Curt takes the home town discount to sign with the Sox

Curt Schilling is reporting on his blog that he has agreed to a one year deal with the Red Sox.
From Curt's blog 38Pitches.com:
"The deal looks like this.

$8 million in guaranteed base salary

$2 million in bonuses for 6 seperate weigh ins.

I inserted the weigh in clause in the 2nd round of offers, counter offers. Given the mistakes I made last winter and into Spring Training I needed to show them I recognized that, and understood the importance of it. Being overweight and out of shape are two different things. I also was completely broad sided by the fact that your body doesn’t act/react the same way as you get older. Even after being told that for the first 39 years of my life. Now I can’t get on Dougie anymore, which sucks, and I am sure the clause will add 15-100 more jokes to Tito’s Schilling joke book.

$3 million in IP incentives based on IP totals.

$1 million for receiving a Cy Young vote, any vote."

I salute Curt for making this deal. He definitely could have gone elsewhere to get more money or another year, but he took the hometown discount instead. Regardless of how this year turns out for Curt I'll be grateful for the concessions he made to stay in Boston. The Red Sox now have all of their starting rotation from last year as well as Clay Bucholz and Jon Lester.

Curt Schilling reports that he is coming close to a one year deal with the Red Sox.

From Curt Schilling's Blog 38Pitches.com:
"Talks with the Red Sox are moving. Theo and I have spoken multiple times daily over the past week and given the current situation I am feeling very confident that we will be able to finalize a 1 year contract to allow us a chance to finish our career as members of the Red Sox organization.

There are some things to iron out and details that must be finalized for both sides but barring something unforseen (sic) or outrageously odd happening I feel very comfortable that I will finish my career here."

The Red Sox front office has verified that this is currently the situation.

Patriots come back in 4th Quarter to beat Colts.

The Colts and some terrible officiating gave the Patriots their first, and possibly only, scare of the year. The Patriots refused to lose and scored two quick touchdowns in the fourth quarter to grab the lead for good as the defense shut down Peyton Manning, capping things off with a hit on Manning that resulted in a fumble that Roosevelt Colvin caught. A few runs, a third down pass to Wes Welker for a fresh set of downs and a couple of kneel downs later and this game was over.

I'm not going to harp on it, but the officiating in this game was terrible and, in the post-Donaghy world of officiating, refereeing and umpiring, suspiciously lopsided in the Colts favor. The few calls that went against Indianapolis (4 penalties, 25 yards) were 2 unquestionable false start calls a fairly obvious defensive holding call and a blatant offensive holding call. The one pass interference call that went against the Patriots the flag was thrown well after Randy Moss had secured the pass and hit the turf and the penalty was declined. Later Randy was called for an offensive pass interference call that had even the broadcasters scratching their heads. The Colts were also placed deep into the red zone on defensive pass interference calls against the Patriots. The second call against Ellis Hobbs on a deep throw to Reggie Wayne made no sense whatsoever as Hobbs made very little contact with Wayne, got past Wayne and was going for the ball when Wayne fell on Hobbs to draw the penalty. This game set a franchise record for penalties for the Patriots. I think it is also worth noting that the Colts did manage to cover the spread in this game.

Joseph Addai had a much better game than Peyton Manning did as Peyton's number were unspectacular and included an interception and a lost fumble. Tom Brady had a relatively bad day throwing two picks, including one in the red zone, which doubles his interception total for the year. Otherwise his numbers were solid with 3 TD passes and a good completion percentage.

Most people now feel confident that the Patriots will finish with a perfect season and see the Colts again in the AFC Championship game in Foxboro. This is the most likely scenario, but there's still some meat on the schedule for the remaining 7 games. The Bills have picked themselves up and won their last 3 games, the Eagles are capable of having a big day from time to time and they'll need to play the 4-3 Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. These are some solid trap games. The real tough games left on the schedule include the Steelers in week 14. The Patriots could also be caught sleeping with the bye and home field advantage wrapped up in the final week of the season against the Giants in Giants stadium. At that point in the season the Giants could also be fighting with the Cowboys and the Redskins for the NFC East title or, even worse, a wild card playoff berth.

It's over, FedEx Orange Bowl here we come!

In typical BC fashion, they blew it. Goodbye national title game, goodbye #2 Ranking and goodbye Matty Heisman.

This game was almost identical to the Virginia Tech game, except instead of a last minute touchdown pass, Matt Ryan threw right into coverage for a pick 6 to end the game for all intents and purposes. Matt Ryan had an atrocious night. It's hard to win games when you throw three interceptions, it honestly could have been more as he was constantly throwing into coverage. The Eagles defense was similarly lackluster. They caused no turnovers whatsoever, mediocre quarterback Drew Weatherford tore up a highly touted Eagles secondary and was given far too much time in the pocket. It also seemed like they let the 'Noles off the hook too many times on third down. BC got outplayed and deserved to lose this game.

So that's it, the pollsters are way too fond of their golden boys like LSU and Oklahoma for BC to ever get back into the national title hunt as a one loss team. The best we can hope for now? With a loss by Wake Forest to Virginia this weekend it's down to Clemson and BC for the Atlantic Division of the ACC. If Clemson beats Wake Forest and BC at home, they'll win the atlantic division of the ACC and go to the ACC Championship for a chance at the Orange Bowl, most likely facing either Virginia or Virginia Tech from the coastal division. That said, the Eagles are still masters of their own destiny, if they beat Clemson and either Maryland or Miami in the remaining 3 games they will clinch the division. If they don't manage at least a BCS bowl this will be a tremendous waste of a good season by the Eagles.

Wakefield and Tavarez to return for another year with the Red Sox

The Associated Press is reporting that the Red Sox have exercised options to return SP/RP Julian Tavarez and SP Tim Wakefield to the Red Sox for another year. I strongly support this decision as both are cheap and versatile, veteran pitchers that can contribute in the starting rotation or the bullpen. Tavarez will likely be placed as a long reliever who will occasionally make spot starts if necessary.

This could be an indication that the Red Sox do not intend to re-sign Curt Schilling as these options provide the Red Sox with a good 5 man rotation of Beckett, DiceK, Bucholz, Lester and Wakefield with Tavarez as an insurance policy.

Curt had this to say on his blog 38Pitches.com:
"I also wanted to mention something else. For anyone interested please just assume things are happening with Boston without me mentioning it. Theo and I have spoken more than once but there will be no details or updates of these discussions. I am in contact with the Sox and talking."

This would suggest that the Red Sox and Curt have yet to come to a solid decision on Curt's contract.

BC v. FSU Preview

In case you haven't been keeping up with college football this year, this isn't your older brother's Bobby Bowden dynasty Florida State Seminoles. The 'Noles are a respectable 5-3 this year and will likely gain bowl eligibility in their remaining schedule, but at 2-3 in the Atlantic division of the ACC their chances to win the Atlantic division are slim at best and a loss to the Eagles at Chestnut Hill will eliminate them as contenders. The 'Noles received a generous pre-season ranking, which speaks highly of their talent pool, but clearly something has been lacking in their execution. They immediately lost this ranking with a loss to an underrated Clemson team to begin the year. They had back to back ACC losses in weeks 6 and 7 against an underrated Wake Forest and inconsistent Miami team. Their only win of relevance is a win over former Dolphins coach Nick Saban's #22 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2), the Crimson have since climbed back up to #17 in the rankings. Wins over Duke (1-7), UAB (2-6), Colorado (5-4) and NC State (3-5) lacks the same prestige. Boston College is a well earned #2 in the country, 8-0 and 4-0 ACC. In all likelihood, this game should be another ACC win for the Eagles against a winning program.

That said, FSU is a talented team that's in "wounded animal backed into a corner" mode. A win over the Eagles on the road would bring their program back to prominence, make them bowl eligible and help salvage a season that many in Tallahassee already consider to be a failure. There's a very big bullseye on the Eagles and the Seminoles are just the kind of team with the talent to surprise you. This is a classic trap game.

National Title Game Chase:

#3 LSU has it's last big test of the season on it's schedule against #17 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. LSU is threatening to leapfrog the Eagles in the rankings even if the Eagles finish undefeated and LSU finishes with 1 loss due to the Tigers strength of schedule and the Eagles weakness of schedule.

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes take on the #21 Wisconsin Badgers in Columbus. The Buckeyes are also undefeated at 9-0, but will need to win this game as well as win against the resurgent Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor to run the tables.

In what should be a great Pac-10 matchup, the undefeated #4 Arizona Sun Devils take on the #5 Oregon Ducks (7-1). The Sun Devils need this game for a legitimacy win. They beat Cal, which at the time was ranked #21, but Cal has since been dropped from the rankings after reaching rankings as high as #2 at one point this year. The Ducks are the real deal with a Heisman candidate at QB with Dennis Dixon and will provide the toughest test of the year for the Sun Devils. The Ducks are a 1-loss team, but could also be fringe national title contenders. They are coming off of a big win at home against USC and would be in a position to win the Pac-10 championship if they win this game.

ACC Roundup:

The Clemson Tigers should stay in ACC title contention for another week by steamrolling 1-7 Duke. Maybe the Blue Devils will surprise me, but I doubt it.

#24 Wake Forest and #23 Virginia will slug it out in Charlottesville, VA. Virginia needs to win in order to hold off Virginia Tech in the ACC Coastal division and Wake Forest needs to win to stay on BC's heels in the Atlantic Division. I'll be pulling for Virginia, but I think Wake Forest is a much better team.

Maryland will take on the UNC Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Maryland's Atlantic Division chances are hanging on by a thread as it is, but I would like the 'Terps to be out of contention when BC heads down to College Park next week. UNC isn't likely to come through at 2-6, but they did surprise Miami in a 33-27 win in Chapel Hill a few weeks back. A win here would also put the 'Terps one win away from bowl eligibility.

The Miami Hurricanes will take on Tom O'Brien's NC State wolfpack in Miami. Miami needs this win to stay in the ACC title chase as they'll be taking on both of the teams on top of their division in the following two weeks. If they run the tables they would quite possibly be in a situation where they would need to beat BC in Chestnut Hill in order to win the Coastal division on the last week of the season. NC State isn't likely to stop them at 3-5, but one of those 3 was a huge upset win over #15 Virginia last week and Miami has shown a tendency to underestimate opponents based on it's losses to UNC and Georgia Tech in consecutive weeks. This win would make the 'Canes bowl eligible and is the last easy game on their schedule as they will have Virginia next week before trying to beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and BC in Chestnut Hill to fnish out the season.

Decisions, Decisions....

The season is over, there's a fresh World Series trophy in Boston and the celebration is over and the talk of dynasty is ready to begin. The Red Sox face some really tough decisions with regards to their approach to free agency this year. Some people will be moving on, some will be actively shopped around until they find a home elsewhere and some currently have nothing but question marks.

Let's start with the easy one:

Tim Wakefield: There's some controversy surrounding Tim Wakefield and whether or not the Red Sox will pick up the option on his contract for another year. This is almost a foregone conclusion in my mind. Regardless of what else happens, Tim Wakefield is just too good a bargain to pass up. He's the longest tenured Red Sox player on the roster by a wide margin, he can be a starter or help out in the bullpen and the fact that he's a knuckleballer makes his age/health minor considerations. Regardless of what happens with other pitchers on the staff, Tim Wakefield is an excellent insurance policy and will contribute.

Curt Schilling: I initially believed Curt would be staying in Boston and finish out his career with the Red Sox, but some recent news gives me good reason to doubt that this will be the case. News outlets are reporting anonymous sources within the organization think resigning Schilling to another year is unlikely, Curt has filed for free agency and has reported a number of teams he'd be interested in pitching for and Curt has written goodbye letters to a number of his teammates.

What do I think about Curt Schilling's situation? Putting aside the sentimental value of seeing Curt wrap up his career in a Boston uniform, I could easily go either way. Pro: Curt has only asked for one more year and has expressed no interest in a long term deal. Con: Curt wants the same salary for what is admittedly not the same product the sox wanted when they initially signed him. Pro: There is a real lack of quality pitching on the free agent market. Con: The Red Sox can sign Tim Wakefield and have a pretty good rotation of Beckett, DiceK, Bucholz, Lester and Wakefield; Schilling might get in the way of some promising prospects. Pro: Schilling showed some flashes of brilliance from his old self with the near no-hitter in Oakland and some dominating performances in the playoffs. Con: Schilling had a mediocre regular season at best and took a DL stint, at his age durability is a real concern.

Either way, I'm infinitely grateful that Curt seems to have no interest in playing for the Yankees. Seeing him finish his career in pinstripes would be a slap in the face to the Boston fan base that loves him, and he knows and acknowledges this.

Mike Lowell v Alex Rodriguez: Two weeks ago I would have been strongly in favor of signing Mike Lowell, but some things have changes since then. Alex Rodriguez basically gave the Yankees front office the finger by opting out of his contract and getting Texas off the hook for a large portion of the subsidy they promised the Yankees when they picked up A-Rod's contract. Now, the Yankees need a quality 3rd baseman and are unwilling to talk to Alex Rodriguez. What this does: Drives up the price of Mike Lowell and brings down the price of Alex Rodriguez. There are a very limited number of clubs that can afford A-Rod's services and still field a competitive team. I also think Rodriguez's decision to leave New York is the result of the transition they'll be going through with a new manager and likely losing some key members of the team to free agency. I think A-Rod wants to play for a serious title contender, the Yankees aren't likely to be able to offer this next year. This narrows down the list of potential homes for A-Rod considerably. My guess: Boston or the Angels. So, to summarize, Alex Rodriguez is young, just won the MVP award and will probably have to take less money than the Yankees would have paid him.

Mike Lowell, on the other hand, is coming off of an unprecedentedly good season. He had never hit above .300 in his entire career and this season he hit .324. His highest RBI total prior to this season was 105, this season he hit 120. This year was clearly a late career renaissance for him while in a contract year. I don't expect him to maintain these numbers once he's settled into what will likely be his last contract at age 33. If Mike Lowell is going to be in a Red Sox uniform again it's not going to be cheap, and it probably won't be worth it.

I hate to say it, but you might actually get more bang for your buck with Alex Rodriguez. The X factor? Clubhouse chemistry. When asked about A-Rod v. Mike Lowell Jason Varitek refused to comment, essentially saying that he felt that he wasn't the person to ask, but pointed out that he knows Mike Lowell is a big part of their clubhouse chemistry.

Coco Crisp: This guy needs to be moved, he was a good center fielder, but not good enough to let Jacoby Ellsbury rot in the minor leagues for another year.

Julian Tavarez: Julian Tavarez is very similar to Tim Wakefield. He's cheap and has great versatility and durability. Should Curt Schilling move on I think Julian would make an excellent 6th starter/long reliever in the event somebody in the starting rotation gets hurt.

Bobby Kielty: We could use a 4th outfielder, not sure this is necessarily the way to go though. I hear there are some solid prospects in the Red Sox minor leagues that could provide as a solid 4th outfielder.

Julio Lugo: The dream scenario in my mind actually involves Julio Lugo being sold off to another team with the Red Sox eating about a third of the money for his contract and bringing in Alex Rodriguez to play his original position at shortstop. This is farfetched and extremely speculative though. In all likelihood we're stuck with Julio Lugo next year. If it's any consolation, Lugo's batting numbers were almost all below his career average, I could see him bouncing back nicely in his second year.

Doug Mirabelli: We tried getting rid of Dougie before, but then we realized that nobody else could catch Tim Wakefield and a million passed balls per game wasn't good for business. This time we do have Kevin Cash, who caught Wakefield effectively during Doug Mirabelli's DL stint. I'd prefer to see Cash playing rather than Mirabelli. Of course if Wakefield isn't coming back then there's no need for Dougie whatsoever.

Should be interesting to see what the Red Sox front office puts on the field for 2008.