Curt Schilling Remains In Boston

Curt Schilling, who said it himself that he might have played his last game in Boston after his brilliant World Series performance, is coming back to the Sox. Schilling agreed to a one-year deal worth $8 million dollars that will also include incentives.

• $375,000 bonus for pitching 130 innings
• $375,000 for every 10-inning increment up to 200 after first 130 innings
• $333,333 each time he maintains his weight after random weigh in

When asked by reporters if he had signed for less money he had this to say, "Did I leave money on the table? Yes. Could I have gotten another year? I think so," Schilling said on his Web site. "Looking at the teams that called, my best guess would be around $14 million-$15 million for a one-year deal with the potential to get $25 million-$30 million for a two-year deal."

Carl On The Red Sox and Isiah Thomas'

Courtesy of the funny people at Adult Swim.

Boston Red Sox Sweep The Colorado Rockies

The Red Sox won their second World Series crown in four years, sweeping the Rockies with a 4-3 win in Game 4. Jon Lester tossed shutout ball into the sixth inning and gave up just three hits on his way to his first career playoff win. Take into consideration that this kid was undergoing chemotherapy at this time last year for cancer.

Rookies Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury played phenomenal ball all series, especially Ellsbury who ended hitting .438 in the series. What a thrill it must be for them and the two Japanese stars, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, to accomplish something in their first years that some veterans never get to celebrate, a World Series crown.

Third baseman Mike Lowell took MVP honors after hitting .400 in the Series with four RBIs, three walks and six runs scored. After battling back from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland in the AL Championship Series, Boston won seven straight games to earn the seventh championship in franchise history.

Daisuke Takes The Mound With Sox Up Two

The Boston Red Sox are on a roll, having won 5 in a row and owning a 2-0 World Series lead over the Colorado Rockies. After Thursday's game in which the Red Sox won a pitcher's duel 2 - 1, the series is moving to Colorado.

Tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka will be taking the hill against the Rockies Josh Fogg. Since there is no designated hitter in the National League, Boston's manager Terry Francona decided that he will move David Ortiz to first despite a bad knee while regular first baseman Kevin Youkilis is benched; Mike Lowell remains at third.

Bad news for the Rockies, 27 of 34 previous teams to open 2-0 at home have gone on to win the Series. "If we win, the opponent might be like, 'Damn, we're done," Ortiz said. "And if we lose, that might give them some hope. It is a big game."

Red Sox End Rockies Win Streak

Josh Beckett struck out the first four batters he faced and Dustin Pedroia hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first in route to a rout of the Rockies. While the three runs scored in the first inning were enough to win it, Boston piled on the runs in the fifth inning with seven runs

Jeff Francis, who pitched on 12 days rest fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and was finished after four. To say he looked rusty would be an understatement. Francis gave up six runs and allowed 10 hits. Reliever Franklin Morales in relief got just two outs and was charged with seven runs for a 94.50 ERA.

Beckett struck out the first three batters he faced, making him the the first pitcher to strike out three batters in the top of the first in Game 1 of the World Series since Juan Guzman in 1993 (shudder). Beckett lowered his career postseason ERA to 1.73. The Red Sox are the first team in MLB postseason history to score more than 10 runs in 3 straight games.

Red Sox Win ALCS In 7 Games

The Red Sox who were down 3 games to 1 at one point are now on their way to the World Series against the Rockies. This marks the 11th time in MLB history a team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.


The Indians could not shut the door. After grabbing a 3-1 series lead, the Indians never led at any point in Games five, six or seven. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched five solid innings while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each tossed two scoreless innings. In addition to the pitching, rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia added his first career post season home run while driving in five. Boston will hosts Colorado in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday.

The Rockies Are In, The Red Sox Look Done, And Kobe's On The Move?

Rockies In The World Series

With their 21st win in 22 games, the Colorado Rockies beat the demoralized Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 in Game 4 Monday night to sweep the NL Championship Series at Coors Field.

The Rockies will be heading to their first World Series in franchise history and have 8 days off before the start of the World Series. NLC MVP Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer that lead to a six-run fourth inning. The only team to sweep a NLCS since it went to a seven game format in 1985 was the Atlanta Braves in 1995.



Red Sox On The Brink

Thanks to a seven run 5th inning the Cleveland Indians are now one game away from reaching the World Series. The Indians are trying to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 1997 and minus the Chiacgo Cubs current streak, have the longest drought of no World Series wins.

C.C. Sabathia will likely be starting for the Indians in Game 5. Sabathia's last start was a short one. He last only 4 1/3 innings giving up 8 earned runs on seven hits. The game is in Cleveland so it would the icing on the cake if the Indians can wrap the series up at home.


Kobe Moving On?

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has missed the last 3 practices and was rumored to have cleaned out his locker the other day. One team source insisted to ESPN.com that Bryant removed his personal belongings, but Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher that Kobe had "merely cleaned up his locker after Monday's practice, leaving plenty behind."

Everything seemed to be honkey dorey when Bryant showed up on time for Lakers training camp. That aura of tranquility seems to be over now though after coach Phil Jackson has been a "no comment" machine regarding anything asked to him about Kobe and owner Jerry Buss admitting that he is "willing to listen to offers" about Bryant. Could Kobe be gone before the season even begins? Let the soap opera continue....

East Coast Bias- October 15, 2007

Today's Headlines

- NFL Rundown

- College Football Rundown

- NLCS and ALCS Review

The Weekly Phil

- Eagles Win 16-9


On today's podcast show we discuss the big games in the NFL and rundown the Top 25 action in the College game. We also get into the exciting MLB postseason games with a review and preview of the NLCS series between the Rockies and D-Backs and the ALCS series between the Indians and Red Sox. And we end the podcast with some Eagles talk following their victory over the Jets in the Weekly Phil.

ALCS Preview

Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians

The Red Sox are coming off a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in which they outscored them 22-4 in 3 games. The Cleveland Indians come into the ALCS after defeating the New York Yankees in 4 games. Both teams have solid pitching but I think this series will come down to how well the lineups produce for their starters.

The Pitching - Both teams have great 1-2 punches in their rotation with the likes of Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling for the Sox, and C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona for the Indians. The Indians bullpen was sixth in ERA during the season (3.75). Rafael Perez, who could be the next K-Rod, and Rafael Betancourt are both solid coming out of the pen for the Indians. The Red Sox bullpen consists of Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima, who both helped the Red Sox to a bullpen ERA of 3.10 during the regular season.

Edge - I have to go with the Red Sox. While the bullpen doesn't have a lot of post season experience minus Papelbon, the starting pitching for the Sox includes a World Series MVP (Beckett) and Curt Schilling, who has been to 3 World Series. Experience in the starting rotation wins out.

The Lineups - The Red Sox lineup includes the likes of David Ortiz (.715 BA and two HRs in the postseason) and Manny Ramirez (.375BA and two HRs). And good news for the Red Sox, Ramirez has a career batting average of .571 (12-for-21) with four HRs and seven RBIs against C.C. Sabathia, the Indians game 1 starter. The Indians lineup consists of the triple threat Grady Sizemore, the big bat of Travis Hafner, and the sweet hitting Victor Martinez. The key to the Indians success though will be their superior speed on the basepaths. If they can move runners around they'll have a big advantage in the series if the games are tight.

Edge - The Red Sox take it again but only because of the recent resurgence of Manny Ramirez's bat. Big Pappi already has his sweet stroke going this post season so if Manny keeps hitting like this, the Indians could be in for a short series.

Do Or Die For MLB Teams

The Cubs, the Phillies, the Yankees, and the Angels are all now trying to stave off elimination. All of these teams are currently in 0-2 holes and beginning tonight, the Phillies and Cubs begin their attempt to win 3 in a row.

Saturday Games

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

A 3 run home run by Chris Young sparked the Diamondbacks to a 8-4 win and a step closer to challenging for the NL Pennant. Doug Davis won his first career postseason game while allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings and striking out eight. Chicago's Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have combined to go 4-for-27 through two games in the series. The young and upstart Babybacks could shut the door again on the Cubs who are still looking for their first World Series title since 1908.

Diamondbacks lead 2-0


Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies

A decision to take Kyle Kendrick out of the game after loading the bases proved to a be a costly mistake by Charlie Manuel. Reliever Kyle Lohse came in and served up a grand slam to Kaz Matsui putting the Rockies up for good. The Rockies won the game 10-5 thanks to a great performance from the bullpen (gave up only 1 earned run in 6IP). With the series shifting to Colorado, the Phillies have quite a task ahead of them. The Rockies batted .298 at home, including a staggering .376 BA by Matt Holliday.

Rockies lead 2-0

Sunday Games

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels

A healthy Manny is a clutch Manny. Thanks to a 3 run walk off home run Manny Ramirez propelled the Red Sox to a 2 game lead in the 5 game series. After a rocky start from Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox bullpen came in and shut the door going 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Angels pitchers gave up 9 walks including 5 by Cy Young hopeful Kelvim Escobar. Manny Ramirez has 21 post season homers, one shy of Bernie Williams for most all-time.

Red Sox lead 2-0


New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

The Yankees held a 1-0 lead heading into the 8th inning, then it got all buggy. A swarm of bugs began attacking Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain in the 8th inning and while he didn't want to blame the bugs, they certainly contributed to his 2 wild pitches in the inning. One of those wild pitches led to a Indians run by Grady Sizemore. Indians fans were treated to a win in wild fashion when in the 11th inning Travis Hafner singled in the winning run. The Indians Fausto Carmona pitched 9 solid innings in his post season start. Yankees stadium will be host to the next two games, assuming they last another game.

Indians lead 2-0

MLB Playoffs, Phillies Lose Opener

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels

Josh Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP, pitched his 2nd consecutive post season shutout to help the Red Sox take a 1-0 lead on the Angels. David Ortiz added a home run and considering that the Sox are 7-2 in post season games when he homers, the Boston faithful are hoping to see more of them.

After surrendering a lead off single Beckett began his domination of Angels hitters by sitting down 19 in a row. Only one other pitcher besides Beckett has thrown a shutout in the first game of the post season for the Red Sox. The other? Babe Ruth.

Boston leads 1-0

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies

17 game winner Jeff Francis pitched four hit ball on his way to his first post season win and Matt Holliday homered in the top of the 8th to provide a 2 run cushion. Prior to yesterday's game Francis had a paltry 15.12 ERA when pitching against the Phillies.

On the season Chase Utley was batting .332 but looked confused at the plate yesterday, striking out four times. Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell provided all of the Phillies offense when they went back to back in the 5th inning.

Colorado leads 1-0

Arizona Diamonbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

Brandon Webb pitched a gem going seven strong innings while striking out nine. The Cubs Carlos Zambrano also pitched well but only made it through 6 innings and gave up a solo shot to Stephen Drew.

In addition to Drew homering, the young Mark Reynolds homered to give the Babybacks a 1 run lead. Conor Jackson provided a cushion with a sac fly to make the score 3-1.

Arizona leads 1-0

Hindsight Is 20/20: MLB Free Agent Flops and Gems

The Three Biggest Free Agent Flops

• Barry Zito – San Francisco Giants

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It's hard to imagine that this kid won the Cy Young in 2002. Not since his Cy Young year has Barry Zito won more than 16 games. He has posted double digit losses now for 5 consecutive seasons and posted an ERA over 3.80 four of the last five years. Enough about his past, let's get into more of “What have you done for me lately?” Well.......not much. After signing a 7 year contract worth a ridiculous $126 million dollars, Zito has accumulated a record of 9-12 with a 4.46 ERA. I'm pretty sure San Francisco management was expecting a bit more than what Zito has been giving them. I stressed this in an article I wrote before about Zito, he isn't a #1 starter. He relished the role of pitching behind [[Tim Hudson]] and [[Mark Mulder]]. He just doesn't have enough confidence in himself or his stuff to be an effective #1 starter.

• Adam Eaton– Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies traded him away in 1999 after spending their 11th overall pick on him in 1996. The most wins he ever had in a season? 11 (twice) He has never posted an ERA lower than 4.08 and never pitched more than 200 innings. The Philadelphia Phillies, in their infinite wisdom, handed him a 3 year deal worth $24 million dollars. You know, because that makes sense. He is only making $2 million less than Barry Zito this year and has managed to be a fantastic disappointment. He is 9-9, sporting a 6.31 ERA, and has more earned runs than strikeouts. What a great investment. The last thing I read on a Phillies message board about Adam Eaton? “Can that a**hole please run into a knife?” I think that pretty much sums up whatever everyone thinks about him who's a Phillies fan.

• Jason Schmidt – Los Angeles Dodgers‎

Holy crap. The last two guys I mentioned have at least appeared in more than 6 games this season. Jason Schmidt is making $15.7 million dollars this season and has won one game...one. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed this guy in hopes that he would be their number one starter and instead has become best friends with the Dodgers trainer. Jason is 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA and has pitched a whopping 25 innings. In his six starts he got out of the 5 th inning once. This is the second time in his career that Schmidt has undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. BREAKING NEWS: [[Mike Schmidt]] is not related to Jason Schmidt and has pitched the same amount of innings Jason has since June 16th.


Honorable Mention

• J.D. Drew - .264 BA / 8 HR / 51 RBI / Salary $14.4 million

• Julio Lugo - .241 BA / 6 HR / 69 RBI / Salary $8.25 million

• Mike Mussina - 5.28 ERA / 9-10 Record / .314 BAA / Salary $11 million

The Three Biggest Free Agent Gems

• Dmitri Young – Washington Nationals

Signed a minor league contract with Nationals, is making $500,000, and sports the 6 th best batting average in the National League. A cast off from the Tigers after he assaulted his wife and went through substance abuse problems, Young has become one of the good stories in baseball. Dmitri has accumulated 38 doubles, 13 home runs, and 73 runs batted in this season. Selected to the all-star team for 2 nd time in his career, Young is batting .314 with runners in scoring position and leads his team in BA, OPS, and OBP. The Nationals have rewarded the soon to be Comeback Player of the Year with a 2 year extension worth $10 million dollars. A deserving reward for a player who was on the brink of ruining his baseball career.

• Carlos Pena- Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Pena hadn't played more than 100 games since 2004 and had only 33 at-bats last year when shared time with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. No one was really interested in Carlos when he hit the free agent market but the Tampa Bay Devil Rays gave him a shot, and boy has it paid off. Pena is currently earning $800,000 dollars and in the top 5 in the American League in HR (39), BB (86), SLG% (.613), RBI (111), and finally in OPS (1.013). Consider that [[Jason Giambi]] has been on the DL and is currently making $23 million dollars while batting .243 with 14 home runs, maybe the [[New York Yankees]] should have kept Pena around? Realistically though, no one saw this coming. Before this season Pena never had more than 116 hits in a season, an average over .253, or an on base percentage over .338. (based on seasons with >100AB) I can guarantee you though that the Devil Rays aren't complaining.

• Ted Lilly - Chicago Cubs

Unlike the last two guys I mentioned Lilly is being paid big bucks ($10 million over 4 years) but unlike the three pitchers I mentioned in my free agent flops, Lilly has been solid. He showed promise during just one season in Toronto in which he was 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA and has only gotten better with the Cubs. He is currently rocking a 15-7 record to go along with a 3.85 ERA. Lilly is on pace to set career highs in innings pitched, wins, strikeouts, and games started. Lilly is leading the Cubs in quality starts (18), WHIP (1.15), and ERA (3.85). The 31-year old has always been a solid 3 rd or 4 th starter but this year is really becoming a rock as the Cubs 2nd starter behind fire baller [[Carlos Zambrano]]. Without this guy the Chicago Cubs would certainly not be fighting for a playoff spot.


Honorable Mention

• Matt Stairs - .307 BA / 19 HR / 59 RBI / Salary $850,000

• Mark DeRosa - .288 BA / 9 HR / 69 RBI / Salary $2.75 million

• Sammy Sosa - .255 BA / 20 HR / 88 RBI / Salary $500,000

East Coast Bias - September 3rd, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Appalachian State Win at The Big House

- Clay Buchholz Throws No-Hitter

- NFL Division and Playoff Predictions


On today's podcast I run down the Mountaineers stunning victory over the Michigan Wolverines followed by Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz and his place in Red Sox history. I finally end today's show with a lengthy segment on NFL division winners and playoff predictions. Since college has started Jason and I are planning to make East Coast Bias a weekly podcast in which we record on Mondays. Look forward to another episode of ECB next week. Until then keep checking back here for all the latest news and notes from the sports universe.

Clay Buchholz Throws No No

In just his second career start Clay Buchholz has done something Curt Schilling still hasn't done in his career. He threw a no hitter. The unfortunate team was the Baltimore Orioles. The Boston Red Sox won 10 to 0 no thanks to a stellar performance from their top pitching prospect who had just been called up from AAA Pawtucket days earlier when teams were able to expand their rosters. Using an assortment of fastballs, change ups, and curve balls Buchholz struck out 9 and walked 3. Buchholz became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start. Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona summed up Clay Buchholz's future with the Red Sox the best when he said, "There's no going back to Triple-A." Welcome to the big leagues kid!

Jon Lester Takes The Mound

11 months after being diagnosed with cancer, Jon Lester took the hill and pitched 6 innings to get his first victory of the season. Lester, whose rookie season ended suddenly when he was diagnosed with a treatable form of lymphoma, pitched well enough to get the win but in all honesty, that wasn't the big story. Lester had to undergo numerous chemotherapy operations and extensive rehabilitation. His return to the mound is nothing short of remarkable. He was declared cancer-free by doctors but must still have periodic checkups to make sure the disease hasn't returned. I can't say I'm a big Curt Schilling fan but I don't think I could have said it any better, "This isn't even about baseball," he said. "It just doesn't get any better the way a guy like that comes back to us. It's about family. The big thing is he's a great human being and that makes it an even better story. That wasn't your run-of-the-mill DL stint."

I'm An Atheist, But Not When It Comes to Sports

People in the world of sports happen to be some of the most susceptible when it comes to believing in the supernatural. Particularly, sport fans, are engrossed in curses. Whether it was Red Sox fans and the "Curse of the Bambino" or Philadelphia sports fans blame (including me) their lack of a major sports championship since the Sixers swept the Lakers in 1983 on the fact that the downtown skyline grew taller than William Penn in 1987 when One Liberty Place skyscraper went up. Coincidentally that curse is called "The Curse of William Penn". It doesn't necessarily end there however. Fans may even go so far as to have a shrine, like the one that Eagles fan had to Terrell Owens in those ESPN commercials. And let's be honest too Eagles fans, we had something similar to that.

Sport curses range from the absurd to just plain silly. In 1945, William "Billy Goat" Sianis tried to bring his pet goat, Murphy, with him into Wrigley Field for Game 4 of the World Series. Wrigley ushers at the game said the goat was too smelly and told Sianis he had to leave the stadium. Sianis then promptly cast a "goat curse" on the Chicago Cubs by saying, "Cubs, they not gonna win anymore". The Cubs lost the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers and haven't made it to a World Series since. Cubs fans now refer to curse as the "The Billy Goat Curse".

One of the most well known curses is the "Madden Curse". The "Madden Curse" has allegedly claimed 10 victims since the video game started putting athletes on the cover instead of John Madden. That list of athletes includes the likes of Barry Sanders (abruptly retired in 1999 a week before training camp), Eddie George (never averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry after 2000), and Mike Vick (fractured right fibula during preseason game, only played in 5 games).

What is it about sports that make people who may not necessarily be religious suddenly start believing in a high power that is affecting their sports team? For me there always has to be a reason for something. I mean, Billy King can't really suck that bad at being a GM. There's just no way, someone or something has to be causing the man to throw money at over the hill veterans and unproven rookies. That's just one example of many in which I have blamed something involving Philadelphia sports on a higher power.

Maybe in essence sports is my religion. I mean, I can't be the only one who has some inane rituals in order to increase my team's chances of winning. For example, when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, all the playoff games leading up to the game I ordered the same thing every time at the bar, tipped the waitress the same every time, and wore the same jersey/shorts/underwear. It's those little things that we tell ourselves will make a difference when our team, in this case the Eagles, take the field. And as always, in this case especially, we find some excuse whenever these rituals fail, as though it were not the will of the sports gods.

Much like how different regions of the world have their own religions, people from different cities of course have their favorite team based on where they live. And in cases, regardless of where they live, they attribute their love to a sports franchise because their family follows them and they grew up watching them. I suppose that if we must have a religion, sports is not the worst choice. There have been no crusades, inquisitions, witch hunts, or terrorist attacks associated with sports. And while I don't condone it, it is still acceptable to marry someone who is the fan of another team and no one will burn in hell for supporting the New York Mets or the New York Giants even though they should.......just kidding. Go ahead and share your rituals and the like.

Former Major Leaguer Rod Beck Dies

Former all-star reliever Rod Beck, best known for his days with the San Fransico Giants, died today at the young age of 38. Foul play is not believed to be the cause but other than that nothing else about his death is known at this point. He was the given the nickname "Shooter" by his teammates on the Giants. Beck's pitching stints included the Giants (1991-97), the Chicago Cubs (1998-99), and the Boston Red Sox (1999-2001) before finishing his career with the Padres (2003-04). During a comeback stint in 2003 Beck played for the Triple A Iowa Cubs and became a folk hero. Beck lived in a Winnebago jut outside the outfield walls and welcomed all who came to say hello. He would sign autographs, invite people over for a beer, and just be a genuinely nice guy. Beck compiled a career record of 38-45 in 704 games, with a 3.30 ERA. He still holds the all-time season saves mark for the Giants with 48 and is second on the Giants all-time list for saves. He will truly be missed for all his kindness and good will. Beck is survived by his wife, Stacey, and two children.

I highly recommend the article written by Wayne Drehs about Rod Beck's time with the Iowa Cubs which can be found here.