What's Wrong With This Picture?

So we have Tiger Woods, "Late Gate," a free agent frenzy, Tiger Woods, two NFL teams at 13-0, Comcast's attempt to take over the universe, Tiger Woods, Chad OchoCinco and Adam Schefter's act on Twitter (at least Ocho got a mention), Tiger Woods, and THIS is the cover of Sports Illustrated's "Year In Sports Media" issue?


Don't get me wrong, I loves me some Stephen T. Colbert, but he is NOT the right choice (however funny his effort to save U.S. speedskating has been). Big fail, S.I.

To Bay Or Not To Bay

I say, "Bay."

Don't believe the talk out of Boston that he's some kind of injury risk. As Tony Mazz reported, there was a dispute amongst the Red Sox medical staff (that led to the trainer being let go), but no actual injury. Add to that Bay's complete lack of any major injury, and I'm forced to be an optimist.

Then there's the "is he worth it" card. Well, here are his career averages over a 162-game season:

.280 batting average
33 home runs
34 doubles
12 stolen bases
107 RBI
86 BB
157 K
.376 OBP
.896 OPS

Similar batters? Hideki Matsui, Justin Morneau, Matt Holliday (!)

So why isn't that worth 5 years at 15 million per for a 31 year old outfielder with NO history of injury? Don't forget, JD Drew, who tears ligaments getting out of bed every morning, and historically underachieves at the plate, got the SAME DEAL. I'd argue Bay is less of a risk than John Lackey for an obscene $85 million (he hasn't pitched a full season in three years).

I also argue that the Mets MUST sign him. Forget the angst we fans are feeling right now in the wake of 'Black Monday.' It's not a reactionary move. Signing Bay makes the Mets lineup, Citi Field be damned, significantly better. Let's assume Bengie Molina signs and we can't flush Castillo down the East River:

SS Reyes
1B Murphy
3B Wright
CF Beltran
LF Bay
RF Francoeur
C Molina
2B Castillo

Offensively, that lineup should be able to win games for you, right? At least it's got to be good enough to take a game or two from Philly. And that's why signing Jason Bay is a must.

Now for that pitching staff...

Wireless Nonsense

Simply fantastic article in today's New York Times about how AT&T's wireless service is actually BETTER than Verizon, and why consumer perception is the opposite.

You may know that because of the iPhone, and more importantly, the iPhone 3G that debuted in 2008, data usage on AT&T's network jumped 4000%! No one could have predicted that. And iPhone users still use way more data than any other smartphone on any other carrier combined.

Take that 4000% increase and stick it on Verizon's dated CDMA network - how do you think it would fare? (GSM, choice of AT&T and T-Mobile, is the global standard. Verizon is reportedly considering LTE 4G technology, which is explained here.) The Verizon zombies would have you believe the network can handle it - but you don't know until it actually happens.

I can only go on practical experience. I haven't suffered too many dropped calls, but I tend to lose 3G data and texting capabilities when I'm in places with a ton of people (like say, Gillette Stadium or the Garden). If that Times article is right, those are problems due to Apple design, not AT&T service. Mrs. SCZA on the other hand, seems to have acceptable data service, but complains of a ton of dropped calls on her Blackberry Bold 9000 (my co-workers, who all have Blackberry Curves on AT&T, have the same complaints). That leads me to believe it's a Blackberry thing, rather than AT&T. I'm contemplating getting her the new Bold 9700 that just came out and seeing if there's a significant difference.

Either way, I think you can safely say the cell phone service competition is a myth. Everyone is going to get a different result with different carriers depending on where they live and work. I had Sprint for years and never had a complaint about the service (I swear its 3G on a Blackberry was faster than on AT&T) and the same plan for me and the Mrs. cost 80 DOLLARS LESS than it does on AT&T (and Verizon, I priced it out). But I've also talked to people who have had miserable experiences with Sprint too.

Now T-Mobile is offering family talk/data plans that undercut even Sprint. And there are a host of startups, like Metro PCS (who buy space on Sprint and Verizon's CDMA towers), that will get you unlimited plans for as little as 45 bucks. So the best advice is probably to find out which carriers offer the best service in your area and then shop for the best deal. Don't let the reputations of one or all sway because the difference in service is not that great to justify the difference in price (unless you really, really, really need an iPhone).

Tweet Tweet

Sitting in the Gillette Stadium press box tweeting the crap out of this Patriots-Panthers game.

Follow along here, or keep your eyes on the box to the right.

I Really Watched That?

Jersey Shore is unbelieveable. Every single character is a piece of garbage and maybe that's what makes it so good.

The Situation is absolutely a breakout star - I completely expect to see him and Snickers guest hosting Monday Night RAW within weeks.

Perhaps the best part of the show is learning how these Jersey Shore musclehead nuts actually get their hair to stand up like that. What a process. If I did that, I'd be two hours late for work every day instead of 20 minutes. Presuming, of course, I still have enough hair to get the job done.

Oh, and I'm not shocked at the outrage over the cast calling themselves "guidos" and "guidettes." Mrs. SCZA, herself Italian-American, was pissed. Me, I dunno. I drop a lot of Jewish jokes, who's to say other ethnicities can't do the same?

Sorry For The Slowness

My lame excuse is that Twitter has basically consumed my life, and is much less time consuming, if that makes any sense.

What I will try to do for those of you who refuse to follow me is recap my Twitter postings each day and add some thoughts on the hot sports and popular culture issues of the moment.

There will probably be less pictures (I'll be posting more via e-mail and my iPhone) and YouTube clips, but I still think I can get the job done. Of course, you the readers will decide.

Oh, and a final aside. To those who have asked, Despite tempting offers from other great metropolitan areas (I'm looking at you Laredo, Texas), we have decided to stay in Boston for now. It really is a bit more my speed, as opposed to say, New York, and after all the trouble I just went through to get my arm fixed, the Wellesley Orioles deserve at least another year of my services!

So I guess the Escape is over... but I sure do like that logo!

See you on the interwebs...
SCZA!

p.s. Here's my apology offering...

Couldn't Put It Any Better

For more disbelief, check out my live tweeting from last night @scottisaacs17 or in the feed on the right.