A Funny Thing Hit Me Today

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

First off, if you have read this page in the past, you know I'm a Los Angeles Dodgers' fan (please, no laughing at the Juan Pierre signing) - but having said that, I've always liked the Red Sox in the American League so I have had more than a passing interest in them (and having said that, yes, I used to watch JZone when I hated the Jays).

I have read with much amusement, the calls to trade Manny Ramirez:

• from compelling arguments made by Boston Globe writers Gordon Edes and Dan Shaughnessy to the inflammotary columns by the Herald's Gerry Callaghan,
  
  
• to the idiotic rants of "Manny not putting out enough effort" by Hazel's self proclaimed number one fan Mike Adams of WEEI, who plans to keep listeners tuning in during the winter by whining about how Manny's injury cost Ortiz the MVP and playing audio clips of Hazel on every commercial break (internet stream);
  
  
• to message board posters who are calling for Theo to trade Manny for a few blue chip prospects or some ridiculous three team trades that involve the Sox getting a superstar in return;
  
  
• to some of the "peeps" on the yahoo board who think Manny should be traded because the Sox can get a couple of decent bats for him (a sentiment echoed on a number of message boards).
  

I don't get it - Manny is money. First off, trading Manny for prospects doesn't make a lot of sense at this point - not when you look at the age of some of their key players. By the time these prospects are solid major leaguers, the likes of Schilling, Wakefield and Varitek will be long gone. I thought the point was to win now - or do the Red Sox and Red Sox Nation want to be competitive for a long time rather than being a legitimate contender now.

Manny plays almost everyday, puts up big numbers and can be counted on to produce when it counts. He may not be the most gifted player athletically - but he continues to produce. He doesn't get into a lot of trouble off the field - he doesn't like the media...but why should he? Why is it important? The best line I heard was that "Boston fans loved Ted Williams and he was a prick!"

That old saying applies here - "Careful what you wish for...you just might get it." The Sox might rid themselves of Manny's contract (which doesn't seem so out of whack when you look at the salaries being handed out now) - and replace him with the likes of J.D. Drew at about $14 Million per year. Think about it Red Sox Nation - do you think your team is going to be better off with Manny or J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo? Trust me...I don't think you want to find out.

Time to update the standings in the Hazelspeeps pools - a tough week for yours truly in both the football and hockey pools.

HAZEL MAE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Our girl Tina keeps rolling, racking up wins and has her team in first place. Our Commish Drisc has dropped to second, but he has locked up a playoff spot so he's resting comfortably; and yours truly is watching Eli Manning bring Hazel Mae's Cowboys down. Standings after Week 12

9-3 Tina's Team - Owned by Tina who is riding Tony Romo all the way to first place.

8-3-1 Fighting Bobcats - Owned by Commish Drisc who enjoyed Thanksgiving with his newborn daughter and two fiesty boys.

6-6 Jack O'Latern - Owned by Hubie who made five roster moves yesterday - he's up to 77 in 12 weeks.

5-7 Ageswimmer - Owned by Bushey - enough said.

4-8 Hazel Mae's Cowboys - Owned by El Presidente, who getting his team ready to beat the Commish's Bobcats this weekend.

3-8-1 Ithaca Commons - Owned by our boy Kevin who checked in last week to give El Pres some props.

Upset of the week - Hazel Mae's Cowboys will upset the heavily favoured Fighting Bobcats.


HAZEL HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Hazel Hockey League had quite the shakeup over the last week. Our resident Steinbrenner Hubie finds himself in first place as of this morning - will surprises never cease? Standing for the week ending November 27:

55.0 - Double DD Bandits - Owned by Hubie who spent today on the waiver wire.

49.0 - Skating Bobcats - Owned by Commish Drisc who did the unthinkable and picked up the New York Islanders 15 year man Rick DiPietro.

45.0 - Weekend Warriors - Owned by our boy Chris who was eating too much leftover turkey to check in this past weekend.

37.5 - Ice Bitches - Owned by Renee who has taken a break from the hockey pool to concentrate on posting her thoughts on this blog.

36.0 - Hazel's Maeple Leafs - Owned by El Presidente who is hating the Bruins these days...even with Hazel hosting The Buzz.

29.5 - Hanson Brothers - Owned by Sparky who doesn't seem to be nearly as interested in the NHL.

That's about it for tonight gang...check back tomorrow for the NFL picks. Have a great one peeps!

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - just because

Get A Job - Offspring

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!