Good for What Ails You

I've been out of commission the last couple of days. A lack of a reliable home Internet connection and a virulent strain of influenza have rendered me pretty much useless. I did take note, however, of a number of important sports results over the weekend. I'll start with the Jets: Brutal loss, but I think it's the best thing for them. Rex Ryan was getting a little too big for his XXXL britches, and his defense was operating under the impression that it was the best defensive unit since Stalingrad. Reports out of New York (fine, Jersey) claim that Ryan didn't sleep after the game, opting instead to re-watch Sunday night's debacle against the Dolphins before heading over to Florham Park to devise a game plan for next week's game against the Bills. As a fan, I appreciate that, and think Ryan will get his defense back on track. My confidence was buoyed, though, by Mark Sanchez's rebound performance. He seems to have already established a pretty good rapport with Braylon Edwards, which is only going to help the team as the season unfolds. Too bad Ryan didn't leave any time on the clock for his rookie quarterback to try his hand at a comeback. Time outs are your friend, Rex. Use them accordingly. 

Despite the loss, the Jets are still in first place, because a day earlier, across the country in Denver, the Patriots coughed one up against the Broncos and Bill Belichick protege Josh McDaniels. After the loss, Belichick, true to form, orchestrated another dick move. You stay classy, coach. 

Let's see, what else? Oh, right. The Yankees took care of business, while the Red Sox finished their season with a performance worthy of the New York Mets or the '86 Sox. Jonathan Papelbon, prince of the postseason, turned into Calvin Schiraldi, giving up 2-out hit after 2-out hit until the Angels had stolen the game right from under him. I'm not going to lie. That was fun to watch. Almost as much fun as watching the much-maligned Alex Rodriguez picking up more hits than Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay and David Ortiz combined. His 6 RBI, as previously noted, were one less than the total runs the Sox managed in three games against the Angels. 

All in all, this past weekend wasn't a total waste. It was actually kind of nice.

BEN:

It's a relief to know that we've still been totally disagreeing while we've been away. I'll just tick off the things you are wrong about in the order that you incorrectly stated them.

Mark Sanchez: this is only a bounce-back performance if your definition of "effective" is "not throwing three picks." Sanchez was clearly the 2nd best rookie quarterback on the field to Chad Henne, checking in for just 172 yards (his 3rd straight game under the 200 mark) and 50% accuracy. The offense was 4-11 on third down. The offense was also aided by a much-disputed pass interference call that handed them 50 yards and a first-and-goal in a crucial situation in the 4th quarter.

Rex Ryan: I'm sure he's glad for your vote of confidence, but he sure did his best to help blow this game. His failure to conserve timeouts was, per his own admission, caused by arrogantly assuming the Dolphins wouldn't get into the end zone, and his histrionics after the fact are pretty unbecoming. What's left for him to do in the (admittedly unlikely) event that they lose next Sunday?

Bill Belichick: feels like you're fishing for insults here. Is it a dick move to agree on something in advance and then do it? Does it complicate your view of things to learn that the two of them met up after the game? That McDaniels has tremendous admiration and respect for his former boss? That this is the dumbest non-story of the week?

The Red Sox: actually, you're not wrong about anything here. Very disappointing, but I think we all suspected the Sox might not have it this year. I don't blame Papelbon too much--this ship was on its way out. He thrives on the excitement, and, I'll be honest, it wasn't there during the ALDS. There will be much to examine this offseason, but we can revisit that after the inevitable Yankee lovefest that will come over the next few weeks.

A-Rod: Interesting thing about him--apart from two bad series for the Yankees in '05 and '06, he's actually always been a pretty good postseason hitter. I say this not because I like him--indeed I would like to emphasize that I have no interest in ever having to root for Alex Rodriguez, and have to think most Yankee boosters, somewhere deep down, envy that about other fans--but because it shows that it's not all about the numbers. What A-Rod has is an incredible knack for the wrong headlines. The Madonna thing, the strip club, shirtless in central park, opting out of his contract in the middle of the world series, false accusations about the reporter who outed him as a steroid user, the slap. He has perhaps the most negative intangibles of any player working.

Has he worked out how not to be a total weirdo? Maybe. He certainly turned in a great ALDS. But forgive me if I'm holding off judgment until after the postseason is over.

MILES:

Don't worry: A-Rod will always be a total weirdo.