Welcome to the Semi-Monthly Sports Related Breakdown

So much to discuss, dear readers, so much to discuss.  I am like a kid in a candy store, if all the candy in the store was shaped like sporting equipment, and smelled like freshly mowed grass.  Or something.

First to baseball:  The hot stove has been...well...hot, what with my beloved Red Sox making a big move in the past week, by trading for Adrian Gonzalez.  Let me be the 1 millionth person to say that I LOVE this trade.  Love the fact that the Sox got it done in the off-season, instead of waiting for the trading deadline when the price would have certainly gone up. Love the fact that he fills the hole in the lineup left by Victor Martinez.  Love the fact that he plays gold glove caliber defense. Did the Sox give up value to get value?  Of course.  That kid Casey Kelly will be a star someday, especially pitching in that canyon of a ball park in San Diego, where home runs and doubles turn into long flyball outs.

Welcome to Boston, Adrian!  While you're here, feel free to take that outside pitch to left-center, you'll be glad you did. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Before I move on, I must comment on the Jayson Werth deal made by the local DC nine.  I believe the terms were 7 years, 126 million.  This deal prompted me to write an open letter to the Nationals--here's a quick reprint of said letter:

"Dear Nationals Front Office:

You just overspent for outfield help.  Not just by a little, mind you, but by a whole, whole lot.  Jayson Werth for 7 years?  Are you insane?  Jayson Werth is a good player, not a great player.  Sure, the Yankees or Red Sox would have paid him this much, but in NY or Boston he would only have been a piece of the puzzle, and not expected to be one of the two pillars that carries your entire offense.  And he wasn't getting 7 years anywhere, not even in the Mexican league.

This is why the rest of the GM's at the winter meetings cannot look you in the eye without smirking.  They are not, as they maintain, "thinking about something funny they saw earlier."  Nope.  

Oh, and I'm not sure you've heard, but he's injury prone.  Congratulations, you just signed the free agent class of 2010's version of J.D. Drew."

Sorry, i felt like I needed to get that off my chest.  Twice.

Now, to Soccer: Newcastle United have sacked their manager, Chris Hughton,  this week.  This is same guy that got us promoted into the Premier League last year with a record number of points, and who brought some much needed stability and dignity to a club that is regularly chided for their soap opera antics and irrational decision making.  Plus, the players in the dressing room LOVED playing for him. 

Look, all I wanted from the Toon this year was a quiet season of consolidation.  NUFC are newly promoted, after all.  I was looking for maybe 53 points this year, and a comfy 12th place finish (they currently sit 11th in the table).  But NO...Our fat, clueless, idiotic owner has to go rocking the boat.  Were there inconsistent, poor results this year? Sure.  But that's to be expected--the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and judging by the overall standings, it was plain to see by all except NUFC management that the club was trending upwards.  Twelve months ago, they were playing AWAY at Scunthorpe for God's sake!  This year, they've already beat Arsenal away and DESTROYED Sunderland.  Some perspective would be nice, is all I'm saying.  

The smart money is on Martin Jol to replace him--the former manager of Ajax, who quit his job in Holland six hours after Hughton was fired.  That seems too fishy to be coincedence.  Listen: Jol is a good manager, and I hope he gets the job.  But how much improvement is he expected to give to a club that ain't all that talented to begin with?  Maybe up to10th?  And is that worth throwing away 18 months of stability for?  I don't think so.

Until there is a change at the top, this kind of nonsense will continue, and I'll continue to have to take crap from all my EPL loving friends. Can anyone out there with 100 million laying around do me a solid and buy this team? Anyone?  (Note to self:  Make friends with more millionaires).

(One of these guys is the owner of Newcastle United Football Club.  No. Seriously.)