Anyone else wonder if Clemensitis is contagious?

In response to the potential of Roger Clemens facing perjury charges, Rusty Hardin, Clemens's attorney, stated, "These matters are now going to be decided in court and by the ultimate lie detector -- a jury. I am comfortable that when a jury hears this case ... they will conclude that Roger did not use steroids or growth hormone and he is telling the truth and that McNamee's allegations are totally false." (See the Boston Globe story here.) So, let's recap...Clemens may have lied to a House committee. He may be brought up on perjury charges that carry the potential of jail time. The trial will turn on whether, beyond a reasonable doubt, Clemens knowingly mislead investigator and the House Committee while under oath. And, yet, Clemens's attorney expects to get a verdict on whether Clemens used performance enhancing drugs. Sure, I suppose the jury will simply explain to the judge that they decided to ignore their instructions, the relevant charges against Clemens, and the burden of proof. Instead, they will render a decision that says that Roger Clemens never ever used performance enhancing drugs. To steal a line from A Few Good Men, perhaps Mr. Hardin was sick the day they taught law at law school.

I understand that Hardin is waging a two-front battle: a public relations campaign and a legal dispute. But, perhaps Mr. Hardin has spent too much time around his client and developed Clemensitis (the inability of the mind to ground claims in reality and the belief that no one will notice). Adopting Clemensitis as a legal strategy will not going to do much for your client. It is time for Team Clemens to drop the hyperbole and begin to take seriously what is at stake. Clemens's reputation is already in the tank. His liberty may follow. Clemens should do himself a favor and hire someone who is less concerned with the public relations campaign and more about keeping their client out of jail.

Lies, Damn lies, Clemens, and Jail Time?

The New York Times is reporting that the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform asked the Department of Justice to begin a criminal investigation into whether Roger Clemens committed perjury when he testified before it earlier this month. As noted here (and everywhere else), Clemens lied in his testimony and now it appears that Congress may hold him accountable. Clemens's arrogance may finally cost him but an equally interesting question will be whether it costs him part of his baseball legacy. The New York Times hosted a "Who's The Greatest Pitcher of All Time" forum and it was amazing to see how little Clemens's name surfaced. In fact, when it did surface, "untenable" was also in the sentence. Just a few years ago, Clemens was widely considered the best right handed pitcher of the contemporary era (although some people inevitably pointed to Pedro's run from 1997-2002 as evidence of his superseding brilliance). Now, he is a pariah. Someday, when I tell my children about the "great pitchers" I saw pitch (back in the day), I will mention Pedro, Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and, maybe even Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett but I doubt I'll talk much of Clemens despite seeing him pitch in Boston and New York. I'll save Clemens for cautionary stories about the cost of lying.

McCain, the Social Right, and the Problem of Judges

Carl Hulse has a fascinating article in Monday's New York Times. The article posits that McCain's role in avoiding the so-called nuclear option (i.e. destroying the filibuster to ensure nominations to the federal bench would get a confirmation vote) is now hurting his support among social conservatives. The article is worth the read but I have a few additional thoughts...


1. If the article is correct, then the social right seems to have abandoned hope of achieving their objects through traditional political venues. I, and many others, have long argued that the social right's agenda has been "deferred" to the courts. The politics of the social right have been transformed into a politics of conservative jurisprudence, which leaves the economic wing free to focus the Republican Party's energy on its agenda--be it deregulation, terrorism, or tort reform. Under this paradigm, the social right has been marginalized but, seemingly, they have not realized the degree to which they've been marginalized (although the strength of Huckabee's campaign may speak to a growing consciousness). However, they may have been willing to play along so long as nominees to the Supreme Court looked more like Samuel Alito and less like Harriet Myers. McCain, already suspected by the social right of not being particularly orthodox, jeopardizes the old paradigm as he placed institutional maintenance (i.e. senatorial filibuster) ahead of judicial conservatism. Now that social conservatives are so very close to having five jurists they believe to be orthodox on issues like school prayer and abortion, taking a chance on the "centrist" McCain and a Democratically controlled Senate is akin to Sherman turning around just as he sees Atlanta on the horizon. (Odd analogy, I know...)



2. This could be troubling times for the Republican Party. When original agreements breakdown, coalitions often disintegrate. The social right must feel it can not win politically absent a "new awakening". Now, their party is causing conservatives to doubt its commitment to a legal victory. When a party no longer provides the proper incentives for its members to continue its loyalty, you see either demobilization or defection. The latter is unlikely given that there is no where to go (unless a third conservative party movement occurs but those are usually quite short lived). But demobilization is notable as social conservatives were the driving force behind Bush's 2000 and 2004 electoral successes. Given that the Democratic Party is highly mobilized and you have the potential to have a demobilized wing of the Republican Party, the Dems could be on the verge of a major victory in November.

However, to prevent such a catastrophe, look for McCain to find religion on conservative judges and spend some time assuaging folks like James Dobson and Pat Robertson. But, as Hulse points out, this is a harder task for McCain than most Republican presidential nominees in the recent past.

Francona Extended

Good news out of Fort Myers. The Sox and Terry Francona agreed to a contract extension of three years with an additional two years in team options. From time to time, I complain about Francona's in game management (particularly his bullpen usage) but I think most of these disagreements are on the margins. Admittedly, even when I disagree with Francona, I often wonder if he is operating on information that the public simply does have (like Papelbon having a migraine or Timlin having a sore shoulder). And, at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter if I disagree with Francona or not, he has led the Sox to three playoff appearances and two World Series championships in his four years with the Sox. It is hard to argue with such impressive results even with the Sox's payroll.

The Big Dig in Pictures

The New York Times has a story-in-pictures on the completed Big Dig project in Boston. Like many other millions of people, I lived in Boston during a few years of the two decade long renovation process. The end results are worth a look.

Manny Switches Agents...Who Cares?

News out of Fort Myers is that Manny Ramirez switched agents to the much maligned (by the public) Scott Boras. Boras is arguably the best agent in baseball for players if we measure "best" as getting the biggest paycheck from MLB teams. The Sox have their share of Boras clients on the roster (Varitek, Drew, Cora, Ellsbury--although Ellsbury has not had the opportunity to negotiate a contract with Boras as his agent). No doubt this will cause some gnashing of teeth in Red Sox Nation but the development doesn't strike me as anything particularly problematic.

Boras doesn't seem to have as much leverage with Manny as he has had with other major players. Manny is reaching the autumn of the baseball years and, though quite productive, he isn't going to get a five year contract somewhere (unless a team loses its mind). Given that the Sox have a $20 million dollar option, they can essentially ask if they think they can negotiate the yearly output downward but be on the hook for longer. It makes some sense for both sides to agree to a $15-17 million deal over three years. The Sox will shave off three or four million dollars from the option and Manny will have the security of a large paycheck until he is 40.

Now, I have no idea whether either side is interested in such a scenario ($15 million may be low, especially if Manny has a good year) but the Sox are negotiating from a position of strength since they have an option at the end of the year. The one year option gets them a year closer to having power bats come through the system (Lars Anderson, Will Middlebrook, and/or, maybe, Jason Place although he has yet to catch fire in the minors). It also gets them one year closer to having a cheap rotation that will include Lester, Buchholz, and Masterson/Bowden, which enables the Sox to spend on established talent (e.g. Carl Crawford--although the Rays have an $8.5 million option, which I would think that even the cheap-ass Rays would exercise). The point is that the Sox are in a decent position to negotiate with Manny and Boras. If I'm a betting man, I'd say that, after a big year by Manny, the Sox exercise their option and have $20 million coming off the books for an impressive 2010 free agent market.

Spring Training Preview: The Bullpen

As noted before, the Red Sox have the roster largely set. However, the bullpen is somewhat up in the air. Schilling's injury may shuffle the bullpen further as, should one of the other five starters go down during spring training, Julian Tavarez may well start the season in the rotation. Since there are so many variables, I'm going to break this out into four sections: 12 pitchers; 11 pitchers; the Tavarez corollary; and the Lou Merloni-PawSox Shuttle.

12 Pitchers:

If the Red Sox start the season with seven relief pitchers, then there are five locks and two near locks. The locks are Papelbon, Delcarmen, Okajima, Timlin, and Tavarez. Snyder and Lopez are also likely sure things since it seems unlikely that the Sox would have bothered to sign them in the off-season if they weren't in the 2008 plan. (Yes, Sox fans, that means we get another year of a left-hand specialist who is lights out against righties but can't get lefties out. Nice LOOGY...) Those are the seven bullpen spots.

11 Pitchers:

If, for some reason, the Sox decided that they need a fifth outfielder (likely someone to spell Drew in right field), then they have a choice. Keep Snyder on the roster, who, in my opinion is more likely to be picked up off the waiver wire, or keep Lopez because you want another lefty on the staff (but, again, he doesn't get lefties out consistently enough to be a LOOGY). For the record, they make virtually identical salaries. I'd drop Snyder in favor of Lopez just because I think I can get him through waivers. I actually like Snyder more but I think the demand for a middle inning right hander is less than any lefty--even one that struggles against left hand hitters.

The Tavarez Corollary:

Should one of the starting five get hurt, Tavarez will likely start the season in the rotation. This opens up a slot that the Sox would likely fill with another pitcher. Spring training will likely prove who the next in line is but let me review the suspects. First, the Sox traded for David Aardsma in the off-season. Aardsma was a first round draft pick in 2004 out of Rice who didn't pan out the way the Giants (later the White Sox) hoped. (This is a trend with relief picthers out of Rice University. Sox fans will recall Bryce Cox's struggles in the minors last year.) Yet, Aardsma's stuff is quite good and the Red Sox obviously liked his potential. (Oh, and his sister is the former Miss Teen Colorado...so there's that.)

Second, the Sox invited Dan Kolb and Jon Switzer to training camp. Switzer is kind of a train wreck so he'd have to have one great spring training. Kolb is slightly more interesting as he has had a few good seasons in the past and he might be a solid option for getting right handed hitters out.

Third, Bryan Corey has performed fairly well in a Sox uniform and many Sox fans thought he should have made the post-season roster last year. He doesn't have dominating stuff so it is a harder case to make but his track record (and a strong spring training performance) could earn him an a slot. If you need the lefthanded version of Corey, Craig Breslow (who actually does get lefties out--at least in Pawtucket) is your man.

If I had to handicap this group, I'd go Corey 3:1, Aardsma 5:1, Kolb 8:1, Breslow 17:1; Switzer 28:1.

Lou Merloni-PawSox Shuttle:

The Sox have a few possibilities in AAA. Criag Hansen, who has yet to live up to the initial hype that surrounded him, was diagnosed with sleep SOMETHING and had surgery in the off season to correct it. Should this enable Hansen to rediscover the stuff that made him so highly touted out of college, he would be a candidate for promotion. Edgar Martinez struggled in AAA but, given that last year was only his third year pitching, we may see Martinez take another step forward and, if it is a big step, get a chance with the Sox.

On the whole the bullpen looks solid. But, to a large extent, this will depend on whether (1) Papelbon stays healthy; (2) Delcarmen continues to improve; and (3) Okajima doesn't regress greatly from last year.

Happy Pitchers and Catchers!!

The unofficial start of spring training is upon us as pitchers and catchers have reported. The Globe already has a pictorial up and you can almost smell the freshly cut grass. (For those of us who live in places without much grass, this takes greater imagination.) And if you are bored, see if you agree with me that the Globe misidentifies a player as Manny Delcarmen (in the picture with Craig Hansen). I'm not 100% positive as the player is out of focus but I think it is Edgar Martinez. If I'm right, the Globe should offer me a job. (If I’m wrong, I’m sure my vast readership will let me know.)

Lies, Damn Lies, and Clemens

Andy Pettitte "misremembers." Pettitte's wife must also misremember or she is lying to help her husband. Clemens claims Toronto Blue Jay's medical doctor, Ron Taylor, gave him bad medicine. His nanny similarly misremembers being at Jose Canseco's house. Clemens agents and lawyers were to blame for his silence during Mitchell's investigation. And, of course, Brian McNamee is about Clemens despite being generally honest about Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch and risking jail time by concocting a story about Clemens. Not surprisingly, in The World According to Roger, everyone is to blame except Roger.

Too many fine baseball writers have and will be penning columns about today's events in DC so I'll simply point to Tom Verducci's piece over at SI and Dan Shaughnessy's piece in The Globe. (Note to readers: I will almost never link to a CHB article--I think he is spreads far too much dissention by ignoring too much evidence or just failing to investigate--but I thought he did a decent job today so there it is.) However, since this is one of the rare moments when politics and baseball collide, I wanted to make two claims. First, the clear divide among the Committee members--pro-Clemens (who tended to be Republicans) and anti-Clemens (who tended to be Democrats)--might best be explained by understanding their baseline for judging guilt and innocence. Second, today's congressional hearing made courts look pretty good.

Quite clearly, most members of the House Committee made up their minds about whether Clemens is telling the truth or lying before the hearing. Those supporting Clemens attacked McNamee regularly and, at times, quite viciously. Those suspicious of Clemens attempt to impeach the numerous inconsistencies in his public and private statements. Oddly, the split in the committee was largely along party lines, which was bizarre in and of itself. However, it became clear that the pro-Clemens and anti-Clemens faction were using different baselines from which to judge Clemens. The pro-Clemens faction seemed to be relying on the character of Brian McNamee as the baseline for judgment. An evaluation of McNamee's character will find shady dealings, lies, criminal activity, etc. There is little in Clemens's past (besides the use of performance enhancing drugs...I mean alleged use of PEDs) that would cause one to hold Clemens in the same regard as McNamee (unless you are a Red Sox fan). So, if you are using character as the baseline, Clemens wins. Particularly useful here, note how little those sympathetic to Clemens raised Pettitte's damning statements. (And, by the way, one doesn't "misremember" when a friend tells them they used illegal drugs to gain an advantage in their shared profession. This is akin to subverting the rules that those in the profession are supposed to play by. If one of my friends and colleagues at UNLV came to me and informed me that they plagiarized an article that was recently accepted for publication at a top journal, I'm going to remember the event quite vividly.)

On the flip side, those skeptical of Clemens's stories seemed to use the totality of the evidence as the baseline of evaluation. McNamee alone wasn't enough. Nor was Pettitte. Nor was the medical testimony. Nor were lots of circumstantial evidence. But, if you do the math, the totality of the evidence casts a large, dark shadow of guilt over Clemens. If you read the transcripts, you see those hostile to Clemens are all over the map in their lines of attack. (If you want to read the most sophisticated, interesting, and thoughtful line of questioning, read Representative Elijah Cumming's questions--both rounds. Truly insightful.) The disjunction in the lines of inquiry makes sense if they were concerned with multiple data points as the best way to come to a conclusion.

Finally, as a scholar of law and courts, I couldn't help thinking that the congressional hearings made courts look good. Most members of the committee had come to a conclusion before the hearing. (The fact that Clemens met with 19 committee members before the hearing likely explains this predisposition and raises ethical questions.) Several of the committee members asked irrelevant and/or ill-informed questions. They seemed more concerned with protecting specific interests than with realizing the truth or, perhaps more importantly, using the hearings as a means of crafting future policy. I complain regularly about the shortcomings of adjudicative institutions but, today, I found myself feeling better about judicial competency, if only in comparison.

Capital Area Primaries (with a splash of Sox)

Two of my former domiciles (Maryland and DC) host primaries on Tuesday. I think Obama looks very strong in Virginia and DC but I'm not as certain about Maryland. Given the large number of African American voters in The Free State, Obama should do well but Clinton seems to have done well in the "bluest" of states, which would include Maryland.

On the Republican state, I think it will be very interesting to watch Virginia. Southern Virginia might as well be included in the Bible Belt and should favor Huckabee. However, Virginia is a good military state (think the Hampton Roads cities--Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, etc., etc.) and they may pull heavily for McCain. The balance may rest in Northern Virginia, which is the most moderate part of the state, and the Independents that reside therein. (Virginia has an open primary system.) I think McCain likely takes Virginia (and I'd be stunned if he doesn't take Maryland and DC) but it will be an interesting race to watch.

As to the Sox...In Tuesday's Globe, Eric Wilbur had a nice synopsis of the difference between the Sox teams entering 2005 and 2008 and how this is a general sign of health. Wilbur notes that the Sox will likely have an opening day roster where "a little less than a third of the roster will be homegrown talent." I count 28% (including Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Buchholz, Papelbon, and Delcarmen). If you think Moss will make the opening day roster then it would make 32% but I don't think there is much chance of that unless Crisp gets traded since there aren't enough roster slots to carry five outfielders unless you carry only 11 pitchers.

Happy Truck Day!! (More on Schilling)

Happy Truck Day! (For those of you not familiar with Truck Day, it is the day the equipment truck leaves Fenway Park for Fort Myers.) But Truck Day eve brought a rather odd report from the Boston Globe that there is significant disagreement about the extent of Schilling's injury. The report casts a pitched battle between Schilling's personal surgeon, Dr. Craig Morgan, and the Red Sox medical staff. Dr. Morgan argues that resting and rehabbing Schilling’s shoulder has no chance of success as the shoulder has too much structural damage and must be repaired surgically. He also contends that, if Schilling has the surgery, he would be back around the All-Star game. The Red Sox maintain that surgery will end Schilling’s season. Because of the disagreement, the Sox and Schilling are using a third-party doctor for another opinion. Schilling has posted his side of the story but he seems willing (or required?) to go along with the Sox’s wishes.

I have nothing to offer in the way of analysis since I’m not a medical doctor, but this story is sufficiently bizarre that I find it troubling. Schilling’s doctor spoke directly to the Boston Globe, there seem to be leaks coming from the front office, and the story pits Schilling against the management. The story is sufficiently distasteful that it reminds me of the kind of stories in 2005 that concluded with Theo Epstein in a gorilla suit and an extended vacation. John Henry and Theo put the kibosh on the old front office culture but, when these stories break in this way, they echo back to a chapter that is best left closed.

Shoulder Shelves Schilling

Word from the Boston Globe has Curt Schilling ailing (perhaps significantly) from a bum right shoulder. There seems to be some measure of dispute over whether he will require surgery but, if he does, then his season will likely be finished before the first game of the regular season. Schilling's injury places two recent front office moves in sharper focus. First, as noted a few posts ago, the Sox took Jon Lester off the table in the Santana negotiations. With the injury to Schilling, the move makes more sense than a sudden epiphony about the degree of Lester's talents. Second, the Sox recently signed Bobby Kielty to a minor league contract, which, at the time, was explained by an "if Crisp is traded" addendeum. At the time, trading Crisp looked unlikely but now the Sox have a "need" for more starting pitching. (Need is relative and I'll elaborate below.) It appears more likely now that Crisp will be packaged in a trade that brings another starting pitcher to the Sox. You may be asking why the Sox would "need" more starting pitching given that Buchholz easily slides into the rotation and, arguably, improves the rotation (at least early in the season). Keep in mind that Theo Epstein has said many times that he learned from the 2005 season that there is no such thing as too much pitching and success usually depends on having more than five capable starters on which to rely throughout a season. Last year, the Sox entered with Lester in the minors. This year, the plan (I think) was for Buchholz to start in the minors. There is no clear sixth starter in Pawtucket unless David Pauley or Devern Hansack start pitching lights out or Justin Masterson dominates his way to AAA early in the season.

So, in The World According to Theo, the Sox need more pitching. The question becomes who is available for what the Sox are willing to part with. Obviously, Crisp is on the table as is Jed Lowrie who is blocked in the infield and unlikely to see much time unless Julio Lugo is totally unproductive. The Sox could also part with either Masterson or Michael Bowden although such talent would have to net significant return talent. Nick Hagadone is an intriguing chip given that the Sox have much less invested in him and his outstanding performance in low-A last year. So, what would a Crisp, Lowrie, and Masterson/Bowden/Hagadone trade net the Sox?

Joe Blanton(?)

Blanton is intriguing for several reasons. The Sox would get a power righty that could easily fill the number 3 or 4 position left open by Schilling. Blanton is also a fairly reasonable pitcher at roughly $18 million over the next three years (give or take depending on arbitration). And, the A's have let it be known that Blanton is available for the right offer? Is this the right offer? I'm not sure. Personally, I think the inclusion of Bowden or Masterson is probably too much and, quite likely, the Sox would have to pick up some of Crisp's salary. But, the A's need a quality center fielder on the cheap. They also need a middle infielder that can back up the oft injured Bobby Crosby and fill in at second to spell Mark Ellis. Crisp and Lowrie fit the bill quite well. And, the inclusion of a quality minor league arm helps the A's in their rebuilding effort. On the whole, it looks like the deal would be possible but, of course, this is just speculation. But I rather like the deal for both teams.

Roger's Rules of Evidence

The Associated Press is reporting that Brian McNamee turned over physical evidence linking Clemens to the use of performance enhancing drugs. The evidence includes vials (containing traces of steroids and HGH), blood stained syringes, and gauze pads. As I've noted before on The Foul Pole, I believe that Clemens used performance enhancing drugs and think that both on-field and off-field evidence makes a very solid case against Clemens. At first blush, should the DNA evidence verify that the blood belonged to Clemens, then it will be one more drop in the cascading flood of evidence. Yet, despite being a Clemens-hater, I'm particularly uncomfortable with this development. Brian McNamee has kept physical evidence against his avowed friend for seven years because (quoting the AP) "he feared Clemens would deny illicit drug use if the matter was ever investigated." Wow. That is some serious foresight on the part of McNamee. So, he anticipated a congressional (or other significant government) inquiry, his implication in the use of performance enhancing drugs, Clemens's implication and his denial, the potential for incarceration, and the need to produce evidence? Maybe he did. McNamee obviously kept some old stuff that most medical professionals throw away immediately after use. But, the link between Clemens blood and the vials of PEDs seems easily fabricated. Any lawyer would have a field day with physical evidence that appears in the hands of the person who has the greatest interest in proving the validity of his statements and, oh, by the way, the evidence is seven years old and likely kept in conditions unfavorable to the preservation of physical evidence.

The decision to produce the materials in the first place is likely a reflection of the value society places on physical evidence. It is considered neutral, disinterested, scientific, and, often, definitive. Yet, physical evidence can only tell part of the story and, in this case, the part of the story to be told (that Clemens used PEDs) doesn't seem particularly aided its production. I may be jumping the gun here since I don't know the full nature of the materials produced. But, I find the development a bit troubling as it sets up an easy target for Team Clemens to knock down and, in so doing, casting doubt on some of McNamee's stronger claims. In so doing, Clemens may be aided by McNamee's production of "corroborative physical evidence" rather than further indicted.

Super Tuesday: Yes We Can

Super Tuesday has finally arrived. Go out and vote if you live in a Super Tuesday state.

Oh, and...Yes we can.

Sox Spring Training Preview: The Rotation

We have entered the worst time of year for sports. Football is finished (and, no, the Pro Bowl doesn't count). Baseball has yet to begin. (Basketball and hockey are in the middle of very long seasons so their games feel unimportant to the casual fan.) March madness is still weeks away. During such times, raved sports fans look for signs of hope and The Foul Pole gladly brings you some: pitchers and catchers report in one week.

Ah, pitchers and catchers...It is one of the best times of the year. Hope springs eternal as leather and wood is flashed under the Florida and Arizona skies. For many teams, there is less discussion of who will make the team out of spring training but there is often a few slots up for grab that lead to extended discussions in bars and bodegas across the country (or, at least, in those parts of the country where baseball is king). To that end, I thought I'd start a series of rather uninsightful pieces that highlight the roster battles on the Red Sox. There are only three that are up in the air (and the uncertainty is much less with the Sox than most teams): Starting Rotation (Lester v. Buchholz), Bullpen (carrying 6 or 7 relievers and who those people should be), and Bench (there is only a personnel debate if the Sox carry 5 on the bench because of carry 11 pitchers).

Let's start with the rotation: Spring training performance could determine whether it is Lester or Buchholz who starts the season in the rotation. Going in to spring training, Lester has to be the favorite. Rumors coming out of the Santana trade stated that the Sox increasingly did not wish to part with Lester and, given his experience in the rotation last year, he will likely get the nod. The biggest knock on Lester is his inconsistency. His K/BB ratio was 1.61 last year and not pounding the zone tends to limit the number of innings Lester can complete. No one doubts his stuff and, if he shows greater consistency, he'll be a lock for the rotation.

However, should Lester start in the majors, it can be argued the second best arm on the Sox will start in Pawtucket. Baseball Prospectus recently rated Clay Buchholz the second best prospect in all of baseball and his no-hitter last season spoke to how good his stuff is. Buchholz has also added some meat to his frame in preparation of being in the rotation all season. The Sox may want to start him in the minors to limit his innings so that he will be relatively fresh for the second half of the season. And, given that the Sox have two 40+ year old starters, there is certainly a possibility that injury could bring Buchholz to the rotation earlier than July.

Likely Rotation on Opening Day: Beckett, Matsuzaka, Schilling, Wakefield, and Lester.

Graber on KNPR: Dred Scott and the Problem of Constitutional Evil

Mark A. Graber appeared on KNPR's State of Nevada yesterday and spoke about his recent book, the need for constitutional compromise, and the price of constitutional peace over constitutional justice. I strongly encourage you to give a listen to a profoundly topic by a truly interesting and engaging scholar of American constitutional politics. The audio is available here.