Top 10 Hardest Red Sox Break-Ups

            Last Sunday’s trade of Kevin Youkilis (long overdue, even if the package Boston got back could be best described as a lingering fart) got No Credentials thinking. What were the ten most difficult “breakups” that I’ve had to deal with? Before I reveal the list, I’ll provide some context.

-         I was born in 1985, and didn’t become a diehard sports fan until I was nine, so if you’re in your fifties and get mad that Carlton Fisk isn’t on this list, that’s why.

      -         I tried my best to focus on the disappointment I was feeling as soon as I found out a certain player was leaving, without focusing on the aftermath. All but number nine on this list do a pretty good job of that.

Now on to the list…

10. Carl Everett

            Just kidding!

9. Adrian Beltre

            Beltre only spent one year in Boston, so there wasn’t a great deal of emotional attachment, but this move hurt the logical part of my brain. Coming off a lackluster five seasons playing for the Mariners, Beltre inked a one-year deal with the Red Sox in 2010. He exceeded expectations, batting .321 with 28 dingers, won the AL Silver Slugger Award for third baseman, and made the All-Star team. Rather than re-sign him (because you know, it wouldn’t make any sense to resign a guy who has already proven he can handle playing in Boston), the Red Sox instead chose to spend their money on Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and John Lackey. Adrian Gonzalez is currently on pace for about 15 home runs (Beltre is on pace for 30), while Crawford and Lackey have been on the DL all season. Bummer.

8. Wade Boggs

            I’m too young to remember Boggs leaving Boston for the Yankees after the 1992 season, but I think my Dad was bummed out about it. Ironically enough, 1992 was the only season Boggs hit under .300 in a Red Sox uniform (I’m guessing a poor BABIP contributed to a .259 average that season. Either that or he was looking forward to getting the hell out of Boston). For evidence that Boggs may have been under appreciated, here are the batting averages (with on-base percentage in parentheses) Boggs posted from 1985 through 1988.

1985: .368 (.450)

1986: .357 (.453)
1987: .363 (.461)
1988: .366 (.476)    

7. Mo Vaughn

            Mo was David Ortiz before Big Papi ever made it to the big leagues. In his prime, he was a go big or go home hitter who somehow managed to post a .293 career batting average. He always came up huge in big moments (his most memorable Red moment was a walk-off grand slam off of Randy Johnson in an early season comeback against the Mariners), but unfortunately he only got to play in 7 post-season games his entire career. It was a bummer when he left for the Angels in 1999, but at least no one had any false hope that he was going to stay.

6. Roger Clemens

            Clemens is an asshole, so I don’t want to spend too much time on him. Just know that at 11 years old, I was really sad to see him go.

5. Johnny Damon

            Damon was only with the Red Sox for four years, but the goodwill he built up didn’t even make him a full on villain when he left for the Yankees in 2006. It was sad to see him go, but the way the rest of his career has gone proved Theo Epstein right. He wouldn’t have been worth the money the Red Sox would’ve had to fork over to keep him.

4. Manny Ramirez

            Sure Ramirez has had a lot of dirt thrown on him since leaving Boston. Sure the Red Sox placed him on waivers while he was there…twice. Sure he was nearly involved in a blockbuster trade that would’ve brought Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox in 2004 (remember that?). Sure he was probably juicing during his entire career (who wasn’t?). You want to know what Manny’s postseason batting averages were during the two championship seasons? .348 and .350. The Red Sox have never really been the same since he was traded in July of 2008. 

3. Nomar Garciaparra

            The only thing that would’ve made the 2004 World Series run better for No Credentials is if Nomar could’ve been on the field for the final out in St. Louis. He was drafted right when I started becoming a die-hard sports fan. He came up and won rookie of the year. For a five-year stretch, it was a legitimate debate whether or not him, Alex Rodriguez, or Derek Jeter was the best shortstop in baseball. If he wasn’t so brittle, I’m certain he would’ve reached 3,000 hits. Lastly, numerous pets owned by friends of mine in junior high school were named Nomar. I was heavily intoxicated when word of his trade to Chicago broke, so this trade crushed me. 

2. Jonathan Papelbon

            The picture above shows everything I love and miss about Papelbon. At least I can still root for him because he’s on my keeper league team.

1. Pedro Martinez

            If you could teleport a “in his prime” Pedro Martinez to 2012, what would his ERA and WHIP be? 1.25 and 0.50? 1999-2003 Pedro was appointment television (his dominating two-inning stint in the 1999 All-Star Game against a lineup of Jersey Shore-like guerilla juice heads being the most memorable, other than of course throwing 102-year old Don Zimmer to the ground in the 2003 ALCS). He was a bit of a liability during the 2004 World Series run (remember him calling the Yankees “my daddy”?), but delivered a vintage Pedro performance in Game 3 to help Boston stomp the life out of the Cardinals. Pitchers like Pedro come along once in a generation.   

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Past Weekend (2/10-2/12)

10. Yankees Attempt to Trade A.J. Burnett to Pirates

            I like where the Pirates heads are at here. It’s not everyday they can acquire a starter with number one stuff, which Burnett has. I expect New York to eat $25 million of the $33 million owed to Burnett over the next two seasons, which makes this a low-risk gamble for the up and coming Pirates.

9. Kevin Youkilis Gets Engaged to Tom Brady’s Sister

            Thankfully, Brady’s sister won’t have to worry about Youkilis ever going up against Eli Manning in a baseball game.

8. Detroit Red Wings Win Twentieth Straight Home Game

            Even without Jimmy Howard, nothing has stopped the Red Wings from dominating at home. I still like them as the number one threat to Vancouver in the Western Conference.

7. Zambia Wins African Cup

            I know zilch about African futbol, but this story of a team winning a tournament nineteen years after the majority of it’s roster was lost in a plane crash is pretty epic.

6. Rick Grimes Rediscovers His Balls on “The Walking Dead” Mid-Season Premiere

            Grimes had been a sissy ever since his kid got shot, so it was good to see him kick some ass when he encountered a couple of Pantera fans in a bar.

5. Wayne Rooney Scores Twice, Leads Manchester United Over Liverpool

            Rooney proved to be the difference in a game marred by racial tension throughout.

4. Celtics Defeat Ailing Bulls

            I don’t mean to burst the bubble of Celtics fans everywhere, but they were only able to beat a team who was without the defending NBA MVP by four points.

3. Mickelson Steals Tiger’s Thunder at Pebble Beach

            Wood’s supporters should place the blame for Tiger’s miserable fourth round on Tony Romo, who was Wood’s amateur partner in the tournament. As for Phil, his six-stroke comeback will go down as one of his greatest non-major wins of his career.

2. Linsanity Strikes Down the Lakers

            It’s really hard to believe that an undrafted player out of Harvard is all of a sudden one of the ten most watchable players in the NBA, but after watching the entire second half of the Knicks-Lakers game Friday night, I’m a believer.

1. The World Remembers Whitney Houston

            Has a singer ever (for lack of a better word) picked a better day to pass away? She weaseled a second memorial service out of the Grammy Awards last night. In all seriousness though, I sincerely hope that wherever she has gone, Whitney Houston has found the peace that she could never find on Earth.

                                                                                                         

Earnhardt Clips and Round 3 of the Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

            I never met Dale Earnhardt, but I’m pretty sure he would call anyone that would do a fantasy baseball mock draft a word that could also be used to refer to a cat. Nevertheless, 10 years after his death, I’m listing some clips of Dale Earnhardt’s most memorable moments before the 3^rd round of my fantasy baseball mock draft. There’s a few crashes (not the one that killed him though, I didn’t feel the need to list that), a few of his most famous shortcomings at the Daytona 500, and some of his most memorable victories.

Dale Earnhardt's 1982 Pocono Flip – Dale broke his kneecap as a result of this crash with the late Tim Richmond.

The Winston 1987 - The Pass in the Grass – Bill Elliott had the much faster car, but Earnhardt refused to surrender the lead.

Final Lap of 1990 Daytona 500 – Earnhardt cuts a tire down going into turn 3 on the last lap, giving Derrick Cope one of the greatest upset wins in NASCAR history.

1993 Daytona 500 – Earnhardt gets passed by Dale Jarrett on the last lap to again be denied a Daytona 500 victory. This race is best remembered for Dale’s father Ned announcing the final lap of the race.

1995 Brickyard 400 – Earnhardt holds off Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett for his only career win at Indianapolis.

1996 Dale Earnhardt Flip at Talladega –Earnhardt refused to be loaded onto a stretcher despite a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulder blade after this hellacious crash.

1997 Daytona 500 – In contention for the win, contact with Jeff Gordon leads to Earnhardt ending up airborne.

1998 Daytona 500 – Dale finally wins the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Rattles Terry Labonte's Cage – Earnhardt spun out the much faster Terry Labonte with two laps to go to win the 1999 August race at Bristol. (EDITORS NOTE: Unless you really enjoy the song “Flirtin’ With Disaster”, fast forward to about the 0:45 second mark of this clip.)

Earnhardt Wins By 0.006 Seconds – Earnhardt barely held on to beat Bobby Labonte in a 2000 race at Atlanta.

18th to First – In what would be his final Winston Cup victory, Earnhardt makes an incredible charge to win the 2000 fall race at Talladega.

Now on to the 3^rd round…

3-25 = Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants – Lincecum’s stats were down last season (mostly due to a horrendous August), and he threw a ton of extra pitches during the Giants’ World Series run. I would be hesitant to use a pick this high on him, but this is probably about the spot Lincecum will go.

            Team 1 = Albert Pujols, Dustin Pedroia, Tim Lincecum

3-26 = Jose Reyes, SS, Mets – Reyes is another contract year guy that if healthy, should give you first round production. This is a reasonable spot to take a chance on him.

            Team 2 = Miguel Cabrera, Adam Wainwright, Jose Reyes

3-27 = Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Red Sox – Youkilis will gain 3^rd base eligibility between 1 and 20 games into the season (depending on your league rules). Whether he anywhere from 3^rd through 6^th in the Red Sox lineup, he’ll be a good bet to hit 25 homers with 105 RBIs.

            Team 3 = Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Kevin Youkilis

3-28 = Shin Soo Choo, OF-RF, Indians – A reliable source of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. With a healthy Carlos Santana and Grady Sizemore, Choo could finally break the 100 RBI barrier.

            Team 4 = Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Shin Soo Choo

3-29 = Ian Kinsler, 2B, Rangers – Kinsler would be a perennial top-10 pick if it weren’t for the fact that he’s missed 192 games during his 5-year career. I’d be happy to grab him if he slipped into the mid-4^th, but someone will grab him this high.

            Team 5 = Hanley Ramirez, Felix Hernandez, Ian Kinsler

3-30 = Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers – This might be five picks to early, but his progression as a major league starter suggests that he could develop into a fantasy ace in 2011.

            Team 6 = Evan Longoria, Ryan Howard, Clayton Kershaw

3-31 = Zack Greinke, SP, Brewers – If you buy all of the talk that Greinke’s poor 2010 was due solely to the fact that he was bored pitching for a losing team, than you would be more than happy to add him at this point of the draft. Greinke has the ability to be the #1 pitcher in fantasy (he was for most of the first half of the 2009 season), and his switch to the National League makes him all the more tantalizing.

            Team 7 = Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke

3-32 = Matt Holliday, OF-LF, Cardinals – Holliday is blessed with hitting either before or after Albert Pujols (for at least one more year anyway). At his worst, he should finish the season with a .280-25-110 line, which makes him the safest pick of this round so far. He’s not a sexy pick, but he will help you win.

            Team 8 = Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday

3-33 = Andrew McCutchen, OF-CF, Pirates – I like McCutchen as a potential breakout candidate in 2011. He has solid plate discipline (70 walks to only 89 strikeouts), and with just a little help from his teammates, he could make a run at a .300-20-80-40-110 season in the five basic fantasy categories.

            Team 9 = Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, Andrew McCutchen

3-34 = Joe Mauer, C, Twins – Mauer is the safest bet in the majors to have a batting average of at least .320. If he can get his home run total closer to 20, this pick is a slam-dunk.

            Team 10 = Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer

3-35 = Cliff Lee, SP, Phillies – Going into this draft I figured Lee would be a late 2^nd round pick, but somehow it made sense for him to go right about here. I wouldn’t argue with anyone who took him as high as the 24^th pick.

            Team 11 = Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Cliff Lee

3-36 = Nelson Cruz, OF-LF-RF, Rangers – I’m a sucker for Nelson Cruz. Two years ago I traded Cole Hamels for Cruz. Last year I traded Buster Posey (and two other players, yikes!) for Cruz. This year I’ll probably just draft him in the first round so I don’t have to deal with any pesky trade negotiations.

            Team 12 = David Wright, Chase Utley, Nelson Cruz