- Maybe it’s just me, but if I’m a Major League Baseball player my team is slowly but surely pissing away its playoff chances and has been soundly thumped by its main rival in six of the last seven meetings between the two, I’d be all for any personnel move that could make my squad better. That’s how I would think, but Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is taking a different approach. With the Sox poised to acquire New York Mets reliever Billy Wagner, Papelbon is taking a less-than-enthusiastic point of view on the potential trade. After Wagner was placed on waivers by the Mets, the Red Sox put in a claim on the left-handed power pitcher and now one of three things can happen. The Mets could pull Wagner back off waivers and keep him for the rest of the season (not happening), the two teams could work out a trade or the Mets could simply let Wagner go without receiving anything in return. When news of Wagner’s possible acquisition reached Papelbon, he wanted none of it. "What has he done? Has he pitched this year?" Papelbon said an interview. "Is he ready to pitch or is he not? ... I think our bullpen is good where we're at right now. Don't get me wrong. But I guess you could always make it better. It's kind of like the [Eric] Gagne thing, I guess.” That last comment would be a reference to the Red Sox's 2007 deadline acquisition of Eric Gagne, a former all-star closer who bombed out in Boston, amassing a 6.75 ERA in 20 games with Boston. By linking him to Wagner, Papelbon isn't exactly giving a ringing endorsement to Wagner to say the least. To answer the question Papelbon posed, Wagner has pitched one scoreless inning this season after returning from Tommy John surgery, performed last September. Now that the Red Sox have claimed Wagner off waivers, the Mets have until early Tuesday afternoon to work out a deal. In a potential trade, the Red Sox would have to assume about $3.5 million still owed to Wagner for this season. If the two sides cannot agree on a trade, that’s when Wagner would likely be allowed to leave without compensation. However, if the Mets do pull him back off waivers and keep him, they would no longer be able to trade him this season. Papelbon isn't the only Red Sox player who has spoken out against this deal. Red Sox setup man Manny Delcarmen backed up his bullpen mate and he too drew parallels between Wagner and Eric Gagne. “We loved Gagne coming over here, just the stuff that he had, but it was an awkward situation this late in the season," Delcarmen explained. "I think our bullpen is fine right now.” Way to embrace a team-first mentality guys, putting the interests of the group ahead of your own egos. Hard to figure out why your season is going south so quickly…….
- It may not be “Pulp Fiction,” but Quentin Tarantino’s latest film was good enough to top the box office this weekend. "Inglourious Basterds," Tarantino’s revisionist take on WWII starring Brad Pitt, grossed an estimated $37.6 million for the top spot. That was more than good enough to dethrone reigning box office champ "District 9.” It also marked the best opening weekend for a Tarantino film, besting "Kill Bill Vol. 2," which brought in $25 million in April 2004. As for “District,” it held fairly strong in its second week of release with $18.9 million to push its total ten-day gross to $73 million. “G.I. Joe” had another solid, unspectacular week with $12.5 million and its three-week cumulative total now stands at $120 million. Rounding out the top five were chick flicks "The Time Traveler's Wife" ($10 million in its second week) and "Julie & Julia" ($9 million for a $59 million tally thus far). Among newcomers to the local multiplex, Warner Bros.’ PG-rated kid flick "Shorts" fell well short of expectations with a mere $6.6 million to finish in sixth place. That was still good enough to make it the top new film for the weekend, as it beat out Fox Searchlight's post-college flick "Post Grad" starring Alexis Bledel, which grossed only $2.8 million despite opening in 1,959 locations. Overall, the box office was up 26 percent compared to the same time last year. That actually marks three straight weeks of that happening after four weekends of extremely underwhelming box office weekends. Next weekend should be christened “Horror Sequel Weekend,” with "Halloween II" and "The Final Destination 3-D” on the way and expected to scare up some big box office dollars for their respective studios, good times……..
- This is a play straight out of the “Ailing Dictators 101” handbook. With former Cuban President Fidel Castro in hiding since he had abdominal surgery in 2006 and having ceded power to his brother Raul when he stepped down as president in February 2008, there has been rampant speculation as to the elder Castro’s health and even if he’s actually still alive (the same thing often asked of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno). And even though he’s no longer in power (supposedly), ensuring that the world believes that Fidel Castro is alive and well remains something of a priority for Cuba’s Communist government. To that end, Cuban state television has broadcast what it called recent footage of Fidel Castro, looking surprisingly healthy and well-rested. Then on Sunday, a new photo of Castro surfaced, marking the second time in 10 days that such a picture has been made public. The image, published in Cuba's state-run youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, shows the 83-year-old Castro, meeting with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. These Castro sightings are a marked change from the past three years, during which Castro has rarely been shown on Cuban TV. As for the video, it shows him speaking with a group of visiting Venezuelan students at an undisclosed location. These commie sycophants are shown presenting Castro with a T-shirt and sing, "We love you, Fidel. We love you." Now I suppose if your options are give a gift and sing or be thrown into prison for the rest of your natural life, then option A becomes admittedly better than it might initially appear. I would also be remiss if I didn’t give big ups to the makeup artists who got Castro ready for his staged photo op, er, candid moment when a camera just happened to be present. You have to see this guy, rocking a well-groomed appearance, a white short-sleeve shirt and looking every bit like he could pull a Brett Favre, unretire and be back to his Communist dictator ways today. So I guess if you’re a member of the Communist Party in Cuba (and with only one legal political party there, I suppose that would include everyone), it would be good to see your leader upright and breathing, even if that means you’re still every bit as repressed and having all of your individual freedoms stripped from you on a daily basis……….
- Maybe Jack Bauer is more of a realistic role model than we all thought. Having an interrogator break out a gun or an electric drill to convince a prisoner to cooperate certainly seems like something you would see Kiefer Sutherland do on the set of “24,” but apparently that sort of thing also happens in real life. That’s according to a long-concealed inspector-general's report due made public today, revealing that CIA interrogators threatened an al Qaeda prisoner with a gun and an electric drill to try to scare him into giving up information. Now lest you think these interrogators were totally overboard psychopaths, know that they did show restraint in using gun and drill in two separate interrogation sessions against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Al-Nashiri is accused of plotting the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which left 17 U.S. sailors dead. This report is being released, albeit in redacted form, as part of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. These Black and Decker interrogations took place in the CIA's infamous secret prisons before 2006, when then-President W. moved all detainees from such facilities to Gitmo. On top of their hardware-laden torture sessions, the inspector-general's report alleges that interrogators staged mock executions to try to frighten detainees into talking. Of course, the CIA is hiding behind the usual bureaucratic bullsh*t and double-talk in addressing the report. “The CIA in no way endorsed behavior -- no matter how infrequent -- that went beyond formal guidance. This has all been looked at; professionals in the Department of Justice decided if and when to pursue prosecution. That's how the system was supposed to work, and that's how it did work," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said. Thanks for saying a lot of words and telling us nothing, Paulie. Other sources disagree with Gimigliano’s assessment and say that the report shows that some torturers, er, interrogators did indeed violate protocol. One of these unidentified sources said about a dozen cases of potential misconduct by interrogators were referred to the Justice Department. Based on this report and other factors, Attorney General Eric Holder is considering whether to appoint a prosecutor to investigate the CIA interrogation program, begun by the W. administration after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Something tells me that legal eagles will be lining up and foaming at the mouth for a shot at that opportunity if it becomes available……..
- I definitely feel for forward Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat, who is being treated for depression-related issues at a Houston rehabilitation facility. He reportedly checked into the facility last week and at this point, it’s not known how long he will remain at the facility. Not that basketball is of the utmost importance when dealing with a serious mental health issue like depression, but the Heat do open training camp on Sept. 28 and obviously no one knows if Beasley, the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft, will be available by that point. A new photo was posted Friday to his Twitter account, in which Beasley displays a new tattoo across his shoulders and there is a small plastic bag on a nearby table. its contents unknown. Also unknown is whether Beasley was already in rehab at the time the picture was taken. Included with the picture were several comments, including "Feelin like it's not worth livin!!!!!!! I'm done" and "I feel like the whole world is against me I can't win for losin." That account has since been shut down, as was another Beasley used earlier this year. It’s an odd and disconcerting situation for a guy who definitely has his share of inner demons despite finishing his rookie season as Miami's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. But even with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley talking often this summer about utilizing Beasley more this coming season, if a person is dealing with serious depression then that wouldn’t be enough to drag them out of their depressed state. Beasley was also known amongst his Heat teammates as a slightly immature, goofy guy who often acted like a teenager. He was also fined $50,000 last September after security officers at the NBA's rookie symposium caught he and fellow rookies , Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and two women sparking up, er, detected the scent of the hippie lettuce in Beasley’s hotel room. Beasley also stated in January that there were times during his first six months as a professional that he felt "everyone was against me" and that many things "get blown out of proportion" -- referring specifically to the rookie symposium incident. All in all, this is clearly a guy who is having a difficult time dealing with the NBA lifestyle and its demands, so here’s hoping that his stint in rehab and the treatment he receives there help him to overcome his depression and find a way to lead a happy, productive life……..
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