Starting things off with a trip...

So it has been a while since my last post on this site. After being lured away from this site to write for the Lunchhournews last year, a decision based on the promise of a couch to sleep on and offerings of delicious late night snacks, I am back! I am hoping to post once to twice a week and keep things fresh.

This week I have something to rant about.... The idea to send teams to Japan and have them play both meaningless and meaningful games seems beneficial to no one, not even Major League Baseball.

The Red Sox traveled to Japan over two weeks ago and have not returned home yet. They have played eleven games and traveled a total of 16,000 miles in 15 days. Seven of those games counted. They started 3-1, but this weekend it seemed the light at the end of the tunnel was too bright for the Sox. They were swept by the Blue Jays in a pretty uninspired weekend of baseball. The bullpen gave up 10 runs in 10+ innings and the offense managed to muster 11 runs.

This trip is going to murder the Sox in April. The best decision the Sox made was not bringing Beckett. He was not his best today, however he didn’t deserve to be responsible for five runs. Manny Delcarmen gave up a grand slam with 2 outs on his first pitch of the game to Frank Thomas.

Not only will the Sox be tired and off kilter all April, their schedule is an absolute murder’s row. They open Fenway tomorrow against the Tigers for three games. Then the Yankess come to town followed by a trip to Cleveland to face the Indians then they stop in the Bronx on their way back. The Rangers and Angels finish up the month of April. That is unreal. 3 playoff teams and also a lot of people’s favorites this season in the Tigers. The bright side of this is that they will have a soft spot in their schedule later on down the road. Could the Sox be reeling so badly by the end of the month that it just won’t matter? It could happen. The Sox play 27 games this month. I think they will be lucky to get out with 12 wins. I hope some home cooking and the Green Monster wake up the offense and settle down the bullpen…

One quick note about college hoops. I was wrong about Memphis when I said they weren’t good enough to win the Final Four. I didn’t even think they had the team to make it to San Antonio. However, their free throw shooting and defense have gotten better. The free throw shooting had room to improve, but the defense which was already a strength is awesome now. Derrick Rose is proving himself as a top 5 draft pick this summer if he comes out. He is a big strong kid who can handle the ball and play good defense. I think Memphis wins tomorrow night by ten. Kansas had their best half on Saturday and won’t be able to keep up with Memphis’ athletes.