Thoughts from a week that saw us say goodbye to a legend. We’ll miss you, Brandon…

Debunked Myth of the Week: K-Rod is the best closer in baseball

I guess we should all be pretty impressed with Francisco Rodriguez this year. By all accounts, he’s having the greatest season of any reliever in the history of the world (only better). He’s going to smash Bobby Thigpen’s record for saves in a season and will likely even get his share of Cy Young votes. But before we go declaring K-Rod as the Messiah, let’s take a look at this little blind juxtaposition:
 

                  Player X               Player Y

IP                 45.1                      47.1
H                  34                          31
ER                11                          13
HR                 3                            4
BB                  7                          28
SO               54                           49
W                   4                            0
L                    3                             2
ERA           2.18                         2.47
WHIP         0.90                         1.25
BLSV              4                           3
SV                30                           43

So, who’d you rather have this season? The guy with a better ERA, lower WHIP, more strike outs and far fewer walks or the dude who just happens to have 13 more saves?

Player Y is K-Rod. Player X is Jonathan Papelbon. Now tell me: Who’s the best closer in baseball?

And the defense rests.

Note: Realistically, and begrudgingly, I guess the answer is Mariano Rivera. And no one else is even close.

Loser of the Week: Manny Ramirez

The Poll Position MLB trade deadline extravaganza wraps up today with five of the most random deadline deals of the last 20 years.

July 29, 1988: Red Sox trade Curt Schilling, Brady Anderson and a set of sideburns to be named later to Baltimore for Mike Boddicker

Boddicker went 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA down the stretch for the Sox in 1988 and then racked up 32 over his next two seasons in Boston. The Sox won the pennant in two of the three years he was in the rotation.

Anderson had one great year and took enough steroids to kill a Monique.

As for Schill, I think it’s fair to say that the Sox eventually got more than they could have ever imagined from the big guy.

Eight years ago, you would’ve said Boston got the puny end of this trade wishbone, but all things considered, it turned out pretty well.

Today, with the MLB trade deadline looming, we take a look at the worst deadline trades in Sox history. Vote at the bottom and feel free to sound off in the comment section. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at some of the stranger deadline deals in Sox history.

August 31, 1990: Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to the Astros for Larry Andersen

Andersen had a 1.23 ERA down the stretch for the Sox in 1990, as they took the AL East by two games over the Blue Jays. Or at least that’s how those who try to defend this trade see it. Bagwell’s three or four years away from a Cooperstown induction and he very well could be going in with a Sox hat on.

The one saving grace for the Sox is that they decided to give the Astros Bagwell instead of the prospect Houston really wanted: Scott Cooper.

Losing Bagwell was bad enough, you just don’t give up on a two-time All-Star like Cooper.

Note: When Cooper made that second "All-Star" appearance in 1994, he finished the year the year hitting .282 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in 104 games. Bagwell won the 1994 MVP with a modest .368/39/116. And he did it in only 110 games.

All great things come in fives. Jacksons. Golden rings. Police Academy movies (I stopped watching them after the fifth). In that spirit, we bring you Poll Position—a new interactive exercise in obsessive Boston fandom (1988-2008). We list. You vote. We all discuss. Euphoric insanity ensues. Let’s roll.

Today, with the trade deadline looming, we take a look at the five best Red Sox deadline moves of the past 20 years. Tomorrow we’ll look at the five worst and on Thursday, we’ll vote on the five strangest deadline moves since 1988. Enjoy!

July 6, 1995: Frank Rodriguez and JJ Johnson to the Twins for Rick Aguilera

Rodriguez was the prototypical Red Sox prospect of the mid-90s. A guy we always heard was going to be a star; who was perpetually one year away from realizing his potential. But like almost all the guys from that era (not named Nomar) he never materialized and the Sox sent him to Minnesota for Aguilera to sure up the pen for the stretch run.

Aguilera picked up two wins and 20 saves (while rocking a 2.67 ERA) as the Sox won the 1995 pennant…and were subsequently swept by Cleveland in the ALDS. Man, the ’90s were awesome.

Rodriguez had a career high 13 wins (and 14 losses) for the Twins in 1996 but was out of baseball five years later, having retired with an impressive 5.53 career ERA.

Note: This wasn’t exactly a deadline move but it was close enough.

Thoughts from a week that taught us that Manny’s even weirder than we thought…

Red Sox Stats Pack of the Week (Now with subheads!)

Surprising Stat of the Week:

Dice-K’s averaging only 98.8 pitches per start this season. How can that be? I would’ve guessed it was at least up around 300.

That 98.8 is a little deceiving though. In his starts right before being place on the DL (66) and right after being activated (48), Dice-K threw… um, eight plus six, carry the one… only 114 total pitches. If you take those two starts away, his average pitch count bumps up to 104.3. That looks a little better, although I still figured it would be higher.

Dice K Bonus Stat: Dice-K has given up only five homeruns in 95 innings this season, while fellow countryman Hideki Okajima his allowed four dongs in a mere 39.

Asked what his secret was to keeping the ball in the park, Dice-K replied (through a translator): "I don’t know how to throw strikes."

Warning Sign Stat of the Week:

JD Drew is 3 for 21 since the All-Star break.

Note: Although, in his defense, he was robbed of a homerun by Ichiro on Wednesday afternoon.

Note 2: I get caught off-guard almost every time the Red Sox play a random midweek afternoon game. I never realize it’s on until at least the second inning.

Troubling Stat of the Week:

All great things come in fives. Jacksons. Golden rings. Police Academy movies (I stopped watching them after the fifth). In that spirit, we’d like to introduce Poll Position—a new interactive exercise in obsessive Boston fandom (1988-2008). We list. You vote. We all discuss. Euphoric insanity ensues. Let’s roll.

Given the current black cloud hanging over the landscape of the Red Sox bullpen, we kick off Poll Position with a look at five best middle reliever seasons you might have forgotten about:

1989: Rob Murphy

Every time Hideki Okajima takes the mound he looks on the verge of tears; Mike Timlin looks on the verge of having his arm snap off; Craig Hansen looks on the verge of breaking into a cover of "Whole Hearted" by Extreme.

When Murphy got the call, he looked on the verge of tearing your nuts off and forcing you watch as he fed them to a jaguar. He was the Duke from Major League—the dude who threw at his own kid in a father son game.

In 2008, his toughness would be a huge asset… as would his numbers The 1989 Murphy had nine saves and a 2.74 ERA in 74 appearances. He also threw 105 innings, a number that becomes more significant when you consider that the Sox haven’t had a reliever break the 100-inning mark since Derek Lowe in 1999 (shhh…that’s what we call a teaser.)

Thoughts from the annual most boring week in the world of sports…

Swept Under the Rug Story of the Week: Donaghy’s Fave Five

How is Tim Donaghy’s cell phone relationship with fellow ref Scott Foster not a bigger story? Why is the link already lost in the archives of almost every relevant Web site? Is there something more going on? Has David Stern gained control of the media? Are we entering some Fight Club reality where Stern has brain washed all of society to work as one in the name of preserving the league?

I know we have to presume that Foster is innocent until something is proven, but goddamn, Scott!

Here are the facts from the Fox News article (I know, the words "facts" and "Fox News" have no business being together) on the latest findings:

"The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

Thoughts while counting down the hours until the 2008 MLB All-Star Game!!!!…

Conversation of the Week:

(Ring…Ring…)

RL: Hey, this is Rich.

MR: (Singing) Rollin’ down the street smokin endo, sippin’ on gin and juice! Ahhhhh!! Bahahahaha!!!

RL: Huh? Manny? What the eff are you doing?

MR: It’s the sixth inning, mang! I’’m on my phone!

RL: That doesn’t answer my question. And why are singing Gin and Juice?

MR: I keep my phone here now!

RL: You don’t see why there’d maybe a problem with you talking on it during a game?

MR: Waitta second. I thought Javy Lopez retired. And since when does he pitch? Isn’t he a catcher?

RL: Dude, the game’s back. Get on the field.

MR: K! We still on for the X Files movie on Friday?

RL: Yup.

MR: Pinky swear?

RL: I’ll talk to you later

(Sarcastic) Logical Move of the Week:

You wonder why some organizations hit rock bottom and build themselves back up, while others remain entrenched in the asbestos filled basement of their respective league. Earlier this week, Elton Brand signed with Philly for 5 years and $80M. Sure, he’s coming off major surgery, but this isn’t 1985 when a torn ACL could derail a guy’s career. It’ll probably take Brand a year to get back to full form, but once he’s healthy, the Sixers will have four year’s worth of one of the top five power forwards in the league. Brand’s averaged 20 and 10 (not to mention more than two blocks) for his career. He’s 29, and unless injuries become an issue, will be giving the Celtics headaches until 2013.

Check out this week’s podcast as I discuss the C’s post-championship off-season with Nick Altschuller . If you have a question for "The Dino Radja Experience", email us at dinoradjaexperience@gmail.com.

Thoughts from a week that brought us the birth of a baseball dynasty—or at least a team that will challenge in the AL East for the next month or so before sputtering out and finishing the season 10 games behind the Red Sox and Yankees…

"One Positive Thing About Baseball" of the Week: DVR Made Easy

So let’s say you’re watching a Celtics game, and you realize you forgot something at the store, or maybe you have to go pick up your dinner, switch your laundry, take the dog for a walk. You pause the TV, leave the house and try and get back as soon as possible, and when you do, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You’ve missed about 20 minutes of time, which in basketball means multiple possessions, a lot of hoops and potentially a huge swing in momentum. You have the conversation with yourself:

OK, should I try and catch up?… No, it’s cool, I’ll just fast-forward through commercials… but what if someone calls or texts you from the TV future and spoils a big play that you’d rather see live?… OK, I just won’t answer my phone… that’s stupid, what if you fast forward through foul shots as well. That’ll make up some time… all right, that sounds good… but wait, I kind of like the stats they show during foul shots…

You know how it goes. It’s a mess and brings far too much stress than you need when you’re already watching a stressful game. Anyway, with baseball—and especially the Red Sox this season—you go to the store, and 20 minutes later you’ve missed like six pitches. There’s so much painful downtime, you hardly need to pause it at all.

Note: And yeah, I’m desperately trying to find ways to be positive about the Celtics not playing another meaningful game for four months.