What is OPS?

I'm tired of hearing all these sabermetric terms & me thinking I might know what they actually mean, so I did a little research. I started with OPS. OPS refers to "on-base percentage plus slugging percentage." By formula for you math majors, OPS = OBP + SLG. OBP or "on-base percentage" is calculated as follows: hits + base on balls + hit by pitch divided by at bats + base on balls + sacrifice fly + hit by pitch. SLG or "slugging percentage" is calculated as follows: total bases divided by at bats. So the entire OPS formula looks like this: OPS = (H + BB + HBP / AB + BB + SF + HBP) + (TB / AB). The average player has an OPS around .749. Bill James rates any player with an OPS of .900 or more as great or "A." I'll have a few more sabermetrics coming up in the near future.

A-Rod & HGH

Here we go again. I remember Andy Pettitte confessing to shooting up with HGH to make his return to the lineup quicker. Even Ray Lewis is fielding questions about his quick recovery from a normal season-ending injury. Once again A-Rod is linked PEDs, specifically buying HGH in Miami after his hip surgery. If you are the Yankees, don't you want to give him a Gibbs-to-Tony DiNozo cuff in head & say what are you thinking! Steroids are what led to his body breakdown & now he's taking them again. With $100 million plus left on his contract the Yankees are stuck with an aging & breaking down athlete for the next 5 years.

Another Starter?

Finally. The Red Sox website is talking about the possibility of adding another starting pitcher to the rotation. Good idea & one that can be done via free agent or trade. Kyle Lohse is the biggest name out there. Javier Vasquez is also available. Both free agents have no home yet & may be willing to sign shorter contracts than a few months ago. By trade I still would give up several players to pry Felix Hernandez out of Seattle. Matt Garza could be made available by the Cubs. I'm sure that there are several other pitchers out there as well as these 4. Just no long contracts. We have plenty of talent coming up in the next few years.

Francona's Award & Comment

Gotta' love Tito for his comment at a recent Boston dinner where he received an award. He said he was didsappointed with the menu as he thought there would be chicken & beer!! Good for you, Tito.

The Case for Mauro Gomez

Yes, I have a cold & maybe I'm not thinking straight. But I would like to see more at-bats from Mauro Gomez in a Red Sox uniform. I like his swing & the ball goes when he connects. Given that David Ortiz has had injury problems & is getting up there in age, I think Gomez could be a DH in training. He is not a good fielder, that's for sure. But in 30+ games with the big team last year he hit .275. In Triple A he hit .310 & was the offensive player of the year. I would like to see the Sox give him more of a chance to see what he can do at the major league level. The Sox will be looking for another DH in the near future.

Kalish on DL, Sweeney Re-Signs

It's been a very frustrating 2 years for a 25-year old guy named Ryan Kalish. After 2 operations that sidelined him for the bulk of last season Kalish is once again having surgery on his ailing shoulder & will miss Spring Training. As a result, the Sox signed Ryan Sweeney to a minor league deal. Tough news for Kalish. Good news for Sweeney who was productive last year prior to his fist-punching incident that ended his season. Sweeney tweeted that fans have nothing to worry as he won't repeat his is bone-head incident again in 2013. I guess I'd rather have a guy who cares & gets frustrated, but a little restraint is good too.

Pedro's Back!

The uniqueness that was & is Pedro Martinez is back with the Red Sox. Pedro became a special assistant to Ben Cherington & he will once again roam the field, not as a player, but this time as a teacher / mentor / friend to players. This is a great move since the Sox have a number of young pitchers on the verge of joining the big club. And Pedro expects to add fun into the mix, something missing over the past few years. If you think back to the "idiots" of 2004 - Damon, Millar, Pedro & co. - this team has its own version of fun guys like Ryan Dempster & Johnny Gomes. I think this 2013 roster & coaching staff is there to show all the talented youngsters in the minors how to win & have fun doing it. Any coach, any player can tell you how much chemistry in the clubhouse & dugout means over the course of a long season. My guess is that the Sox know how good they can be & will be in a few years & they are doing everything possible to bring out the best within these young guys, starting in Spring Training.

Patriots Post-Mortum

Given their personnel on defense & multiple injuries, I think the Pats went as far as they could this year. One game from the Super Bowl is better than 26 out of 30 teams. If you look at the last time the Pats won the Super Bowl, it was with a dominant defense. In the past few appearances against the NY Giants, the big game was lost because the defense could not get off the field at the end of games. The days of Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Willie McGinest & co. are gone. But I would look for the Pats to strengthen their secondary & add some young guys with speed throughout. Look at who's in the Super Bowl this year. Defense wins in playoffs.

Francona's Book - A Distraction

I picked up a copy of Tito's book yesterday. I still find it odd that such a private guy went public with his take of the ups & downs of his 7 year tenure as Red Sox manager. But that's the world today. I also thought to myself that the contents of his book will be a big distraction at several major league camps during Spring Training. Take Fort Myers & Jet Blue Park, home to the Boston Red Sox. It won't be the Sox players answering questions for once, but the brain trust of Henry, Werner & Lucchino will be peppered with questions about losing focus, running an entertainment venue vs. a baseball team, low TV ratings & how that impacted decisions to bring in sexier players. That should be fun watching the trio dodge reporters questions. Take Glendale, AZ & Camelback Park, home to the LA Dodgers. Don't you think that Beckett, A-Gon & Crawford will be quizzed about Tito's book? Take Mesa, AZ & Hohokam Park, home of the Chicago Cubs. I think Theo Epstein will get a fair share of questions about his time with tito. And finally, & maybe the most distracting, take Goodyear, AZ & The Ballpark, home to the Cleveland Indians. If i'm the Indians brass i'm not happy that my new multi-year manager brought in to turn around a losing franchise will be answering more questions about his book & his time in Boston than his new job & new team. All the fun will start in about a month.

Sox Ink Breslow to New Deal

Craig Breslow is a nice lefty to have out of the pen. He & the Sox agreed to a 2 year deal with an option for a 3rd - per the Red Sox website. Breslow came over to the Sox from the D-backs last year & he put up good numbers. He can be used as a situational lefty on lefty to get big outs at the tail end of games. Breslow is a good re-signing for the Sox pen.

Tito and Dan Shaughnessy's Book

To me it's a departure for Tito to go public about his tenure as Red Sox skipper. For 7 years he protected his players, including Manny Ramirez, from media scrutiny. Tito by all accounts is a private guy. But a Sports Illustrated article gives the reader an inside look at the Three Stooges known as Henry, Lucchino & Warner & the demise of the 2010 season. I hope the book also recalls the 2 World Series wins in 2004 & 2007. You can bet that this book will cause some controversy to start the season, but we always have controversy so we are use to it. I'm surprised again that Tito agreed to do the book, especially with Shaughnessy, since he is now the manager of the Cleveland indians. I don't think he or the Indians will want to be peppered with questions about the Red Sox as Cleveland tries to turn the page & get back to winning. I guess everything is an open book these days. Privacy is old school.

Saltie, Ells Avoid Arbitration

Now that football is over we can turn to the boys of spring & they will report to Spring Training in about a month or so. After the finalizing of Mike Napoli's contract (which took forever) the Sox turned their attention to Saltie & Ellsbury. Both avoided arbitration with 1-year deals. It wouldn't be surprising if both were traded during the year in 2013. For a solid front-line pitcher to augment the young talent coming forward in the future I would package both guys in a heartbeat. At the same time both players are playing for their future, so they have incentive to produce this year. I love 1-year contracts.

Defense Wins

I lost on both of my picks of Atlanta & New England yesterday. Good think I don't bet! I erroneously thought that offensive might would win the day, but it came back to defense, defense, defense in the playoffs. Now what I would consider two thug defenses will compete for the Super Bowl. It's like a street gang fight of the Bloods versus the Cribs. It will be a no holds barred, rip your head off kind of game. Both the Harbaughs will be the central story line. Plus you can expect major doses of Ray Lewis yelling, crying & rambling around the sidelines. If I had to pick, & you see how well that works for me, I'll go with the 49'ers.

No Talib, No Win

It was a different defense after Aqib Talib left the game. But injuries are a part of the equation. After headhunter Bernard Pollock caused a fumble by Stevan Ridley it was all down hill from there. The Ravens were the better team on Sunday, so give them credit for an impressive win. Joe Flacco was very Brady-like & didn't make mistakes which have haunted him in the past. Every team wants to be #1. But I think the Pats made the most out of this season, given the injury bug. Once you get to the final 4, it's anyone's game.

Big Games Today

Both championship conference games today showcase the best 4 teams left standing in the NFL. Can New England & Atlanta show more offensive might than the Baltimore & San Francisco defenses will allow? And while defense usually wins championships I will stick with my previous picks of New England & Atlanta in the Super Bowl. However, look for 2 excellent games that could go either way.

Pats & Ravens - Again

It's deja vu all over again. Another AFC Championship Game. Once again the Pats & Ravens are the last 2 teams standing. What's the chances of a missed field goal sending the Pats to the Super Bowl again? Not very high. In fact, Pats fans will remember a game this year in Baltimore where a game-ending controversial field goal by the Ravens got Bill B. so riled that he grabbed the official on the way out. The game ended in a 1 point loss. So, based on history, this game should come down to the wire again. The Pats will try to take away Ray Rice & make Joe Flacco beat them through the air. Same formula as against Houston last week. And the Patriots will hope that Tom Brady plays better than in the past against a Ravens D that owns his worst QB rating. It should be a great one & it could go either way.

A-Rod Has Surgery on Hip

The same day that the Red Sox sign Mike Napoli after prolonged negotiations due to a routine physical that found his hip injury, A-Rod had his surgery to repair his ailing hip. According to reports, surgery was successful on the 37-year old. A-Rod is expected to miss 6 months while Kevin Youkilis mans 3B in his place. It will be interesting to see if the $27 million man ever makes it back onto the field in 2013.

Napoli A Red Sox - Finally!

It took about 2 months, but Mike Napoli & the Boston Red Sox finally agreed to a deal. The new contract is 1-year with a base salary of $5 million that can reach a max of $13 million with incentives. This comprise is a far cry from the original deal of 3-years & $39 million. Doesn't this make you wonder how bad Napoli's hip is to reduce the original deal so badly? But thank goodness someone did a good job on the physical so the Sox weren't stuck for 3 years. If his hip is anything like A-Rod's, we may only see Napoli for half a season. At least it's over for now & Napoli has $8 million reasons to play well in 2013. Even with his limitations, Napoli was the best option out there by far.

Soriano to Nationals

With Mo Rivera coming back there was no need for the Yankees to re-sign Rafael Soriano, even though Soriano had a solid year as the fill-in closer for NY in 2012. And while the Sox let Jonathan Papelbon go for $12.5 mil a year, the Nationals opened their pocketbook to sign 33-year old Soriano for 2 years at $14 mil per with an option for a 3rd year. If Brian Cashman wasn't happy with the Yankees signing of Soriano 3 years ago, he sure must be scratching his head about the Nats deal. I never liked Soriano when he pitched for Tampa Bay or New York (especially NY), but he got the job done & was durable. The price for decent closers keeps going up. The Sox deal for Hanrahan & a backup in Bailey seems pretty good financially right now.

DUI's With Former Players

Mark Grace & Carlton Fisk are 2 major leaguers who have recently admitted to DUI charges. It hard for us to understand why guys like this don't hire a driver when they are out drinking. Grace was stopped in Arizona for DUI, driving on suspended license & driving without a breath interlock system on his car. This was Grace's 2nd stop for DUI in 15 months. He lost his job as a Diamondbacks broadcaster. Earlier this year, Carlton Fisk was found in the middle of field in Chicago asleep in his truck with an open bottle of whiskey on the front seat. Maybe being out of the limelight is tough for these guys, but they need to wake up & make smarter decisions before they hurt someone - like recent NFL players.

Sox Investigating Napoli Alternatives

There is 29-year old Casey Kotchman. There is 35-year old Lyle Overbay. There is 30-year old Mike Morse. There is 35-year old Carlos Lee. It's rumored that the Sox are looking at all 4 guys as alternatives if the Mike Napoli deal can't be finalized. Mike Morse is an interesting thought since he is a big 6' 5" guy with power, but he is often injured & he does K quite a bit. Kotchman, Overbay & Lee are "also ran's" who could man 1B for 1 year. While Mike Napoli is still Plan A I like Mike Morse as Plan B. C'mon, Ben, take a gamble on Morse who has upside versus the other 3 old timers.

Pats Advance 41-28 Over Texans

No Gronk. No Woody. No problem. The Patriots team banned together & won a hard-fought playoff game against the Texans to advance to the AFC Championship Game next weekend against the Baltimore Ravens. Guys like Rob Ninkovitch, Shane Vereen, Aqib Talib, Stevan Ridley, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork all had good games & contributed to a big win. But the biggest mismatch was Tom Brady over Matt Schaub. The Pats took away the run game from Arien Foster & made Schaub beat them with the pass. Schaub was good at time & did rack up yards, but he couldn't do it consistently which is what Bill & the Pats D counted on. Meanwhile, Tom Brady took his hits instead of throwing the ball away & he picked apart the Texans D, several times while they were still getting to the line of scrimmage. It was a vintage Brady game & great Patriots win. Next weekend it's anything goes against the Ravens.

Manning, Broncos Out

The TV gods are not happy that there is no possibility of a Brady - Manning showdown in the AFC Championship Game. Peyton Manning's last pass of the season was a pick that turned into the game winning field goal in OT by the Ravens. The Ravens win in Denver was a great win, even miraculous, when you look at the tying TD with less than a minute in regulation. The Broncos loss paves the way for the Patriots to keep home field advantage should the Pats get by the Texans today.

No Progress on Napoli Deal

It's lasted over a month now with no resolution in sight. The Red Sox website says that Ben Cherington is pursuing alternatives to Mike Napoli. What can Napoli hope to gain at this point? Other teams know that he has a bad hip. He might get a 1-year deal somewhere else. The Sox are just looking for language in the event the hip acts up - which may not happen at all if Napoli plays 1B versus catching. Time to fish or cut bait. Pitchers & catchers report in less than a month. The ball is in Napoli's court. I hope both sides can get the deal finalized.

Future Sox Come to Town

SS Xander Bogaerts. P Allen Webster. P Rubby de la Rosa. OF Jackie Bradley Jr. OF Bryce Brentz. P Drake Britton. P Steven Wright. C Daniel Butler. IF Brock Holt. C Christian Vazquez. OF Alex Hassan. These up & coming players took part in the Sox week-long annual camp for rookies. Remember their names as you can expect to see a number of these players in the Sox rosters of the future, maybe even as soon as mid-2013. An infusion of young talent & youthful exuberance is something that Red Sox Nation can live with as the team grows back into a contender. These guys, not free agents, are the future core of this team.

Pats, Texans Will Be Closer Game This Time

We don't have to scratch our heads too hard to remember a regular season beating that the Pats layed on the Jets, only to lose a few weeks later in the playoffs to the same team. You can be sure that Belichick & Brady are reminding this year's team. I expect the Patriots to win, but it will be in a lower scoring game & by a margin of 7 points or less. Both teams will make adjustments. JJ Watt has to have a better game this time around. And Talib in the secondary is a necessary part of the Pats defense if they are going to stop Arian Foster. It should be a great game, but one that the Pats will win.

Hall Of Fame Voters Silence All Candidates

Who's getting into the HOF this year? No one. The vote by baseball writers kept every eligible player out of the Hall this year. No Bonds. No Clemens. No Schilling. No one amassed the necessary votes to earn a spot in baseball history. Maybe that's a good thing as writers try to sort through who did & who didn't use steroids during that era. I'm good with the writers by-passing every player on their first ballot try. I think it sends a message that any confirmation will be difficult & it sends a message to current players about PED use.

LaRoche Re-Signs With Nationals

Phew! Adam LaRoche is re-signing with the Nationals for 2-years with a mutual option for a third. That was a close call as the Sox were looking at LaRoche as insurance if the Napoli deal didn't get done. Like R.A. Dickey, I think LaRoche had a career year that won't be duplicated again. I was not in favor of the Sox giving him the standard 3-years, $39 million. Speaking of Napoli, he needs to finalize his deal with the Sox as no other team is going to offer him the same money now that he has a bad hip. Napoli's stock seems to be diminishing every day. I wonder what would happen if the Sox pulled their offer. I hope that Bobby Abreu at 100 years old is not Plan B! Pressure is on Napoli to sign now.

Nothing New

You know it's a slow day when the Red Sox website talks about how many games John Lackey is going to win this year. I really thought that Ben had the necessary spare parts to pull off a trade for a front line pitcher. Now I'm not so sure as time ticks by & pitchers report in about a month. Unless they have slotted a couple of the young arms in the minors for call-ups at the first sign of injury, or a mid-season deal might happen at the trade deadline, I will be disappointed if another proven arm isn't added to the roster.

Football Picks

For whatever reason I am going with the favorites in the AFC - Houston Texans at home win vs. Cincinnati Bengals & Baltimore Ravens at home win vs. Indy Colts. In the NFC I have the Green Bay Packers at home with a win over the Minnesota Vikings. However, I like the Washington Redskins at home to beat the favored Seattle Seahawks. So, I'm going with 4 home wins this weekend. If I'm right, the Pats will get the Texans, & not the Ravens, next weekend.

One More Trade

I'm waiting. I think Ben has one more trade to make & it should be of a big variety. We have the spare parts - extra catchers, extra outfielders, extra shortstops, extra bullpen arms. I'd like to see Matt Garza, Cliff Lee or even Felix Hernandez in a Red Sox uniform. Even Gavin Floyd may be available for a catcher now that Pierzinski signed with the Rangers. Just one more experienced arm in the rotation who would be a positive building piece going forward. We don't need another placeholder, a #3 or #4 in the rotation guy. We need a #1 nasty starter since we really don't have one. C'mon, Ben, I know you can do it! Time is getting short as pitchers & catchers report February 10th.

Hindsight on Strasburg

The Washington Nationals shutdown Stephen Strasburg before the end of the 2012 season & before the 2012 playoffs. Results were one series & done for the Nats who were expected to go much farther into the postseason. MLB reports that the Nationals GM & pitching coach have no second thoughts. Maybe they don't, but I betcha' the Nationals fans do! Who is to say that the Nats will repeat & reach the playoffs next year? You grip the bull by the horns when you have momentum because it takes an awefully lot of things to go right over the course of a year to make the playoffs. And there are no guarantees about the future. I think they should have kept him on the shelf in April & May instead of September & October. Overall, I think it was a bad move & one they will regret in time, especially if the Nats miss the playoffs in 2013.

Pats Path to Super Bowl

2 wins will get the Pats the AFC crown & back into the Super Bowl. Their 1st opponent will probably be Houston. And while I don't expect a blowout like their last meeting I do expect the Pats to win at home. Then, I expect the Pats to be at home for the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens in a repeat of last year's finale. I think Baltimore will knock off Peyton Manning in Denver the week prior. Pats will defeat the Ravens again as Brady outplays Flacco. In the Super Bowl I'm looking at Pats vs. Falcons & the Pats' experience wins out in a high scoring affair. This is a Super Bowl year for the Pats!