Tim Lincecum wins NL Cy Young Award

NEW YORK -- Tim Lincecum was a big winner on a woeful team, which fit him perfectly.
Firing 97 mph fastballs from his miniature frame, the National League Cy Young Award recipient is an anomaly in almost every way. Lincecum joined Mike McCormick (1967) as the only San Francisco Giants to win the Cy Young, taking home pitching's highest honor by a comfortable margin Tuesday following his second major league season.

"I was definitely surprised. I thought it was going to be a lot closer," Lincecum said.
The slender kid with the whirling windup received 23 of 32 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks got four first-place votes and finished second with 73 points.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, tiny by today's standards for a big league pitcher, Lincecum defied detractors -- and the laws of physics -- by overpowering one hulking slugger after another.

"I don't remember anybody in my time who had that style of pitching, who put that kind of torque on his body," McCormick said on a Giants conference call. "I think that article in Sports Illustrated that called him a freak probably sums it up." Lincecum was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and a major league-best 265 strikeouts, remarkable numbers for a fourth-place club that finished 72-90. In fact, Steve Carlton was the lone Cy Young winner to pitch for a team that was worse. The Hall of Famer was an incredible 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA for the 1972 Philadelphia Phillies, who went 59-97.

Red Sox Number One Franchise

Analysis ranks Red Sox as the No. 1 franchise in the majors

BOSTON — Combining a resilience the field and a vision for excellence in the front office, the Boston Red Sox have brought unbridled joy to the ever-growing population of Red Sox Nation in the past five seasons. In 2004, there was literally dancing in the streets of Boston when the franchise stunned the New York Yankees by rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the American League Championship Series on the way to its first World Series title in 86 years. Three years later, a second generation of champions, led by high-stepping closer Jonathan Papelbon, danced in celebration on the Fenway green. To read the rest of the article, click here USA TODAY

Will Red Sox Host 2012 All Star Game

The Red Sox will celebrate Fenway Park's 100th anniversary in 2012, and they are hoping to commemmorate their landmark ballpark's birthday by hosting one of baseball's signature events: the All-Star Game.

"We have made a request to [Major League Baseball officials] to have another All-Star Game at Fenway Park in light of the 100-year anniversary and all of the changes that have taken place," Red Sox president and chief executive officer Larry Lucchino said Thursday.

Lucchino confirmed the franchise's request to host another All-Star Game -- preferably during 2012 -- during a media availability session in which he discussed the changes that are being made at Fenway Park during the offseason. Since the ownership group of John Henry, Tom Werner, and Lucchino purchased the team in 2002, the Red Sox have made upgrades to the ballpark each winter. The work is scheduled to be completed before the start of the 2012 season.
The 2009 All-Star Game is slated for St. Louis, and in 2010 it will be played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Sites have not been determined for 2011-2013.

The All-Star Game has been played at Fenway Park three times, most recently in 1999. That particular Midsummer Classic was a rousing success

Jason Bay interested in remaining a Red Sox

Jason Bay’s agents suggested that their client would be receptive to discussions of a long-term deal to remain in Boston beyond the 2009 season. Bay is due a salary of $7.5 million in 2009, the fourth and final year of an $18.25 million deal he inked with the Pirates prior to the 2006 season.
Bay, who turned 30 in September, excelled after arriving in Boston, hitting .293 with a .370 OBP and .897 OPS while hitting nine homers and driving in 37. He also hit .341 with three homers, nine RBIs and a 1.105 OPS in his first playoff experience.

“It’s a situation where he’s loving Boston. It’s a great club and a great organization,” said Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency. “He’s a quality player, and I’m sure (the Red Sox) recognize that. Whatever they want to do, I’m sure that we’re all ears.”

Scott Boras' Clients

Here ya go. A listing of players represented by Scott Boras. This list may or may not be complete.

Red Sox players: Alex Cora..... J.D. Drew..... Jacoby Ellsbury
Craig Hansen .......Daisuke Matsuzaka .....Jason Varitek

Tony Abreu...,,,,,,,,,,,... Rick Ankiel.............. Josh Barfield
Carlos Beltran.............Adrian Beltre ...........Chris Bootcheck
Joe Crede.............. Johnny Damon .......Chris Davis
Stephen Drew ............Prince Fielder......... Eric Gagne
Carlos Gomez............ Jeremy Guthrie..... Runelvys Hernandez
Luke Hochevar......... Matt Holliday......... Andruw Jones
Jair Jurrjens............. Ian Kennedy ..........Byung-Hyun Kim
Gerald Laird............ Kyle Lohse ..............Felipe Lopez
Rodrigo Lopez .........Derek Lowe......... Greg Maddux
Kevin Millwood........ Zach Miner................ Xavier Nady
David Newhan .........Magglio Ordonez..... Micah Owings
Corey Patterson... John Patterson ..Mike Pelfrey
Carlos Pena .............Oliver Perez ..........Guillermo Quiroz
Manny Ramirez ...Anthony Reyes .....Alex Rodriguez
Ivan Rodriguez... Max Scherzer......... Scott Schoeneweis
Bobby Seay............. Julian Tavarez... Willy Taveras
Taylor Teagarden... Mark Teixeira .....Ron Villone
Jarrod Washburn..... Jeff Weaver....... Jered Weaver
Brad Wilkerson ....Barry Zito

Theo the Thinker

DANA POINT, Calif. - Theo Epstein may have been one of the last to arrive at baseball's general managers' meetings yesterday, but it wasn't because he was slacking off. Epstein spent the day watching Clay Buchholz in an Arizona Fall League game, then showed up at the St. Regis Hotel, where his No. 1 priority will be the Red Sox' catching situation.

Toward that end, he will meet with agent Scott Boras over the next couple of days to discuss where the team stands in re-signing team captain Jason Varitek. Epstein spoke on a lot of topics upon his arrival, one of which was the multiyear extension he reached with the Sox - a deal that had been reported on for months but without his stamp. "That's done," he said. "It was taken care of a while back." Esptein would not reveal the length or financial terms of the deal but talked about his reasons for staying on with the Sox.

"When you sit back and think about being a general manager, this is exactly the type of organization you'd want to work for," he said. "Great fans, great ownership, and a tremendous foundation of our scouting and player development, which if we don't screw it up will lead to long-term success. "We're all in this game to work with good people and to try and win a World Series."

Iverson traded to Pistons

The shakeup promised by Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars after last season's Eastern Conference finals has materialized just two games into the new season.

The Pistons and the Nuggets have finalized a trade that sends guard Allen Iverson to Detroit and Pistons mainstays Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to Denver. "We just felt it was the right time to change our team," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press. "Iverson gives us a dimension that we haven't had here and we really think it's going to help us."

Dumars put the entire Pistons roster on notice after they lost to Boston in the East finals, saying that there "are no sacred cows" on his team and vowing to consider trading anyone -- even a major contributor to the Pistons' 2004 title run like Billups -- in addition to firing coach Flip Saunders and replacing Saunders with the untested Michael Curry. The Pistons could not find a workable deal over the summer after talking with numerous teams -- Denver included, according to NBA front-office sources -- but it emerged then that Billups, MVP of the 2004 Finals, was the most likely Piston to be dealt.

• Allen Iverson has the third-highest scoring average in NBA history.
• Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess have both been with the Nuggets previously. This would be Billups' second stint in Denver and the third for McDyess. McDyess is expected to be bought out by the Nuggets.
• Iverson's scoring average has decreased significantly since averaging a career-best 33.0 points per game in 2005-06.
• Iverson has the most points of any active player who has not won an NBA title.
• Billups ranks fourth in Pistons history in assists behind only Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Dave Bing.

Highest career scoring averages

PPG
Michael Jordan.......30.12
Wilt Chamberlain...30.07
Allen Iverson..........27.7
Elgin Baylor............27.4
LeBron James........27.3

Most career points, active players, who haven't won NBA title

Points
Allen Iverson............23,044
Dirk Nowitzki...........17,047
Tracy McGrady.......16,798
Vince Carter.............16,633
Stephon Marbury....16,209

Red Sox not high on Jake Peavy's list

DANA POINT, Ca. - San Diego general manager Kevin Towers has been working hard on the Atlanta Braves trying to put together a package for right-hander Jake Peavy.
Towers still believes the Braves are his best match for a deal. Towers has spent a lot of time speaking to Braves' special assistant Jim Fregosi about what the Braves would deal, but for the time being the Braves are still unwilling to part with some of their top young talent though it appears they would give up shortstop Yunel Escobar, who is coveted by San Diego.
Where do the Red Sox stand in all of this?

Peavy is still making it clear that he wants to stay in the National League. While he hasn't ruled out Boston it would be far down the list after the NL teams like Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Theo Epstein will arrive in time for tonight's GM dinner. Most of the GM's have scattered until then as their presence isn't required at the arbitration meetings which are going on right now. Most assistant GM's or the financial folks who put together the arbitration cases are required at those meetings

Boston Celtics retired numbers

Bill Russell - #6 - (Number retired March 12, 1972)

Regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Russell anchored the Celtics teams that won nine, eight in succession, NBA world championship titles in 1957 and from 1959 through 1966, and two more in consecutive seasons in 1968 and 1969...A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player (1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965)...A 12-time NBA All-Star in his 13-year career, missing the team in his rookie year (1956-57)...Was the 1963 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player...Is the Celtics all-time leading rebounder with 21,620 rebounds (an average of 22.5 per game), and led the NBA four times in this department...Was on the All-NBA first team in 1959, 1963 and 1965, and the NBA All-Defensive first team in 1969...Named to the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1970; 35th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1980 and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996...Was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975...Declared the Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers' Association of America in 1980...Was Head Coach of the Celtics for three seasons, 1966-67 through 1968-69, finishing with a record of 162-83 (.661) and two world championship titles in 1968 and 1969.

JoJo White - #10 - (Number retired April 9, 1982)

JoJo White was the point guard who led the Celtics offense and propelled the 1974 and 1976 teams to NBA World Championship titles...Was a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team in 1968...Played for the Green and White from 1969-70 to the 1978-79 season...Named to the 1970 NBA All-Rookie team...Named to the All-NBA second team in both 1975 and 1977...Was a seven-time NBA All-Star...Was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1976, which featured him playing 60 minutes in the famous triple-overtime Game 5, 128-126 triumph, over the Phoenix Suns at the Boston Garden.

Sox sign agreement to stay in Fort Myers for 30 years

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox will keep their spring training home in the Fort Myers area for 30 more years after signing an agreement on Saturday with Lee County, Fla.

The Red Sox have played in the 7,290-seat City of Palms Park since moving from Winter Haven in 1993, selling out 73 straight spring training games there. The team had a buyout that would have allowed it to leave in 2010, and it talked with Sarasota about moving to the Cincinnati Reds' former home.

Instead, the Red Sox and Lee County will work together on a new complex that would open in 2012. The Lee County Commissioners approved the plan this week.

Remember Refrigerator Perry?

Refrigerator Perry fights serious illness

Could it be that 23 years have passed since William "The Refrigerator" Perry burst onto the "Monday Night Football" scene as a 350-pound defensive lineman who also could run and catch passes for touchdowns?"Yes, it does seem that long ago," Perry said Monday from his home in Aiken, S.C. "It even seems longer than that, trust me."Perry, 45, remains good-natured despite suffering the sometimes life-threatening effects of Guillain-Barré syndrome, which affects the peripheral nervous system and causes progressive weakness. He was hospitalized for five months and is using a wheelchair as he rehabilitates."I'm doing fine," Perry said. "I'm walking a little bit and rehabbing and doing what I'm supposed to. Tell everybody that I'm doing a whole lot better. It just takes time. I hope to be up and about in a walker real soon."

On Oct. 21, 1985, Perry became a national folk herowhen Bears coach Mike Ditka deployed him in the backfield. Perry took a handoff and scored on a 1-yard plunge against the Packers."I remember mainly playing on special teams that night, running up and down the field with guys like Ron Rivera and Jim Morrissey," Perry said. "I was also blocking for Walter [Payton] in the backfield. Then all of a sudden coach Ditka gave me the go-ahead and got me the ball to score a touchdown."Perry scored three touchdowns as a rookie, one on a 4-yard pass from Jim McMahon against the Packers

This day in Red Sox History

November 1 1995: The first Red Sox Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held, with Tony Conigliaro, Dom DiMaggio, Frank Malzone, Johnny Pesky, Jim Rice, Smokey Joe Wood, Jean R. Yawkey, Joe Cronin, Babe Ruth, Bobby Doerr, Carl Yastrzemski, and Ted Williams gaining admittance.

October 31 1916: Ken Keltner is born in Milwaukee. He would go on to play the final season of his career with the Red Sox in 1950.

October 30 1922: The Red Sox trade Del Pratt and Rip Collins to the Detroit Tigers for Howard Ehmke, Babe Herman, Carl Holling, and Danny Clark.

October 29 1920: Ed Barrow, manager of the 1918 World Champion Red Sox, becomes the Yankees' general manager. He leaves the Sox because he's upset over the sale of Babe Ruth the previous year.

October 28 1961: Bob Melvin is born in Palo Alto, California.

October 27 2004: At 11:40 pm, Edgar Renteria of the St. Louis Cardinals grounds out to Keith Foulke for the final out of the World Series. The Red Sox win Game 4, 3-0, and capture their first World Championship in 86 years.

October 26 1934: The Red Sox trade Lyn Lary to the Washington Senators for Joe Cronin. Cronin goes on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Sox.

October 25 1986: Despite leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 5-3, the Red Sox are unable to finish off the Mets in Game 6 of the World Series.