If looks could kill...

Can I just say that Jonathan Papelbon is the most exciting closer to watch since Eric Gagne went on his ridiculous streak of consecutive saves?

Watching Paps tonight was like watching a lino zeroing in on a helpless gazelle. He performs, like a trained actor. He came in tonight with 1 out in the 8th, men on the corners. The first batter he faced was a defining moment for Paps. Coming in to face the Rangers most consistent hitter, Michael Young, already deep in trouble, he opened him with a fastball. 94 mph, blew it by him swinging. Second pitch, splitter, in the dirt, Young holds off. Third pitch, fastball, 95 mph, blew it by him swinging. Fourth pitch, fastball, 96 mph, froze him at the plate, strike three, out. He then threw one pitch to the next batter, as the batter popped up. Out of the inning in 5 pitches.

His toughness is unquestioned, and the glare is impenetrable. He takes a deep breath, then stares in, lips pursed in an O shape, as if after he throws that 96 mph fastball by you, a smoke ring will slowly emerge from his mouth. Paps moving back to the bullpen to be closer could prove to be the biggest move in the Red Sox season, as he has yet to waver under pressure, or show fear in front of the best hitters in the game. Papelbot could prove to be at Mariano-level if he keeps consistent for a few more years.

Way to go Johnson, but I was cheering for Eldrick to make the comeback. Tiger, you had 3 holes to go to make that shot, and the water hazard wasn't worth the risk. I commend Johnson for BEATING Tiger, rather than having Tiger concede.

Goodnight Senegal.

What Could Have Been...

It was 40 years ago this season that the Boston Red Sox Impossible Dream season began. With the joys that Yaz, George Scott, Rico Petrocelli, Reggie Smith, Joe Foy and, of course, New England's own Tony Conigliaro brought to the bewildered city, fans were reinvigorated with Red Sox in their blood. This wasn't just any Red Sox team, this was a team that the previous season had two years earlier in '65 been arguably one of the worst teams in baseball history going 62-100. Though the Red Sox would shock the world and take the dream all the way to game 7 of the world series against the St. Louis Cardinals, there was a casualty along the way that no true Red Sox fan could ever forget.

Tony C entered the league at age 19, playing outfield for the Sox and hitting 24 longballs before breaking his arm in August of that year. Quite a feat for a teenager in the majors, 24 HR, rookie season, not even a full year played. His sophomore season he would improve on those numbers, leading the league hitting 32 homers. In '66 he would hit 28 homers, well on his way to 100 homers at the young age of 22.

In the year of the Impossible Dream, Tony C had 20 homers, making him at the age of 22 the youngest player ever in the AL to reach 100 homers. Then, in the middle of the magical season, the tragedy struck.

On August 18, 1967 the Red Sox were facing the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. Tony C was batting against pitcher Jack Hamilton when he was hit by a pitch in the left cheekbone, turning out the lights in Tony's head. He suffered a broken cheekbone and severe damage to his left retina. There was no earflap on the batting helmet to protect the side of his face. Tony C's season and peak effectiveness were done for good. Boston had lost one of their hometown hero at the tender age of 22. Hamilton would deny that he intentionally threw at the batter, but a fastball to the head is hard to defend as a Major League pitcher. The Conigliaro family never forgave him, even as Hamilton attempted to visit Tony in the hospital, but was denied access by the family. Hamilton never truly recovered from the incident either, as he became wary of pitching inside to hitters, for fear of severely injuring another batter. His strikeout rate declined and ERA rose over the next couple years and he retired in 1969.

Though Tony C would go on to win the Comeback Player of the Year in 1969, his eyesight had permanent damage that could never be back to the naturally perfect vision he had before the incident. He would go on to hit 162 home runs in his shortened career and drive in 501 RBIs. He would suffer another blow at age 37, this one proving to eventually be fatal, as he had a heart attack and lapsed into a coma in 1982 in Boston. He would never fully recover as he died at age 45 in 1990.

Tony C has not been forgotten in baseball lore though, as each year a player who has overcome an obstacle or adversity in his life to perform at top levels on the field again is awarded the Tony Conigliaro Award. This year the Red Sox have unveiled a new bleachers section this year to be known as "Conigliaro's Corner" in memory and tribute to the storied, maligned homegrown outfielder. The seats are $25, the same as the number that Tony C wore during his times with Boston.

Tony still holds the MLB record for most home runs hit as a teenager (25) and he was well on his way to 600, maybe even 700 with the jump start he had in age. The question will always be...what could have been?

Looking into Lucchino...

Today is an interesting day for Larry Lucchino. He gets to watch his personal, Theo-less work live, as Anibal Sanchez pitches against the Nationals, Hanley Ramirez looks to continue his hot start and Josh Beckett looks to down the suddenly-mighty KC Royals. Larry Lucchino has been bugging me ever since the Theo contract debacle in the '06 offseason, when Lucchino seemed absolutely determined to show that the Red Sox organization did not need Theo Epstein, that Theo was overrated, that the Sox were better off without him. Lets back up a bit...

When the Red Sox were in the A-Rod lottery, trying to send an incredibly discontented Manny Ramirez down to Texas and bring the highest payed player to Boston. Lucchino was strongly opposed to bringing Rodriguez to Boston, and while the whole Manny thing has worked out, the fans and ownership have had to deal with the prima donna's act ever since. There has never been reports of A-Rod deciding he wanted out of the limelight, not running out a ground ball, or deciding he just didn't want to play that day. A-Rod has lived up to his contract not only in numbers, but in character, the ultimate competitor. Manny has often showed his neutrality to winning and losing on the field, only caring about his own privacy. Though I love Manny, I would have truly loved to have seen A-Rod playing his natural position at SS at Fenway. Lucchino cares not about the character of a player apparently.

Then Lucchino was strongly against the Nomar trade. Sure, you have to have some kind of sentimentality toward arguably the best Boston player since Yaz and Freddy Lynn, but numbers and health do not lie. Had the Sox been swept by the Yankees in '04, Lucchino would have gone for Theo's head. Trading Nomar has turned out to be the most heads up move in Sox history. He was on a downslide, and in '05 when he stepped out of the batters box and collapsed like man shot between the eyes, Theo had to smirk. Nomar was much more fragile than any diehard Boston fan was willing to believe. If the Sox had traded Manny, and he had been punished for "being Manny" in Texas, Boston fans would have seen the light with him as well. Lucchino is simply not the visionary that Theo is and does not look at things in the long run. He is the classic Boston front office CEO who looks for the "quick fix", rather than going in for the long haul.

When Theo left, largely I believe because of Lucchino's actions and media-whoring, Lucchino tried to erase Theo and move on as quickly as possible. While the rest of the front office was figuring out ways to bring Theo back into the organization, Lucchino was setting up interviews with new potential GMs Jeremy Kapstein, Jim Bowden and Jim Beattie. Henry and Werner pretty much seemed to act as if they were not going to take any of these guys seriously, as Theo was the only man on their radar. When Lucchino realized this, he took a step further and promoted Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington to "co-general managers". This was yet another childish ploy by Lucchino against Theo, as Theo had grown up in the organization with these two individuals and if he were to return, it would seem like he was kicking his closest friends out of their jobs. Lucchino seemed determined to do anything and everything to ruin Theo and keep him out of the Sox office, the same office that Theo had used to put together the first Boston World Championship team in 86 years.

Though Theo has returned of course, and Lucchino has taken more of a backseat when it comes to speaking to the media, I will not forget the way that Larry has treated the golden boy, Mr. Epstein. And I know, in the near future when Theo starts making waves by attempting to move a big name in Boston, or deciding not to resign a big name ::cough:: Schilling ::cough::, Lucchino will be waiting to pounce...