Projo Sports Blog

Here's the transcript from today's projo Sports Chat. Art Martone will be back for another one tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. You'll be able to post your questions beginning around 8 tomorrow morning.

warren: Hi Art...while I am a fan of Youkilis...I keep asking myself...is he really this good or is it a fluky one hit wonder year he is having ?

Art Martone: I think he's really this good. Maybe not .330 good, but he's a selective hitter with power who is showing an increasing ability to master the strike zone. I don't believe he'll have a .220-like dropoff in the second half.

SoxFanatic456: Art, is there any chance, with Buehrle now off the market, that the Red Sox could go after someone like Jose Contreras, who they could get a probably a lower price and he is signed through 2009?

Art Martone: I don't think the Sox have made the decision to pursue another starting pitcher just yet. They may, depending on how Schilling progresses, if Tavarez begins to *re*gress, and if they feel they can't count on any of their young pitchers to pick up whatever slack may develop in the second half. What would work against it: Their big lead (which lessens the need to make big changes) and if everyone continues to pitch more or less how they've been pitching. But you need three reliable starters in the postseason, and if they feel Schilling won't be Schilling -- leaving them with just Beckett and Matsuzaka (figuring that they consider Wakefield as the fourth, a.k.a. once-a-series, starter, and will put Tavarez back in the bullpen) -- then they may make a run at a pitcher like Contreras or Dontrelle Willis. But the competition will be stiff and the price will be high.

warren: Art....here's a idea....Projo has a half hour sports show on TV ? Why not....The Globe and Herald basically have their shows....I'd love to see you host a sports show ?

Art Martone: You say that only because you haven't see me on TV.

Warren: Art....the savior's ( Clemens) era is 5.09...could we be seeing his last days in baseball...or is it..as long as someone is dumb enough to pay he will play ?

Art Martone: Man, have you changed your tune. Folks, this guy used to be the biggest Roger Clemens fan in the world. Check the bottom of this page for proof.

Warren: Art...funny isn't it...Manny has been relatively happy and by that I mean not demanding a trade and has been relatively healthy and his numbers have dropped...Maybe Manny is more effective when he is being the trade me Manny ?

Art Martone: He hasn't dropped off *that* much, just his power numbers. His on-base percentage (.392), while lower than his career mark, is better than it was in 2005 and basically the same as it was in 2004. He is 35, and maybe it's unrealistic to expect him to stay at his normal Herculean levels -- career numbers of .313/.410/.596, with a 162-game average of 41 homers and 133 RBI -- at this stage of his career.

Warren: Art...do you think that some of the drop in Ortiz numbers might be attributable to his losing weight from last season ?

Art Martone: You won't believe this, but Ortiz is having about the best year of his career . . . *except* for the home-run total. His OPS-plus -- On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage normalized for both the park and the league -- is currently a career-high 166, better than last year's 164 and well above his career average of 137. He's doing everything as well as he's ever done them, except hit home runs. And he should begin doing that again soon.

warren: Art...I still am a Clemens fan...just not subject to some of the spin anymore...especially after that bit about how the yanks came and got him outta texas....

Art Martone: Come on, Warren. No one could say say a bad word about Roger Clemens in your presence before.

Warren: any "new" news about Asante Samuel ?

Art Martone: Nothing new. Things may heat up as training camp gets closer.

Warren: Art...Was Gabbard nervous last night...Do you think the sox sent him out there with the attitude of "take one for the team" or did they really think he was ready for the Mariners ?

Art Martone: I'm sure he was nervous; who wouldn't be? I don't know what the Sox thought about how well he'd do, except that he was the best option they had for last night's game. And Monday night's game against Texas, which he'll be starting.

warren: Art....Jason Bay's numbers sure look good...and we could use a bat and additional outfielder....might we swing a deal with the Pirates....

Art Martone: You're just determined to get Pam to answer, aren't you?

warren: Art....should there be some concern that we may be over-using Tavarez and he is not going to respond as well come the second half.....

Art Martone: I think it's reasonable to expect a downturn from Tavarez, not so much because he's been overused but simply because he's not as good as he's pitched so far. They say the past is a pretty good indicator of the future, espcially for veterans, and Tavarez has a career ERA of 4.98 as a starter. In his only two full seasons as a starter, 2001 and 2002, he had ERAs of 4.52 and 5.39. He'll probably end somewhere between there, which means he'll probably pitch a little worse in the second half.

Warren: Art....do you think Steinbrenner frustrated at the standings...will order the front office to trade prospects for players they think can help them get to the playoffs ?

Art Martone: Warren, I couldn't begin to guess. Mainly, I don't know how much day-to-day influence Steinbrenner has on the Yankees anymore.

warren: Art...all things being what they are...seems to me that when Bonds breaks Aaron's HR record it will be rather anti-climatic and that's a shame for the sport.

Art Martone: I agree, on both counts.

warren: Art...remember the HBO series...when it was a game...Did they ever make a part three ? I love that series....

Art Martone: Yes, there was a third one. It's all available here.

warren: Art....is there one story in your career that sticks out the most over the years and what is it ?

Art Martone: A few: The Sox' World Series triumph, obviously. The Patriots' Super Bowl victories, the first being the most exciting. The Pats' first trip to the Super Bowl was very exciting, as well, because of the way they got there (three road victories, including knockoffs of the archrival Raiders and Dolphins). PC making the Final Four in 1987, and PC ('97) and URI ('98) both coming within minutes of making the Final Four in back-to-back years. I liked the U.S. Women's Open that was here last year, with the Monday playoff. More than a few, I guess, now that I think of it.

warren: Art....I forget...Did Freddy Pierson and Johnny Cusick retire from Bruin broadcasting or were they canned ? I sure miss em and wish they'd br brought back...

Art Martone: You got 'em backwards, Warren: It's *Fred* Cusick and *Johnny* Pierson. I don't know for sure; I think Pierson may have been dismissed and Cusick was probably eased into retirement (though he was still broadcasting games for Lowell a few years back). They're both pretty old now -- Cusick must be in his 80s -- and I doubt they can handle the rigors of a full broadcasting season.

warren: Art...did you see the story where the Toronto Maple Leafs were trying to hire Scotty Bowman but he turned them down...wow !

Art Martone: Next thing you know, someone will be trying to convince Earl Weaver to come out of retirement!

Warren: I figure I might as well start off with a baseball question since nobody but me wants to talk about the bruins;);) At what point do we cut the chord with Timlin...I realize all that he has done for the team over the years but does it make sense to keep trotting him out with the same results...I am not of the mind that last night's performance means he has turned the corner and is on the upside .

Art Martone: As we said yesterday, Timlin could be on the bubble. A few more like last night could make his position a little more secure.

warren: Art...Bring back Bob Wilson ?

Art Martone: He absolutely walked away on his own terms -- they'd have kept him if he wanted to stay.

warren: ART...Considering how the sox sell out...could New England support a second team and could it ever happen ?

Art Martone: No. Baseball wouldn't allow it, as it would drastically reduce the value of the Red Sox, which is one of MLB's jewel franchises.

warren: Art...so what's the inside poop on the Bruins first two picks in the draft ?

Art Martone: No idea, Warren, no idea. All I know is the first pick was rated 16th by one draft service and they chose him at No. 8. Hope the draft service was wrong.

warren: Art....what if anything can Hockey do to regain the attention of fans who watch sports on TV ? The game seems to have lost it's way ?

Art Martone: Well, I can tell you what needs to happen here: The Bruins need to start winning, and winning consistently. (One good year won't do it, since everyone will just assume Jeremy Jacobs won't re-sign any of the good players and they'll be right back where they were at the beginning of the next season.) Nationally, it's a more complex question. The players have gotten so much bigger and stroger, and the game so much faster, that the sport's traditional strengths -- the skating, the passing, the stickhandling -- have been muted; it's almost like the surface is too small for the size of the bodies that currently inhabit it. I first noticed this when watching some old Bruins games on NESN during the strike year; it was stunning how much smaller and slower the 1970s Bruins were, but it was also stunning how much smoother and more entertaining the game was. A friend of mine who's a Ranger fan said he noticed the same thing watching old Ranger games on MSG. And that, I have no idea how to solve.

warren: Art...what is the toughest part of being a sports editor ?

Art Martone: Dealing with all the non-sports stuff that comes with running a department.

warren: Art....build bigger rinks ?

Art Martone: To do it in existing buildings, you'd have to tear out existing seats . . . seats that bring in a ton of money. And we both know *that* ain't happening.

warren: how about grandfathering in the old and build new bigger ones on a go forward basis ?

Art Martone: I can't see it. So few new buildings come online that you'd spend, literally, decades with some big rinks and many more smaller ones. It might take the better part of a century to standardize.

wolf: Hey Art...It amazes me speaking of the Bruins that Providence can field a decent team and compete, yet the upper management in Boston makes one bad decision after another, and after RayBourque left for Colorado I think that was the team's demise. What can they do to rebuild, and why wasn't Mike Milbury considered for the coaching job?

Art Martone: Good to have you back, Wolf! I was enthusiastic about Milbury when his name was first floated, but I think I came to the same realizations that the Bruins did: The game is different from when he was successful as a coach -- which, hard as it is to believe, was many years ago -- and there was no guarantee he could adapt to the new styles. I don;t know that there's anything dramatic they can do to rebuild; they just have to understand that it's a slow process and it's going to take time. It took them a long time to descend to the depths of irrelevancy they've achieved, and it may take a long time to get back on everyone's radar. Of course, I say that and then I remember the 1967 Red Sox . . .

warren: God bless Wolf...someone wants to talk hockey besides me !:)

Art Martone: There's hope yet . . .

wolf: It really sems like there are only two professional teams in Boston anymore, the Sox and the Pats......is it just a cycle because in the 70's it was the Bruins and Celtics.....The Celtics seem to be in the same boat as the Bruins now, no legit superstars. Do you think either of those teams would ever relocate or does the market support them being in Boston?

Art Martone: Even in the '70s, when the Bruins and Celtics were flying high, the Red Sox and Patriots never sunk as low as the B's and C's have now. I don't think there's any danger of losing either franchise, though, because -- strange as it seems -- they're both profitable.

warren: Art...the sox magic number I believe is now 84....how sweet it is !

Art Martone: Even sweeter than that Warren; it's actually 77! (To wit: The best record the second-place Blue Jays, now 38-38, can finish with is 124-38. So the magic number is whatever number it takes for the Red Sox to get to 125 wins. The Sox are 48-28, so all they need is 77 wins to get to 125.) Which means that the earliest they can clinch, under these conditions, is Sept. 19.

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