The Red Sox wrapped up a three game sweep of the New York Yankees at Fenway Park last night as Clay Buchholz improved to 11-0 on the season.

The win reduced Boston’s magic number to four for clinching the division. Tony Massarotti however, still does not believe in this team, and is waiting for the collapse.

Sox unceremoniously sweep Yanks out – Gordon Edes has the Sox eliminating the Yankees from the AL East race.

One of a kind: Clay Buchholz re-establishes himself as most dominant pitcher in baseball – Alex Speier tries to put into context how incredible the 11-0, 1.51 ERA really is for the righthander.

Clay Buchholz adds to club’s confidence – Michael Silverman says that the return of Buchholz gives the Red Sox even more reason to be confident heading to the postseason.

Red Sox honor Yankees’ Mariano Rivera with ‘roast’ – Nick Cafardo isn’t sure that putting so much focus on 2004 during the ceremonies honoring the retiring Yankees closer was the right thing to, but notes Rivera handled it all with class.

Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts continuing to learn – Peter Abraham’s notebook has the Sox super prospect absorbing as much as he can in his time with the big club.

Tom Brady on D&C: ‘That’s how football is, it’s a game of emotion’ – The Patriots QB made his weekly appearance on the Dennis and Callahan show this morning.

Pats must wait for rookie receivers to find a way – Karen Guregian says that the team has to show patience and stick with the group they’ve brought in.

Danny Amendola may need surgery – Mike Reiss looks at the FOX Sports report that the Patriots receiver has torn adductor muscles and a sports hernia. The Herald though, reports that it is not certain that he has the sports hernia.

Mandatory Monday: 2-0 Caveats – Mike Tanier on SportOnEarth looks at the 2-0 teams, with the following observation about the Patriots:

All the Patriots did in the last two weeks is position themselves to win the AFC East again, despite the fact that they are far from full strength. It’s hard to spin that into a doomsday scenario, but some folks have five years of practice.

Some have more than five years practice.

Thursday night’s Patriots/Jets telecast  drew a combined average household rating of 34.2 for NFL Network’s national coverage and local coverage from WCVB-Channel 5 (Boston) and WMUR-Channel 9 (New Hampshire).

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

11 thoughts on “Sox Sweep, Mariano Roasted”

  1. Mariano Rivera is a class act in every respect, it is a travesty that on his final tour of the league the Yankees continue haul that garbage barge (A-Rod) around to cast a foul odor on the remarkable accomplishments of Rivera.

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    1. How do we know he is a class act? He is 43 and still performing like he was 33. Is he all natural or did he have help? Who knows….I take that back…Mo knows. My larger point is at this point, based on the era he played in, based on who his teammates were…and based on his longevity we really do not know whether he is a class act or another charlatan a la David Ortiz, Rafi Palmiero, Ryan Braun and a host of others. Pulhulz is being whispered about…it seems they were all guilty to some extent…expect Jeter and evidently Mo Rivera.

      I have no idea whether he cheated or not. I do know he never stood up and said “I am clean let’s get the cheaters out of my clubhouse and the game”. I do know he has not condemned any of his teammates or for that matter ex players who have admitted to using PEDs.

      Rivera might be a class act. He might be a great guy, kind, generous, honest, moral and clean…but at this point….we do not know…and unfortunately for Rivera he can’t go back and time and prove he was. SO there will always be a little doubt.

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      1. At the very least, Rivera didn’t get into off-field trouble, and he was generally gracious toward opponents, press and his teammates. (And if he were a real jerk behind the scenes, you’d think a story or two would’ve come out somewhere. It’s pretty hard to keep up that kind of facade for going on two decades. He wouldn’t have done something like smile and acknowledge the crowd at Fenway at the start of the 2005 season, when the fans cheered him during the Sox’ banner ceremony, without a real sense of decorum.)

        If you’re rolling steroid use into the question of having class, then I doubt he’s any classier than the next guy. Captain Jeet got one free pass after another from the media after breaking his foot last fall, when all there was to break that bone was the force of the muscle pulling on it. (I might toss in how ESPN and others reported, without further comment, on how Greg Oden packed on 40 pounds of muscle in a few months during his first season of post-knee-surgery rehab.) As for Rivera? There’s that story of how, in the mid-90’s, he was just another guy in the Yanks’ farm season and then, within about a week, his velocity jumped about 10 mph. He’s talked about that himself, and gave credit to God, but I don’t recall one question from the press ever, about it. Maybe if Shaughnessy had been in the locker room…

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        1. I am rolling PED use into the discussion. But my bigger point is just because a professional athlete smiles, tips his cap and never gets into trouble off the field does not mean he is a class act. Aaron Hernandez never failed a drug test and up to the night he was arrested in Lloyd’s murder had no public problems with the law. We just don’t know…today all these guys are so good at crafting their image that what we see is all crafted and seldom genuine. Look at Tiger Woods, clean rep…falls apart one night when his wife puts a 5 iron through his back windshield and the media starts digging. OJ Simpson, beloved because he smiled in Hertz commercials, took prat falls in the Airplane movies and ran for 20000 yards in the NFL, turns out he was a drug using double murderer.

          I will say it again…We don’t know. For all I know, Rivera is a great guy…but there are questions no one is asking mostly because he is a nice guy. When they start getting asked…will we be shocked at the answers? If not will we still think he is a “class act” or will we be saying…”nothing surprises us any more”?

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          1. I’d never argue that we know everything. We know almost nothing, about any of these guys. Hernandez is a good example, but not completely–Matt Light had some pretty harsh words about him. That contributed pretty early on to a growing strong impression that Hernandez really might have been leading a double life. And Hernandez had been around for only three years or so. Rivera’s been around for about six times that long, and if he were really an a-hole away from the game, I think some details would’ve come out in the wash over that time. I’m not disagreeing with your basic point–we have very little information about how pro athletes live–but I would add that ten plus years of a guy being in the public spotlight generally affords a pretty good sample for media and fans to observe. After ten years in the league, the book on A-Rod was largely written: a talented D-bag. He’s taken the D-bagginess to heights not many would have anticipated then, yes, but what he’s done is pretty much consistent with the caracter we saw then. Ditto Jose Canseco.

            Hernandez, and Vick–two guys who kept pretty aloof from teammates, and it turned out that the reality of their lives was much worse than anyone suspected. But Vick had a few on-field lapses in judgement, like flipping off fans, that were a tiny clue to what might lie beyond. Hernandez fooled a lot of people, but obviously not everybody. Is it really surprising that it took only three years for the wheels to come off?

            I won’t argue your including steroid use in the question of class. Maybe we need a Colbert-type distinction here. Mariano might not have class, but he has lots of classiness.

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          2. I just want to comment on your Matt Light Statement (the rest of your post clearly states your position and I have already stated mine). WHen you say Matt Light clearly had harsh words for Hernandez you completely make my point…Hernandez clearly had a well crafted “public person”. Other professional athletes like Light let the crafted persona stand rather than questioning it publicly because they have a fraternity and they all protect one another. We find out about Light’s misgivings AFTER the fact. Meaning the players even when they do not like one another protect each other’s business interests…with their business being increasing their fame so they can make more money…because that is what is done.

            I don’t think Light did anything more than pile on. Had he truly not believed in what Hernandez was selling perhaps he should have said something before the murders.

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          3. Piling on, perhaps, yes. But it was a pretty absolute statement, not even the “let’s-wait-and-see-how-this-plays-out” kind of statement a lot of guys made about Vick–and remember how divided the sports fan world was over him?

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          4. Agramante…I share a lot of your perspective. I don’t disagree that Light’s statement was pretty absolute. All I am pointing with this whole thread is we do not really know any of these guys. Jerry Remy appears to be everyone’s favorite grandfather when he is on the air…yet he sired a murderer and 2 other kids who have had significant problems with the law. We do not know any of these people well enough to call them a class act any more.

            Light’s statement was great. I was happy to hear that he never bought what Hernandez was selling. However, I bet the Lloyd family would be happier today had Light made those comments publicly before Odin Lloyd was killed. Maybe the police would have looked at Hernandez more seriously for the double murder sooner? Maybe Kraft would not have given him a $40 mill contract? Maybe a lot of things would have been different. They weren’t because Light is part of the fraternity. He was not going to rock the boat. We all understand why it happened…I am just not sure we should be applauding it. I have the same issues with Rivera. He appears to be a great guy. He appears to have been the greatest player to ever play his position. But…and in the steroid era there is always a but…we really do not know. There are questions he won’t answer. There are statements he never made. For that reason I don’t think calling him a class act is the right thing to do.

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    2. Maybe I should rephrase my statement…As far as we know Mariano Rivera “appears to be” as a class act. We have never heard or read any “substantial” accusations regarding steroids, HGH, domestic disturbances, DUI’s, recreational drug use, adultery…or any of the other such activities common to today’s athletes…my main point was the fact that Rivera’s last go-around (if he is in fact devoid of activities noted) is tainted with the stench surrounding the impending A-Rod appeal of his suspension…..Is that better?

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  2. Haven’t watched Sports Tonight in forever but I flip through around 10 to see Bob Ryan with Tanguay and someone else. I missed the context but he says, a few seconds later, “Shame on the Bills for not beating the Patriots. Shame on the Jets for not beating the Patriots.”

    And, this was Bob Ryan..

    So, I get the “don’t be a bias fanboy” but WTF?

    So, you want the team to lose, because it sells more papers that nobody reads? Allows you to vent and get some things off your chest in your next column? Little too boring when they “barely win?” I don’t get it.

    The media trashes the team for when they’re blowing out doormats 42-14 in the past. I’ll give kudos to Felger for being honest and complimenting the team when they did beat the Jets 13-10 and sticking it up. But, really?

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