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LONGSHOTS: Time to go to the mail bag
by Dave Long
With the Patriots undefeated, the Sox possibly on their way to the World Series, the, ahem new Big Three to debut at the new Garden and number-two-in-some-polls Boston College possibly headed to the BCS Championship game, enthusiasm in these parts is running high, to say the least. That has people asking questions, so let’s go to the mail bag and see what’s on their mind.
Dear Dave: I saw your “I Told You So” piece a few weeks back after you were right about the Yankees getting back in the race. But I haven’t heard you admit you were wrong about Randy Moss yet. Is that coming anytime soon? Tee O’Neal, 81 Popcorn St., Irving, Texas.
Dear Tee: Technically I’m not wrong. I didn’t say it wouldn’t work, I said I gave the gamble an A+ and it had a 33 percent chance of working. And while I still want to see what happens when some adversity hits, I’m willing to say two things. First: I may have been guilty (and not for the first time) of judging the book by its cover. Second: I don’t think I realized how good the peak Moss is (was) and how much respect he’s accorded by the opposition. I think it’s because he just doesn’t look like he’s running all that hard as he’s effortlessly blowing by people. And now here’s a question for you: after seeing how his presence opens up so much for everyone else, will Bill Belichick spend more than he normally would on a wide-out to retain Moss at the end of the season when he’s a free agent? Because if he keeps doing what he’s doing, you know someone else will. I’ll also add, not that I think he should, but if stays for less money then — then I’ll really be impressed. And by the way, do I get any points for saying the Wes Welker deal would turn out great? I love that guy.
Dear Dave: Do you think the Patriots could run the table to have an undefeated season? Nick Boonocanee, 85 Dolphin Marine, Key Biscayne, Fla.
Dear Nick: My basic rule on records is if somebody can set a record then someone else can break it unless rules or a game changes dramatically like it has for how pitchers are handled in baseball. That makes Cy Young’s 511 wins the most unbreakable in sports. When the Dolphins did it, they had it easier and harder than now. Harder because their quarterback Bob Griese went down until the playoffs after game five. So they did it with back-up Earl Morrill at QB. Easier because they played a 14-game schedule and faced just two teams (who were both just 8-6) with winning records. Still it’s a sensational accomplishment. As for the Patriots, in case you haven’t noticed, the Colts are still unbeaten too and they meet in Indy on Nov. 4, so see me after that one. But having said that, they’ve already won 22 in a run over two years, which included a run through the playoffs, so why not?
Deer Dave: What do you think Johnny Most would say to Larry Bird, if he showed up at Fenway like Lebron James did at the ALDS in Cleveland wearing a YANKEE hat? ????!!! Antwaan W. Alker, 16 Bodyphat Lane, Miami, Fla.
Dear Antwaan: Johnny wouldn’t have time to get to Larry; I think the Nation would kill even Tom Brady the day after he threw those five TD passes if he tried to do something that dumb at Fenway.
Dear Dave: You have any problem with the way Terry Francona is managing in the playoffs? Heyden (King) Edwards, 175D Contactsport Drive, Bedford, N.H.
Dear Hey: I know some are on him about using the struggling Eric Gagne, but I’d have done the same thing. I can’t believe what he’s turned into since getting here either. He took some heat for not forcing Manny to play when things got tight and he turned out to be right. The only thing I’d do differently is play Jacoby Ellsbury in center. Rookie, schmookie. He’s a dynamic player who makes things happen in ways that Coco Crisp doesn’t, like hitting .350 in September, which didn’t look like a mirage to me. So on the whole, though, I think Tito’s a keeper.
Dear Dave: I like your Sports 101 questions, so now I’ve got one for you. Dustin Pedroia’s .317 average was the sixth-best average ever by a Red Sox rookie. Name the other five. Larry Mondello, 12 Beavercleaver Dr., Stockdale, Calif.
Dear Larry: It wasn’t Yaz (.266), Nomar (.306), Jim Rice, Mo Vaughn (.234) or even Tris Speaker (.309), who, oh by the way, hit .344 lifetime with the Sox and Indians. I would have bet my Brooks Robinson autographed mitt he was among ’em. There’s Ted Williams, of course. He hit .327 with 31 homers and 145 RBI in 1939. And if I didn’t get Wade Boggs I should forfeit the prized Robby glove as well. He hit 349 over 100 games in 1982 and if that doesn’t count as a full year for you, he hit 361 the next. Then there’s the never-should-have-left-Fenway Fred Lynn, who was Rookie of the Year and MVP after hitting .331 with 22 home runs and knocking in 105. Johnny Pesky hit .331 in 1941, which was the first of three straight seasons with over 200 hits. The final one was big Walt Dropo (who once had a summer house in Freedom, N.H.). He was as good a rookie as Williams was 11 years later in 1950 when he hit .322 with 34 homers and knocked in a whopping 144!
Dear Dave: For a place that hasn’t produced many big-time college players, what do you make of local duo of Dan Mullen and Chip Kelly being offensive gurus for some very interesting college football stories this fall? Sid Gilman, 19 Alworth Dr., San Diego, Calif.
Dear Sid: I don’t really know what to make of it. All I know is that not all that long after they played at Trinity and Central they’re making their mark nationally in college football. Trinity’s Mullen was calling the plays when Florida won the National Championship last January. And Kelly hasn’t missed a beat since moving to Oregon after orchestrating the Ricky Santos show at the U. The 5-1 Ducks have scored over 50 three times already and are averaging 45.2 points a game. And in a year or two we might be adding Central’s Ryan (make my) Day to this group. He was the QB under Kelly at the U in the late 1990s, worked under Mullen at Florida and is now the wide receiver coach at number-two-in-the-nation Boston College. I don’t know what it is, but I do love seeing it.
Dave Long can be reached at dlong@hippopress.com. He hosts the Absolute Sports Experience at Billy’s Sports Bar in Manchester each Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon that is broadcast live on WGAM The Game, 1250-AM Manchester, 900-AM-Nashua.
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