his quickness. He creates havoc on the defensive end, and is 5th in the NBA in steals. He's also the best rebounding PG in the NBA. When he gets the ball in his hands, he bursts up the court and is immediately putting pressure on the defense. Rondo is a master at bringing the ball in the lane and dishing off to an open Garnett or Perkins for an easy dunk or layup.

Marbury and Eddie House do not have that quickness and neither is as good as Rondo defensively. At this point, Marbury is a liability defensively. He's trying hard, but is a step or two slow in chasing his man. Rondo, unless he is picked, doesn't have such difficulties.

For the Celtics to win, it's okay if Garnett misses a few games or Pierce goes through a 5-20 shooting night. As long as Rondo is there and playing well, the chances of victory are great

The Obama Stock Market

I've been wondering how all the people who voted for Obama feel now after watching their 401K values tank in value since Obama took office? Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him.

Back in the fall of 2007, on his show, "The GOP, the Economy, and You", CNBC analyst Lawrence Kudlow was positively prophetic when he proclaimed that the prospect of a Democratic presidency is very bearish for the markets. When it comes to economic growth and the markets, I tend to put more stock in what Kudlow and Jim Cramer say, as opposed to Democrats in the House and Senate such as Barney Frank and John Kerry, who've been Washington politicians since the 1980's. Kudlow and Cramer actually worked on Wall Street and know how the markets operate.

On 1/21/09, the day after Obama was inaugurated, the Dow Jones Industrial Index closed at 8228.10. Today, 3/6/09, the Dow closed at 6626.94. Six weeks of market carnage due to the Obama policies and lack of action to help stabilize markets. How low can it go? Where's the bottom?

I'm already longing for the days of June 2008, when my 401K hadn't plunged, the Dow was at 12,300, and gas was $4.05 a gallon.

The Proper Way to Fix the Economy

Yesterday, the Dow Jones slid almost 300 points to close at a horrifying 6764.81; a number not seen since 1997. Over the last six months, the federal government has frantically tried to keep the economy propped up by bailing out financial companies mired in bad mortgages. It’s not working. Over the winter, there have been millions of layoffs and these financial companies keep coming back to the federal government asking for more money. The markets currently have no confidence in the Obama Administration’s plans to fix the economy.

President Obama inherited quite a mess and since Inauguration Day, the economy has gotten worse. It is not entirely his fault. The Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed a “stimulus” package that on the surface meant well, but the details showed that it was loaded with pork and items that will do nothing to stimulate the economy. The stimulus bill added hundreds of billions more in the federal government’s current budget deficit.

So, what do we do? How do we fix this broken down economy? Here’s one man’s idea to stimulate the economy.

1.) Eliminate the capital gains tax – if there is one “to do” that will help broken markets and large private corporations, it is eliminating the capital gains tax. Such a move would put money in motion. Eliminating the capital gains tax is often derided as a move to help rich people, but it is not just rich people who are in the markets these days. Capital gains tax cuts influence investment decisions. Eliminating the capital gains tax would send a serious message that the Obama Administration truly wants to fix the markets.

2.) A six month federal tax holiday – A six month federal tax holiday would’ve been cheaper than the stimulus bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by President Obama. Three things would happen if this were ever implemented: People would spend more money because they had more of it in their pocket. They could’ve put it in a savings account, which frankly – is that a BAD thing for people to focus on these days? Lastly, people could’ve taken the extra money and invested it 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and or stocks. Investing money in the stock market = increasing buy activity, which would raise the levels of the indexes! This certainly would be a lot more effective than any stimulus bill that could be passed.

3.) Enough with the utopian discussions about investments in green energy and fighting global warming. It’s not the time for it. What we need is to focus on the fundamentals; the broken sectors of the economy, not invest in potentially dubious technology. To put it in blackjack terms, I’d rather hold when I have a 16 and the dealer is starting with a 5, than trying to see if I can get a 5 and get to 21. It’s the better move.

4.) Send $3,000 rebate checks to every family. Hopefully, by doing this, it will help stave off a family defaulting on a mortgage or help pay some overdue bills and keep them afloat.

5.) Extend unemployment benefits for 6-9 months. Millions of people are out of work and it will take time for companies to start hiring again. The goal here is to keep people afloat and prevent further mortgage foreclosures.

6.) Enough with the bailouts. Other than AIG, which has its tentacles in many segments of the economy and could cause a severe negative impact (they are the largest insurers of planes – airlines would be grounded across the country if they failed). However, some banks need to fail. Why should poor performance and management be rewarded, when these banks show no signs of reform or turning around their performance?

I firmly believe these six steps would go a long way towards getting America moving again and getting those unfortunate to be laid off back to work. These moves will also help stimulate markets and get people focused on investing in 401K’s and looking forward to retirement again; which as of right now, seems like a pipe dream to most of us.

Massachusetts' Worthless Governor

I remember the fall of 2006 well. Back then, Deval Patrick's Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign was all the rage. Every day there were stories in the Boston Globe gushing about what a Patrick Administration would do for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While offering few specifics, Patrick would dazzle crowds at campaign stops with his trademark feel good slogan, "Together We Can", promising how his property tax cut proposal would greatly benefit working familes.

Two and a half years later with the economy in shambles, Patrick's idea of helping working familes is to jack up the gas tax by $0.19 a gallon, which would give the Commonwealth of MA the highest gas tax in the nation. Together we can! Together we can balance the budget on the backs of small businesses that drive trucks and vans to work every day. Let's take more money out of the pockets of plumbers, electricians, dry wallers, and carpenters.

If Deval Patrick has proven anything, it is he is one of the most worthless high profile politician this state has ever elected. In a state that continually elects John Kerry to the U.S. Senate, that's saying something.

Deval Patrick's idea of reform is to trade in the standard Governor's Ford Crown Victoria for a Cadillac, spend over $10,000 on drapes for his Governor's office, larding the state payroll with 2,000 new jobs, including a $70,000 secretary for his wife. Why would Mrs. Patrick, who has a private sector job at a law firm, need a full time secretary to schedule her appearances? Another hire was a Milton neighbor of Patrick's for $120,000 to perform some dubious role.

There's been no reform at the state level and barely any layoffs. We have MA state troopers making $180,000, severe toll increases on the Mass Pike, and no consolidation of agencies. In the private sector, employees are getting laid off every day, while watching the value of their 401K's dip in value. It's a bloodbath for those not on the state payroll. For those who work for the Commonwealth at Massachusetts, it is business as usual. There are guaranteed pensions, and terrific health benefit plans.

Due to Patrick's gross mismanagement of the state budget, cities and towns across the state are suffering to balance their budgets because of local aid cuts that are trickled down from the state. Class sizes are increasing due to teacher layoffs and local public safety efforts are being decreased because police and fire fighters are losing their jobs.

So together we can: vote this bum out of office in 2010.