MillersTime/GoSox contest contributors are not doing so well so far.

Of the 35 predictions of what would take place during the Hot Stove league, 19 have already proven not to be true, 11 have yet to be decided, and only five have come true.

Here’s where we are so far:

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Those of you who have been long time followers of MillersTime/GoSox (all three of you) no doubt know that I am a big fan of Wash. Post sports writer Thomas Boswell. I always feel I learn something from his columns.

He wrote another one the other day entitled A Different Kind of Moneyball, wherein he looked at the recent deals with Pujols (and to a lesser degree the ones with Reyes, Wilson, Buehrle, and Bell) and asks, “How much is too  much?”

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New England/Florida cousin sent me the following article on life after Pujols for St. Louis.

I don’t know enough about how Pujols was seen in St. Louis, and I hope any of you from St. Louis will weigh in on this (Ben Senturia, for example?). But the article sure reminds me of Manny in Boston, where folks had to overlook so much for so long because he was so good with his bat.

I suspect this story is repeated around both leagues with different players.

Oh for those days of old where players stayed with the same team for their entire career.

Check it out.

Albert Pujols Is Leaving St. Louis. Rejoice!

So I am reading about the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park and all the plans the Red Sox have for showing it off throughout the 2012 season.

No one asked me, but I have a modest suggestion for the Red Sox:

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In an attempt to add a bit of interest to this winter’s ‘Base Ball’ machinations, I added a new MillersTimeBaseball Contest:
this winter’s Stove League.

The prize: two tickets to a game in any stadium of the winner’s choosing for the 2012 season.

Here is the list of what folks predicted:

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As a follow up to the excellent column I linked to at this site the other day (The End of Everything at State College, Click Here if you haven’t read it), I add a column from this morning’s Washington Post, written by the wonderful sports columnist Thomas Boswell.

Boswell always seems to see clearly and say things well, often things we may be thinking but haven’t put words to yet.

Click Here to read Boswell’s column.

Although at this site I tend to focus on baseball, I also follow sports in general.

Those of you who know of what has occurred at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky and all those around him have no doubt read numerous articles about this tragedy. If you haven’t read about it, start with the 23-page grand jury report (you can get to it from this site).

There is no sugar coating possible here.

Thanx to a Facebook posting by a former colleague, Justin Barrasso, I came across the following article and pass it on. It’s not about the facts nor about the outrage(s) per se but about the corollary damage that comes when those we invest with power and prestige fail to do what is right.

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Now that we have to suffer with no beisbol (as my friend Nelson refers to it) until the mid Feb. spring training reporting time, I thought I might offer a small contest for the Hot Stove League participants amongst you.

So here it is:

Predict some occurrence that will happen this winter (e.g., Pujois signing with the Yankees, Tito being chosen as manager of the Cubs, or perhaps Torre going to the Sox as a manager, etc).

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Now that ‘that’s’ over, MillersTime can announce the two winners of the contests that had not been previously decided.

For Contest #1 – make a prediction about the 2011 baseball season –  the clear winner was Peter Shimm who back on Feb. 7 boldly said that neither the Sox nor the Phillies would be in the World Series. How did he know?

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If you’re a Sox fan, you’ve probably read ex-GM Theo Epstein’s Boston Globe explanation to The Red Sox Nation on why he decided to leave the Sox for the Cubs. (He also took out a full page add in the Globe a few days earlier, thanking Boston fans. To see the add, Click Here).

I am very curious as to what Sox fans’ reaction is to Theo’s farewell explanation

For those of you who are not Sox fans, who hate the Sox, who love another team, I am curious also about your reaction to his column.

I will leave my reaction until after hopefully a number of you will comment in the section below. Do indicate whether your a Sox fan or not, and as always, be civil.

Click Here to read Theo’s piece.

Needed: at least eight folks to vote for the winner of Contest #1 – The Best Prediction for the 2011 Season. See Below for details.

But first, some other results:

I. The wisdom of the ‘masses’ (aka ‘MillersTime Baseball Wizards’) was anything but…

Of the three top predictions made by the 44 contestants, only one came true. And that one was only partially true.

Not True: Phillies and Red Sox in the World Series

Not True: Sox will beat the Phillies in the WS.

Partially True: Nationals will improve this year to a season record of 71-91. They actually ended with a record of 80-81.

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We have three winners in two of the 2011 MillersTime Baseball Contests.

In Contest #2, asking if the Nats would have a better or worse record and what their won-loss record would be, there is a tie.

The Nats improved their record from last year’s 69-93 to 80-81, quite probably the best gain of any team this year. They didn’t have a chance to end their season at .500 because a rained out game with the Dodgers was not rescheduled as it would not have affected any of the standings.

And so who were the winners?

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in the light of the new day, now that I have survived the night (having put away all sharp instruments yesterday afternoon and confining myself to the first floor last night), here are my morning after thoughts:

*Give the Rays and Cards all the credit. They took advantage of the Sox’ and Braves’ decline, had terrific Septembers, and won when they had to. I wish them well for the playoffs and will be rooting for them both in the postseason.

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