Update Time…

Ok so you know how I said that I was back and that I would be posting more often?  Well, that was kind of a lie.  Sorry.  I had no idea how busy I’d be working (those 10am-11pm days catch up to ya) and there’s no way I can write at work and stay employed so instead I’ll have to settle for Saturday nights at midnight to write.

So, where to begin? Our team (Salem Red Sox) are sitting pretty in first place.  These guys can really rake and it’s been a lot of fun to watch them play the last seven games that they played at home.  Ryan Lavarnway, Oscar Tejeda and Anthony Rizzo are the real deal so remember those names.  My responsibilities during games consist of walking around and making sure peeps are happy and talking into a walkie talkie which is interesting at times (I have been told that I abuse my privileges because I like to page people that are right in front of me.  Someone needs to spice it up when there is only 1,300 people in the stands and I felt the need to step up) Other then that I take care of birthday parties (which I tend to dislike so far) and I update the FB page (be a fan of the Salem Red Sox! Do it now!)  That’s about it as far as work goes.  So far I really enjoy working during games because I get to wander around and snap photos.  All in a days work…

The one thing that I do not like about working in baseball is that I do not get to fully enjoy my favorite team in any sport.  I guess that’s what happens when your favorite team is a baseball team and you work in baseball: but how bout them Twinks?  They opened up Target field with a bang (and what a beautiful park btw.  I’ll make an apperance this year if its the last thing I do)  Joey Baseball is picking up right where he left off last year and Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer are actually hitting in the month of April which is a nice surprise.  I can’t remember an April where the Twins have played so well.  It’s pretty easy to say that I’m very excited to see how this whole season plays out.  But please Twins fans, it’s too early to chant MVP for Joey.  Sorry.

I also promised a mock draft in the same light as last years, but as I stated above I had zero time to actually sit down and do one.  Which I am kinda bummed out about because I had fun mocking last years mock draft process.  Oh well, there’s always next year right?  This years draft was like any other: there was some shocking picks (Tebow, Tim to Denver at #25) and then some not so shocking picks (Bradford, Sam to St. Louis at #1)  Most of the first round is a crap shoot anyway so we won’t know for years who really messed up and who really made good picks.  Everyone thought that Houston made a mistake by not drafting Reggie Bush and/or Vince Young but I’d say that Mario Williams has worked out pretty well for them so far.  I like the Vikings pick of Toby Gerhart.  They may not have had to trade up to get him but oh well, when you want someone in the NFL draft you trade up to get him instead of sitting about and waiting for him to fall to you.  Touchdown Toby will take some of the pressure off of AP that Chester Taylor used to do (and hopefully not fumble as much as AP), as for the rest of the Vikings draft?  Whatever,  I don’t really know of any of the guys they picked (apparently Emerson Griffin doesn’t like to try hard but what can you expect from a USC product) The Vikes were one throw away (or four fewer fumbles) away from the Super Bowl last year so there wasn’t much to improve on through the draft.

Other then that I really got nothing much for ya.  Virginia is still Virginia.  Salem is still Salem.  Roanoke still doesn’t have any cute girls.  And the Waffle House is still the place of choice after the bars.  Lucy is still crazy and I still don’t get enough sleep.  Having a roommate is nice because I can actually talk to someone and have them talk back to me (sometimes anyway).  Hopefully I can get on here a bit more and keep talking about how great we are as a baseball team (I can say “we” since I work for the team.  I’ll try to decipher which “we” I’m talking about since I also say “we” when I talk about the Twins)  Remember: Lavarnway, Tejeda and Rizzo.  One or two of them will be either traded or moved up to Portland in the coming months so keep an eye out.  Peace out homies. 

MLB 2010 Preview brought to you by Another Sports Blogger

(disclaimer: this took me a week to write which is pretty pathetic.  One, I had no time.  Two, some idiot crashed in to our ticket office at work causing me to have no time.  Three, I’ve had no time.  I started this on Monday and finished on Wednesday…fun times)

Yeah, I know that the first week of the baseball season that is 2010 is already underway but I suppose its better late then never right?  At least that’s what Billy Smith thought with the Mauer Power deal (8 more years!).  So with that, I bring you my vast knowledge on the sport I love.  You can basically write these predictions in stone because they will happen.  Just trust me on this one.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

1) New York Yankees

Let’s face it, the Yankees are good.  Real good.  And they should be when Curtis Granderson is batting 7th followed by Nick Swisher batting 8th.  Oh and A-Rod is almost making as much as the entire roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates…Look for them to be in the 95-98 wins range.

2) Boston Red Sox

The Sox made lot improvements on last years team that bowed out of the playoffs in the first round last year.  They bring in Mike Cameron to roam center, Marco (Polo!) Scutaro to play short and Gold Glover Adrian Beltre to man 3rd base.  Gone are the days of ‘Tek sucking at hitting, now Victor is giving the lineup some pop.  John Lackey was also added to be a 3rd starter (umm what?  Lackey as a 3?)  Should be a fun summer for all AL East foes.

3) Tampa Bay Rays

Well Tampa, you didn’t really come through last year for me when I predicted that you would win the World Series so because of that you will finish 3rd in the East and everyone can keep talking about realignment (which I’m opposed to.  Too complicated and someone well always have a beef with where they are that year)

4) Toronto Blue Jays

Adam Lind, Vernon Wells, Jason Frazor, Rickey Romero… that’s it.  Those are the Blue Jays I could name without looking at their roster. 

5) Baltimore Orioles

Not much to say about the Orioles except that I will be making a trip to Camden with a buddy in late July to see the Twins dominate.  Go Twins!

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

1) Minnesota Twins

C’mon, like I would pick anyone else but the Twins here. 

2) Detroit Tigers

The Tigers always find some way to win and I’ve never figured out a rhyme or reason as to why.  They just do.  But they wont win enough to topple the Twins because the Twins are just that good. 

3) Team that sux from Chicago

White Sox Sux, that’s all you need to know about them

4) Cleveland Indians

The Indians have turned into the Royals as they cannot sign big time players (Cleveland: Victor Martinez, Cy Young winners (in consecutive seasons no less) Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia.  KC: Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran) So instead they rebuild, and rebuild and rebuild some more.

5) Kansas City Royals

The one thing going for the Royals is the New K.  And tha’ts about it.  They did sign Zach Greinke but he could have a nervous breakdown at any moment and turn into the old Zach Greinke.  So be on the watch for that.

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

1) Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim

Many “experts” think that this is the year the Seattle takes the division and the Angles fall to the way side…I say NOT SO FAST. Angles pull out (and pray) the division and shock the masses.

2) Seattle Mariners

Cliff Lee is out until May but when he returns, the Mariners will have as good of a 1-2 punch as anyone in the league.  If the first week is any indication, the Mariners will struggle to score runs which could hurt them in the long run.  And they have Milton Bradley…

3) Texas Rangers

Ron Washington does coke (probably supplied from someone that Josh Hamilton hooked him up with) and the team is now in the hands of Nolan Ryan.  Improvement?  Only time will tell.  If Hamilton and Kinsler can stay healthy all year they could be dangerous. 

4) Oakland A’s

This team seems to be in constant rebuilding ever since their last playoff appearance in 2006 (why did you dive at that ball Torii?  WHY?)  The A’s look to do the same this season.  At least they have a real badass fan in the crowd.

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

1) Philadelphia Phillies

This squad is good.  I mean real good.  Halladay, Rollins, Hamels, Howard, Utley, Werth.  Want me to continue?  Oh you do, ok.  Polanco, Happ, Victorino, Ibanez.  Pretty stacked right?  Right.  First place to them.

2) Atlanta Braves

The Braves tout quite the prospect in Jason Heyward.  He also hit a home run on his first ever swing.  If he were to keep up that pace I think he would hit roughly 938 home runs this season (give or take a few).  The Braves also have a good core of hitters and young pitchers.  And you can never under estimate the power of “win one for the skipper” year because this is Bobby Cox’s last season as the Braves manager. 

3) New York Mets

The Mets…what to say about the Mets.  I’ll start by saying that if I was a Mets fan, I would never tell anyone because I would be so ashamed of their “productivity” the last few seasons.  Blowing the division in the last few weeks in 07 and 08 and then bombing to 70 wins last year?  Ouch.

4) Florida Marlins

The move to Miami cannot come quickly enough for the Marlins.  No one goes to games, no one cares about how they do.  That cannot be fun for the players.  Or the fans.  Good riddance I say.

5) Washington Natinals

Wake me when Strasberg is pitching…yawn.

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

1) St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals look as good as ever on paper.  I can’t imagine anyone in this division even competing with them this year.  Now that they are protecting Pujols with Holliday?  Game over.

2) Milwaukee Brewers

Brew crew are looking to do some damage but it’s just too bad that they are in the same division as the above Cards.  If they can somehow lock up Prince Fielder (see How To Sign Young Star by Billy Smith) they should be a competitive team for years to come.  That is, if they can ever find decent pitching.

3) Chicago Cubs

Sorry cubbies fans, this year will not be your year either.  This club is basically as messed up as the Mets and it doesn’t look to improve any time soon.  If only Mark Cuban was allowed to buy the team, then at least it would be entertaining to watch him yell at umps.

4) Cincinnati Reds

According to Bud Selig, the Reds are one of the up and coming teams in baseball (but what does Bud know anyway) but I may agree with him a bit here.  The Reds look like they know what they are doing and made a big splash with the signing of Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman who looks to help out the club sometime this season.

5) Houston Astros

As I write this the Astros are the only team in the bigs that are winless (0-7).  That’s pretty bad, but they are still better then the Pirates.  Sorry Pirate fans…if there are any of you out there.

6) Pittsburgh Pirates

See above…some good prospects in the organization but still, it’s the Pirates.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

1) San Francisco Giants

The Giants are stacked at pitching this season as they return the best pitcher in the entire universe in Timmy L (as I like to call him, we have a good vibe) and Barry Zito is looking like the old Barry Zito.  The only question for this team is will they score enough runs but if Kung-Fu Panda has anything to say about it they will.

2) Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are another team that build within (like the great Minnesota Twins) and it has definitely worked for them.  Guys like Tulo, Dexter Fowler, Ian Stewart and Ubaldo Jimenez have blossomed in the last few years and trading for Carlos Gonzales was key as well.  Look for them to compete for the division as well as the wild card.

3) Los Angeles Dodgers

This may very well be the closest division race in all of baseball and I think this will be LA’s year to come up short.  Manny is off the PED’s and while Andre Either and Matt Kemp are very good prospects, the Dodgers do not quite have the pitching the rest of the division has.

4) Arizona  Diamondbacks

Have you ever seen the Diamondbacks logo?  Is it just me or could this be the most unintentially inappropriate logo of all time?  You be the judge.

5) San Diego Padres

The town named after a whales vagina has a baseball team that sucks.  Coincidence?

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES

Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox

We’re gonna win Twins, we’re gonna score.  We’re gonna win Twins, watch the baseball soar.  Go Twins!  Territories sometimes beat nations.  This is one of those times

New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim

New York wins.  Easily

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISONAL SERIES

San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals have the pitching to match the Giantes and also have the superior offense.  And that is why they will be moving on.

Philadelphia Phillies vs Colorado Rockies

In the biggest upset in professional sports of all time in history (notice the sensationalism.  What is it about sports that causes announcers to sensationalise everything.  On Sunday, Lefty hit that shot on 13 during the masters, you know, the one from the pine needles to 5 feet to the green, and the announcer said that was the best shot he’s ever hit.  Was it?  Maybe, but just to throw it out there was pretty iffey) the Rockies upend the two time National League champ in a gritty series. 

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees

Revenge is sweet, right Twinks?  The Twins use Target field to their advantage (I’m still trying to figure out how) and beat the evil empire in six games.  Take that A-rod and Cameron Diaz.

 

NATIONAL LEAUGE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

St. Louis Cardinals vs Colorado Rockies

The rox advance to the World Series behind strong play from Tulo (one of my 6 keepers in fantasy) and Carlos Gonzales (potentially one of my 6 keepers in fantasy).  Albert Pujols then goes and dances with people with down syndrome because he is such a good guy (those that think that’s a mean joke, read the ESPN the Mag article on Winny the Pujols)

 

WORLD SERIES

Minnesota Twins vs Colorado Rockies

In the coldest World Series ever (with 3 games delayed because of snow…it could happen) the Twins open and close the inaugural season at Target Field victorious.  Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 Baseball Champions, the Minnesota freakin’ Twins.  Yes.

Another Sports Podcast feat. Sam Leof

Sam and I have been mulling doing a podcast for years now and finally we decided to actually record one. I hope to do these at least once a week with various people and topics so stay tuned. Enjoy!

On This Day 20 Years Ago…

Some big joke was played on all of us.  He came in a 6 pound, 21 inch package and on a cold, overcast day. As the story goes, my mother was starting to have strong contractions and had to be rushed to the hospital. I had been promised a ride in my fathers new truck so I obviously threw a fit because who wouldn’t want to ride in a sweet new Isuzu pickup truck?  My father then drove me around a few blocks because I had him wrapped around my finger at an early age (only child).  I was dropped off at a neighbors so the beast inside my mother could be released.   He was given the name Matthew David but the name givers would rather had named something something like Michelle or Megan.  Instead of dressing up in frills, he would be given hand-me-down clothing and toys.

20 years ago today I gained a little pest of a brother.  I would be subjected to countless hours of torture and being followed where ever I went.  I would be forced to include my little brother in the tackle football games that we would play in our yard, only he was so young that he couldn’t be tackled (by anyone other then me that is, and yes, I did tackle him.  Hard.  He probably deserved it).  I was forced to baby sit him when my parents were at work only he would never listen to me.  We would box with little boxing gloves that he got for Christmas one year only I could only use my left hand (in fear of the potential homicide).  I could go on and on but you get the point.

Years later something crazy happened…we started to actually like each other.  There came a time when I realized that we actually like the same stuff, the same type of music, the same type of clothes, hell even the same athletes (you know, because we we both made by the same two people).  I know some siblings are tighter then Carl Pohlad’s wallet (RIP, speaking of Carl, would he ever have signed Joey to a $184 million dollar deal? My gut tells me no) but my brother and I were not one of those siblings.  Until I went off to college.  We grew closer and actually hung out when I was home.  He was no longer my pest of a little brother but a friend that I could bullshit with and not have him run to mama (which he did when we were kids…mama’s boy).  So on this, your day of birth, I wish you a Happy Birthday Ma-chew.  I wouldn’t trade you for any other brother in the world, which is something that I actually tried to do when we were kids… Love ya Bro.

I would say have a drink for me but you can’t do that yet (legally anyway).  We’ll sneak one when mom goes to bed when you are out here in May.

Looks or Confidence?

The scene: Downtown (of DT as it is affectionately called) Roanoke on a Saturday night.

The situation: We are on the hunt to see what is more important in the eyes of the opposite sex, looks or confidence.

Before I answer that question above, I have to give a rundown on the previous antics that led up to the asking of the golden question.  We first started our night at the famed Cornerstone Bar (where we, as Salem Red Sox employees, enjoy a discount on our drinking.  Except for Saturday night, where a assumed new bartender didn’t know the deal ($2 beers, $4 shots) even after we told her.  Let’s just say that my bill was larger then I thought it was going to be) and watched the delightful men’s college basketball game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington Huskies (I use delightful as a joke because I think Washington doubled up UCLA) while enjoying a few adult beverages. 

After a few brews and shots; and after the cupid shuffle (which is the favorite song of every one in Roanoke apparently.  It’s the only song that gets everyone on the dance floor no matter what and yes, Roanoke is two years behind in it’s music selection.  Except for Lady GaGa, they play plenty of her) Steven (sales guy and roommate at Massanutten) decide to venture off to see what other attractions we can find downtown.  Now, I’ve gone out a few times in my time here and I’ve only been to Cornerstone and a bar/restaurant/cougar central called Metro so I jumped at the chance to go somewhere new. We ended up at some bar that I don’t know the name of but had the word BBQ in it in some fashion.  This was my type of bar because I was drinking a tallboy Pabst and listening to a live band playing fast Bob Dylan covers and other bluegrass/Brian Setzer type music which was a lot of fun to listen to. 

After we finished our beers we decided to go to Club 202, which is Roanoke’s dance club.  Now, unbeknown to me, Roanoke is trying to be a very classy place.  Upon arriving at 202 I was told that I cannot enter because I was wearing a hoody (which really was a glorified long sleeved t-shirt that had a hood) and a hat.  After being denied entrance at 202 we moved onto a bar called Corned Beef which also had a dress code (making me remove my t-shirt with a hood and stuffing it into my pocket).  Corned Beef was an interesting bar that had a dance floor on its top floor so Steve and I made our way up to that area to check it out.  After a few minutes the rest of our crew showed up after finally leaving Cornerstone and joined us on the dance floor.  Fellow intern Peter lasted all of two minutes before feeling disgusted by the surrounding people and the atmosphere before saying that he’s out of there and he was gone quicker then Urban Meyer stayed retired.  Couldn’t really blame him though.  The crowd was very suspect and what do you expect at a low rate “club” at midnight on a Saturday.

So how does this have to do with the question of looks or confidence?  Well, Andrew (marketing/ graphics guy) told us that if we were to leave Corned Beef that he would make a move on a chick that we all wanted him to make a move on earlier and, as the story goes, could have made a move on as late as last year.  So, obviously we all wanted to see this happen and happily obliged to leave Corned Beef to return to Cornerstone in hopes to see magic happen.  Only it never did.  On our way to the Waffle House (obviously) we found out the reason why.  Andrew confessed to having no confidence when it came to girls.  That lead us to a drunken rant about how girls like confidence and even if you don’t have it you have to pretend to have it (a la Andy from 40 Year Old Virgin).

We were all sitting in our booth as the waitress came upon our conversation and was about to be a key player in the hot topic of the night.  Kyle (fellow intern) asked the innocent question of “What do girls like more, looks or confidence?”  Our waitress paused for a bit and had this as a response, “Well, I’m not really in to guys.” Yeah.  That just happened.  After she said that I quickly returned to my menu and gave out a “uhhhh, I’ll have…” as quickly as I could to deflect the awkwardness that was just created. 

Long story short, we never found out the answer to our question and created an embarrassing situation in the process.  Plus we were drunk in a Waffle House at 2:30 in the morning dropping f-bombs like sailors causing a guy behind me in the pay line to say “no class at the waffle house tonight”.  Sorry buddy, no need to act like you are a saint in front of your girlfriend. 

All in all it was a good night.  As good of one that you can have in the city of Roanoke. Thee end

Trade Me

Will these players be swapping uni’s soon? 

Do you know what is one of my favorite things to do on the internet (besides looking at porn, obviously…)?  It’s a little thing called the NBA Trade Machine on espn.com.  If you are unfamiliar with the Trade Machine, then you have a void in your life and I will help you fill it.  The Trade Machine is a webpage that you can use to do hypothetical trades with various NBA teams.  Want to trade Lebron for D-Wade?  Well you can do that if the salaries match up (they do) and then ESPN NBA annalist John Hollinger will predict how many wins gained or lost as a result of the trade (for the Lebron D-Wade Trade, Cavs projected wins decrease by 7 and Miami’s increase by 6) and so on. 

I’ve had a lot of fun this this in the past, making the T-Wolves a NBA Juggernaut but it’s time to get serious. Sort of.  Here are few NBA trades that could happen and the reasoning behind such trades in my eyes.

Milwaukee trades Luke Ridnour and Joe Alexander to Golden State for Corey Maggette and CJ Watson (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yfkmy55)

Why: Milwaukee is on the cusp of a playoff birth for the first time in years with an electric, yung point guard and a solid big man that is finally playing up to his potential.  What do they need?  Someone to score the ball.  Corey Maggette has proven that he can do that and it’s not like Golden State has anything to play for.  Golden State gets Ridnour’s expiring contract and Milwaukee picks up another young point guard to back up Brandon.  Easy.

Wins Projections: Milwaukee +4, Golden State –5

Cleveland trades JJ Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Delonte West to the Toronto Raptors for Chris Bosh and Marco Belinelli (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yl4xwbx)

Why: Everyone thinks that Cleveland is going after Amare when they should really be focusing on Chris Bosh.  Bosh may be harder to pry from Toronto because he apparently likes it there but what Toronto needs to realize is that they aren’t going to get out of the first round of the playoffs, no matter who they face (as of right now it would be Boston) so they should save some cash and try and get players for Bosh before he walks and they get nothing.  JJ Hickson and Delonte West are nothing special but they are better then nothing.

Wins Projections: Cleveland +5, Toronto –13

Boston trades Jesus Shuttlesworth and Big Baby (or Uno Uno as he wants to be called) to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire and Jared Dudley (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjxz8f8)

Why: Boston isn’t getting any younger and while trading for another big man doesn’t make much basketball sense for the Celtics to do, Amare would be a welcomed addition to the lineup with an aging Kevin Garnett being able to take longer rests to be ready for what could be a final playoff run.  Also, can you imagine a lineup with a healthy KG and Amare in it?  Not much D but watch out for the oops raining down on the opponents. Perkins would obviously work his way in somehow to pick up the defensive slack.  Also they would get rid of Jesus’ huge contract while picking up a good shooter in Dudley.  Phoenix turns Amare into Big Baby and cap space.

Wins Projections: Boston +3, Phoenix –5

Houston trades Tracy McGrady to Sacramento for Kevin Martin and Kenny Thomas (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yz82qxe)

Why: Houston has been looking for a team to dump McGrady and his contract on and Sacramento could be that landing spot.  Houston gets a scoring guard to replace McGrady and also Thomas’ expiring contract.  Everybody wins.

Wins Projections: Houston +4, Sacramento –5

San Antonio trades Richard Jefferson to Golden State for Monta Ellis and Devean George (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yg7y4tb)

Why: The Richard Jefferson experiement isn’t working in San Antonio so why not swap him with a young and exciting player that is having his own problems in a system?  Monta may not play any defense or shoot all that well, but he can push the tempo for the Spurs and give them a slasher scorer that they do not have when Tony Parker is hurt (which he is quite often).  Who knows, maybe Monta will even learn how to play D in Popovich’s system and having Tim Duncan there to teach him.  I’m sure we’ll never know either…

Wins Projections: San Antonio +2, Golden State –2

Memphis trades Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, and Sam Young to Portland for Andre Miller and Martell Webster (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ykbr3cr)

Why: There has been a rumor all season that Andre Miller is not happy with his role with the Blazers and that he and coach Nate McMullen have not gotten along.  Memphis wants a point guard as bad as I want this snow to go away and they are getting a good one in Miller but in return they are losing a promising young player in Gay in the process.  Portland gets athletic and adds to their stable of tweeners that they already have on the roster.

Wins Projections: Memphis +4, Portland –4 (apparently Hollinger doesn’t like this trade.  I bet Portland would be better off with Gay)

Detroit trades Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox and Chucky Atkins to New York for Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ylq4bw6)

Why: Can anyone say cap space?  New York has done everything possible to get Lebron and this is no exception. At this rate, the Knicks will have two players under contract for next year (the immortal Toney Douglas and Danilo Gallinari).  Let the sweepstakes begin.

Wins Projections: No change for either team because both are worthless this season

Bulls trade Kirk Hinrich to Los Angeles for Derek Fisher and Adam Morrison (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yksxnhc)

Why: Derek Fisher isn’t getting any younger and Adam Morrison rots at the end of the bench.  Kirk Hinrich is under contract for a few more years and is basically the same player Fisher is, only younger and better.  Chicago gets about $10 mil in cap space to try and sign D-Wade.

Wins Projections: Chicago –1, LA +1

And finally…

Minnesota trades Mark Blount and Brian Cardinal to Cleveland, Al Jefferson, Ramon Sessions, Sasha Pavlovic and Oleksiy Pecherov to Orlando and Damian Wilkins to New Orleans for Lebron James, Dwight Howard Matt Barnes and Chris Paul, Cleveland sends Boobie Gibson to New Orleans (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjnte5a)

Why: Because then I would be a T-Wolves fan again

Wins Projections: Minnesota +17, Cleveland –8 (really?  that’s it? Trading Lebron for Brian Cardinal and Mark Blount and you only are 8 games worse…?), Orlando –11, New Orleans –13

Boom goes the dynamite.

Virginia, how you tricked me…

I haven’t posted anything of real significance recently so I thought that this would be the best time to let everyone know how it’s going with the internship and the new state…

First, the state of Virginia is nice as far as I can tell. I’ve been here for a month now and so far the nicest weather was during my first week here. I was bragging to all of you Sotan’s out there how nice it was here (mid 50’s and topped 60 a few times) and my, how my words have came back to haunt me. It is currently snowing outside. Which is the third such snowstorm since I have been here. And when I say snow storm I’m not talking 2-3 inches (which actually shuts down schools here. Crazy I know), I’m speaking of 8-10 inches of the white stuff that I thought I was avoiding by fleeing south. So you can imagine how “ecstatic” I am about the snow.

Other then winter following me where ever I go the rest of landscape is very beautiful. I’m used to flat prairie land so I like the change of pace with the mountains (or big ass hills as they more resemble) and I’m constantly staring at them whenever I drive, which is probably very safe. Which leads me to the driving in this state; there are three things that bug me more then I ever thought someone driving could pull off. Usually I’m not an angry driver and have had very little experience with road rage but I may lose it in this state. First off, no one uses a turn signal here (which happens to be my #1 pet peeve). I think people here just assume that the drivers behind them know what they are about to do; because that makes sense. Secondly, I swear that everyone here has their own damn personal license plate. It’s almost as if their was a “going out of business” sale at the dmv and everyone jumped at the chance to get one (I was told by a resident that they are only $10 bucks or so. I guess that explains a lot). Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the drivers here ALWAYS go under the speed limit. And in both lanes. During rush hour. When I really want to get home. You can imagine how frustrating that can be and then multiply that by 20. That’s how frustrating it is.

Enough about the state and it’s peeps though, the internship is going very well so far. We just started making sales calls last week (by “we” I mean us interns (me along with Kyle and Peter) and a staffer by the name of Andrew) and they are going well I suppose. It’s hard to make sales when 80% of the people do not pick up their phones and the other 10% have already bought tickets or were planning on doing so later in the year. My favorite call happened last Thursday when I was closing a deal with this old man and he first lost his check book and then lost the phone that he was talking to me on. I sat there for a good seven minutes until he got back on and finished the deal. That was pretty interesting but you gotta love old people.

We haven’t done much baseball related stuff yet because there is fucking snow on the ground. Still. In Virginia. But I’m hoping once the snow goes to hell then we can actually do some stuff outside and the like. I’ve never been so ready for baseball season to start and I’m really excited to be apart of this team because of the prospects that have a chance of being big time guys for the big league club that will hopefully spend some, if not most of their season here. Pitcher Casey Kelly is the 18th rated prospect according to Keith Law and he spent most of the year with Salem last season. He will most likely start the year here before moving up to Portland in double-a. Another prospect that Boston is excited about is outfielder Ryan Westmoreland (32 ranked). Westmorland had surgery a year ago so he started slow in single-a ball but stole 19 bases on 19 attempts. He should start in low-a again with the Lowell Spinners but hopefully he’ll play most of the season with us in Salem.

Our office just got back from a weekend trip to Massanutten resort in northern Virginia last weekend which was a blast. The thing I like most about this group of people in the office is that I don’t feel like an outsider. Most of this group has been together for three years at least and it feels like us interns have been there the entire time which is cool. Getting drunk with co-workers is also a very good ice breaker and you get to know people more as they also get to know you. So far it’s been a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to more of the same.

This is the view as I am leaving my apartment complex

The mountains I stare at everyday

Salem Memorial Ballpark – Where stars come to play…or something like that

The 2nd Annual Hot Stove Banquet at the Salem Civic Center

Proof

Table for seven

Giles and Erin making sure no one steals anything

Oh yeah, Jim Rice was there too

Salem Manager Kevin Boles, Hall of Famer Jim Rice and Salem General Manager Todd Stevenson talk some baseball

When Jim Rice speaks, people listen

For those of you old enough to remember (I wasn’t alive yet) but this is the little boy that Jim Rice saved when he was hit in the head by a foul ball at Fenway. The boy is all grown up now, obviously

Jim Rice telling on of his many stories. Very entertaining night though.