Scott Cordischi On Sports: Sox Season microcosm

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

The recently concluded series in New York was a microcosm of the 2010 season for the Boston Red Sox. There was spotty hitting and production due to a bottom of the order that has been severely weakened by injury and the starting pitching was both good and bad, but not necessarily what you would expect.

Coming into the season, Josh Beckett was still considered the staff ace. Free agent signee John Lackey, while not an ace, was considered to be a solid #2 starter. Meanwhile, Jon Lester entered the season with high expectations. The lefty has improved each year and has been on the verge of being a top of the rotation starter. Clay Buchholz entered the season with loads of potential but most of it had been unrealized to that point.

cordischi

Yet in New York, and all season long, Lester and Buchholz were fabulous while Beckett and Lackey were horrible. Go figure!

Lackey is the highest paid Red Sox player at 18.7 million dollars with Beckett not far behind him at 12.1 million. Meanwhile, Lester is on the books for 3.75 million in 2010 while Buchholz comes in at a bargain price of just $443,000. It just goes to show you that you don’t necessarily get what you pay for.

-Shaq said all of the right things at his introductory press conference with the Celtics Tuesday. Now lets hope that he still has enough game to help Boston compete for a championship this season.

-Some of the odds makers have Tiger as the favorite to win the PGA Championship which tees off tomorrow in Wisconsin. Have they been watching the same golfer that I have lately?

-Some highlights from the recently released 2010-2011 Celtics schedule include opening night October 26th at home against Miami, Christmas day at Orlando and a first meeting with the world champion Lakers January 30th in Los Angeles.

-If the Rhode Island Interscholastic League were smart, maybe they would consider a realignment that included divisions for public and private schools.

-The return of Boston College DE Mark Herzlich from cancer to the football field is nothing short of amazing. Herzlich was diagnosed with a form of cancer that very few recover from. Here’s hoping nothing but the best for the young man.

-The once conference that hasn’t changed in the past few years is the SEC which is still the best for both football and men’s college basketball together if you ask me.

-What a treat for football fans in New England this week heading to Foxboro - joint practices between the Patriots and the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

-While WEEI still has the superior product, the new 98.5 the Sports Hub has provided some good competition for the Boston radio giant and a nice alternative for New England sports fans.

-Someone should have advised Texans LB Brian Cushing that his “overtrained athlete syndrome” wasn’t going to play well with the public.

-I’ve been to a lot of beaches in my life and I would still rank Narragansett town beach at the top of my list.

-Ditto for Sunshine Creamery’s “Cake Batter” ice cream. Outstanding!