With two weeks to go the Playoff picture is firming up. While most of the divisions are decided, some of the Wild Cards are still in play.

In the NFC, the Cowboys and Packers are in control of the two wild cards, but the Giants are still alive and could take the spot if they win out.

The AFC is a bit more confusing, the Ravens and Broncos control their own destiny, but the Jaguars, Jets, Steelers, and Dolphins still are all in the playoff hunt. (Technically the Patriots and Bengals haven’t clinched yet, but that should just be a formality).

I think we will see the Cowboys and Packers in the NFC and the Ravens and Jaguars make the playoffs in the AFC. What do you guys think?

Tonight’s game was originally supposed to be meaningful NFC East game, but now is barely on the radar of most sports fans. The Redskins completely fell on their face this season and have struggled their way to a 4-9 record. The Giants came out of the gate firing, starting out 5-0. Since then they have gone just 2-6 and are holding on to their playoff hopes by the skin of their teeth. The good news for the Giants is they play the Redskins, who up until a few weeks ago looked like a gimme win for a team like the Giants. The bad news for the Giants is a couple of things have changed for the Redskins in the last few weeks.

First, they realized that scoring more points than your opponent is the recipe for success in the NFL. Their patchwork offensive line has held up fairly well, and opened a few running lanes. Their new play-calling approach is surprisingly working, and creating a more potent attack. Their new offensive approach also seems to be helping the defense (looking up at the scoreboard and seeing a lead must be a nice change), by keeping opposing offenses off the field. Right now the Redskins look like the team we all expected at the beginning of the season.

The second thing that has changed for Washington is the resigning of Vinny Cerrato, who is replaced by Bruce Allen as General Manager. While the move seems insignificant to an outsider, or even something that could negatively impact a team, any Redskin insider knows that this is maybe the best news since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1991. Cerrato was reviled by fans (and from the sounds of it, around the league), and responsible for some horrible moves during his tenure for the Redskins. With Cerrato gone, fans can breathe a little easier and have hope that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Even if this same reaction isn’t amongst the players, this is bad news for the Giants because fans now have something to cheer about tonight, despite the Skins record (or the temperature).

Anytime the Giants and Redskins meet its always a great game, and given the Redskins recent mini-turnaround I’d expect a pretty close game tonight. In the end, the Giants are the better team and have more to play for. I think they squeak out a 27-24 victory.

Last night the Dallas Cowboys came to play, and despite the best efforts of Nick Folk Drew Brees the Saints could not stay undefeated. It was a game that was huge for both teams, not only was the Saints drive for perfection on the line, but the Cowboys needed a win to stay atop the playoff picture. The Cowboys deserve a ton of credit for the way they played that game last night.

The Saints have had some close calls this season, but no team has taken it to them like the Cowboys did last night. Dallas was hitting on all cylinders. On offense Tony Romo played one of his best games all season, and the offensive line gave him pretty good protection. The Dallas ground game contributed 145 yards and two touchdowns, picking up some tough first downs along the way. The best part about the Dallas offense was the fact they were able to hold on to the ball (over 36 minutes), and keep Drew Brees off the field. When Brees did have the ball the Cowboys made him look like an ordinary quarterback (which is still good, but quite the down grade for the Saints).  With the exception of one long run by Reggie Bush, the Cowboys stopped the Saints running game cold (being up by 21 points in the second half didn’t hurt matters either). Dallas really did an excellent job against the Saints passing attack, their defensive backs had great coverage and their defensive line applied the pressure. The Cowboys ended the game with four sacks (including two forced fumbles, one that literally ended the game), but applied tremendous pressure all throughout. They messed with Drew Brees’ rhythm, and were really the key to the victory.

All is not lost with the Saints, they are still the top seed in the NFC and should be a favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. While I realize its tough to see that loss, especially knowing that their last two games are against the Buccaneers and Panthers (two games they should easily win), they are still an excellent football team. Their defense has begun to scare me though, as they have let three straight teams go up and down the field on them.

The Cowboys for their part did what they need to do. They answered the questions about their December curse last night, and set themselves up in a prime spot for the playoffs. In fact, if they win out they will win the division. Their defense played a tremendous game yesterday, and the play of DeMarcus Ware was a sight to see. He was in the Saints backfield so much you would have thought he was on the other team. And what was more impressive was the fact he was playing hurt. On offense Romo played a great game, and hung in there and made plays with his feet. If the Cowboys can get to the playoffs they are a team that could get hot and go on a run.

The real question for Dallas is who will their kicker be the rest of the season, because it will not be Nick Folk. He is AWFUL right now. How do you miss wide (or hit the goal post) when you are from the 24 yard line in the center of the field? What’s worse is they showed clips of him during warm-ups and he was missing everything (as he’s done all season). Folk has to be cleaning out his locker now, and Dallas will need someone decent if they hope to go deep into the postseason.

This has to be one of the dumbest stories I’ve ever read of a professional sports league imposing a fine. Usually (not always) I support a league for fining a player or coach for their excessive behavior, be it language, fighting, criticism of the refs, or celebration. There needs to be proper etiquette and decorum in the league. Players, coaches, owners and refs should all respect the history and tradition of their league. So when I heard that Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings was fined for tweeting I thought he did something to warrant it. So when I read to find out what inappropriate comment or criticism he made I was shocked to read his tweet: “Back to 500. Yess!!! ’500′ means were doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys.”

Now what could be wrong with that? He is writing a positive comment about his team, showing them support and congratulating everyone who helped out with the win. He didn’t criticize anyone or make the post about himself. He supported his teammates and franchise and is communicating with the fans. While twitter is the ultimate self-promotion (which I too will take part in when I tweet this story), it is also promoting the NBA and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have been a struggling franchise for years now, this team needs all the promotion and bright spots possible. While Twitter and tweeting can have plenty of issues, this is a case how it is used in its purest and most honest form. Jennings was communicating with fans, in an appropriate that shows respect for the game and not the individual. Isn’t that exactly what the NBA should want? So often professional athletes have a me first attitude, Twitter is a way for all fans to interact with their favorite players and teams, and while there are plenty of instances of abuse this is not one of them.

Now I understand the NBA’s rule that states that a player can’t tweet during “game time”, which is defined as between 45 minutes before the game, until after they’ve finished their media session after the game. So yes Jennings broke the NBA rule, but he wasn’t tweeting from the sideline with a minute to go. Nor did he tweet during halftime or a timeout. He tweeted from the locker room after the game. I can totally understand not tweeting during the game, and maybe even before the game. But after the clock hits 0:00? That just seems like a little much. I understand that players must be made available to the media (and the fans) after the game. But how long did it take Jennings to write that tweet, a minute and a half tops. I don’t think he held anyone up, and in fact he beat everyone to the punch, because he communicated with the fans (and the media) through his tweet. Hopefully the NBA may revise their after game tweeting policy and worry more about content, than punishing a 20 year old who is excited to be a part of an improving team.

Last night the Colts did not look like a team that was going to let up and had nothing to play for, as pundits had been saying all week. Yes they might have the number 1 seed locked up, but they are taking nothing for granted. Last night’s game marked the 7th time this season the Colts have come from behind in the 4th quarter to win the game. While it might not be their number one goal, a perfect season seems to be reason enough to not rest their stars, and I tend to agree with them.

Perfect season or not, I always think its a mix bag to rest your stars and starters so much at the end of the regular season (and not just because of fantasy reasons). Teams that do so, already have a bye lined up in the first round, so you are talking about giving them two or more weeks off compared to the usual one bye week. A number of times in recent memory, those teams then subsequently get beat at home in their first playoff game. The Giants last season, and the Cowboys and Colts the year before, were 1st or 2nd seeds that rested their players for at least a half of their final regular season game, only to lose in the divisional round (those are only the most recent examples). What’s even more troubling is all three of these teams lost their final regular season game as well. Its not as though they were resting players because they were up by a couple of touchdowns. By resting a few star players (especially your quarterback) on offense, I think it screws up the timing and crispness of the of the offensive attack. It just doesn’t seem to make any sense to me when you are a team that has won 12 or more games, why would you want to concede a win at the end of the season? I think that can take away the fire and drive of team, and resting for two weeks only compounds that.

Now I know what proponents for resting players say, about avoiding injury and keeping players fresh, and I get that. If you have everything wrapped up, I wouldn’t send out a player who’s not 100% to play in a game. But outside of that, I fail to see how you are avoiding injury. We see players get injured every year by doing non-football related activities or in practice, are we going to put these players in protective bubbles? Players could also get injured on the first play of their first playoff game, there is no predictive factor on when someone is getting injured. Yes, I understand that by resting them, players aren’t taking hits that could cause an injury. But remember if a running back or any ball carrier goes a couple of weeks without taking a major hit in a game, then he could be more likely to fumble the first time he is hit in the playoffs.

I think what’s more intriguing than the injury issue, is that proponents of  resting players will say there is no real evidence that resting players in week 17 causes them to lose in the playoffs. Now I get that there is some truth to that, obviously in the playoffs the competition is tougher so its easier for a 13-3 or 14-2 team to falter, because they are playing another quality team. And there are also cases of teams who do rest players in the regular season, who do go far into the postseason. While both of those points are true, they completely ignore the one or more teams each season who do fall victim to the time off. What’s more is this experience isn’t just a football phenomenon. While the circumstances may be different, we see in every sport teams that have a large amount of time off between playoff series come out completely flat and lose the next series. Now in other sports its not by choice, but rather they sweep their earlier opponents, but it seems to be a chronic issue. I think its pretty well a given that in football the one sport where you can avoid too long of a layover, you should.

I thought what the Colts did last night was the right way to play it. They rested some of their defensive stars for the majority of the game. And were extremely cautious with anyone who has a nagging injury. In the end though their big time offensive stars played the whole game and looked really good. Manning was more or less perfect, and Wayne and Clark were unstoppable when they needed to be. Right now this is a team that is running on all cylinders, and I hope they stay that way. I don’t see why you mess with a good thing. And as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Washington Redskins’ fans woke up this morning to exciting news that could be the first move in returning Washington to respectability and prominence in the NFL. Executive vice-president of football operations Vinny Cerrato resigned this morning, a move that all Redskins fans could come together and agree is the right move for this franchise. Cerrato is in his 2nd stint with Washington, and his title has changed over the years, but he has always had a major role in free agency, trades and the NFL Draft. The results of those three acquisitions should have had Cerrato removed years ago, but 2 playoff runs in the last 6 years (both under Joe Gibbs) have helped him keep his job. Now after two straight losing seasons, Cerrato can’t avoid the accountability of the Redskins failures any longer.

Cerrato handpicked Jim Zorn as the Redskins headcoach and literally picked almost the entire coaching staff without Zorn’s input. Cerrato also has had complete control of the Redskins drafts these last two seasons. Including 2008 when they traded back to select two receivers and a tight end in the 2nd round, despite having Santana Moss, Antwan Randel-El, and Chris Cooley already on the roster. He traded away draft picks in bad trades (Jason Taylor). His moves this past offseason were much better. Albert Haynesworth is one of the best players in the league and a huge reason why Andre Carter and Brian Orakpo both have double digit sack figures. DeAngelo Hall has been the Redskins best corner back and leads the team in interceptions, and Derrick Dockery has been Washington’s best offensive lineman. On top of those big signings, Cerrato selected Brian Orakpo in the first round of the NFL Draft. Orakpo has made a huge impact this season, and could possibly be heading to the Pro Bowl this February. Despite these moves the Redskins are 4-9 and are in last place in the NFC East.

With Cerrato out, the Redskins need a new General Manager, one who hopefully understands the importance of the draft and draft day trades (Cerrato made some AWFUL deals). Also one that understand the importance of the offensive line, as the Redskins have practically ignored the offensive line in the draft. While they’ve signed some big name free agents, they’ve never brought in any quality back-ups. In fact Cerrato’s approach to the offensive line was more reminiscent of an Arena football offensive line than an NFL offensive line. The other issue with Cerrato is he would get too hung-up on the big name players and forget to look at the age or the team chemistry aspect when it came to free agency. Some of his moves worked, but a number of them also failed.

The Redskins need an elder statesman, (not necessarily defined by age, just time in the league) to give them the respect this franchise deserves. Cerrato didn’t give them that, and is probably a big reason why they couldn’t find a big name coach two years ago. Now the Redskins can only hope that their move for a G.M. can help them secure one of the many big name coaches on the market this offseason, and return them to respectability. One thing for certain is this move will energize the Redskins fans for MNF against the Giants this week. Christmas came early for fans and I think they will be out in full force to voice their happiness against Eli, the Giants and their playoff hopes.

With yesterday’s report of Mike Holmgren possibly becoming the new King of Cleveland, now seems like a good time to look at what that will mean for him and the Browns. Also, we should look at how quickly head coach Eric Mangini pack his bags, which in my estimation he should be packing already.

Holmgren to the Cleveland Browns seems like a perfect match. Holmgren has already been an integral part of taking two perpetually losing franchises and putting them on the map. The Browns are one of the most storied franchises of the NFL, but their success is well in the past, and has been non-existent since the return of the Browns a decade ago. Holmgren would immediately give the Browns credibility, and finally give them someone who can make sound trades and quality draft picks.

The Browns aren’t a bad team, they’ve just been severely mismanaged. I like the defensive talent they have on the team with big time players. Guys like Shaun Rodgers, Corey Williams, D’Qwell Jackson, and Kamerion Wimbley could start on any team. Safety Brodney Pool is developing into a big time playmaker. Pool along with young players like SS Abram Elam and CB Eric Wright, give the Browns a promising secondary. Unfortunately for the Browns, the results on defense aren’t what you’d expect given the level of talent. The Browns haven’t formed one cohesive unit, leaving them open to exploitation by opposing offenses. Also their schemes have been somewhat unimaginative, and not getting the most out of their players. I believe all that can and will change if Holmgren is running the show in Cleveland. He is a no nonsense guy, and his coaching staff will force the Browns to work together as a team and demand the most out of their players.

On offense the Browns lack the talent they have on defense, but the cupboard isn’t completely bare. Along the offensive line the Browns have a solid-good left side of the line with Joe Thomas at tackle and Eric Steinbach at guard. Steinbach is a great interior lineman, who despite being a bit smaller than most guards, blocks with the best of them. Thomas has been up and down since being drafted third overall in the 2007 draft, but he’s still a top notch tackle. At center, rookie Alex Mack has done a pretty good job of handling the elite nose tackles of the AFC North. The right side of the line has been the Achilles Heel of the Browns this season, and will need a drastic upgrade in the offseason. The Browns biggest problem is their lack of playmakers on offense. Josh Cribbs is a terrific weapon and a home run threat any time he touches the ball, but the problem is he’s not touching it enough on offense (and no I don’t think he should be solely converted to a running back). The real issue with Cribbs is there is no other offensive player worth covering over him. If the Browns had better options among there receivers than maybe you could find a way to get Cribbs open. As it stands now he’s the only threat they have. The Browns running attack will only get worse next year when its expected that Jamal Lewis will retire, leaving one of the league’s worse rushing teams without their ‘best’ runner. At quarterback I’m not as critical of Brady Quinn as others are, just in the way he has been used this season. There is no reason that Derek Anderson should have played as much as he did, considering how bad his numbers were. Benching Quinn for a half or a game I can understand, you are trying to send a message to your young quarterback and team. But benching him for 5 1/2 weeks is insane. Quinn needed all the time he could get this season, to see if he is legit NFL starting quarterback. You can’t take a third of the season away from him and still expect to answer that question. I don’t think Quinn is elite, but if they gave him some actual weapons and improved that offensive line, I do feel he could be a solid quarterback in this league.

It is because of the way he handled Quinn, if not for the other screw ups on offense, that Mangini needs to be replaced by the new regime. Mangini may know how to run an offense (though there is yet to be any evidence of that in Cleveland), but he knows nothing of running a team. From day one he offended the top players on the Browns, creating divisions in the locker room. Not to mention the fact, that at one time he benched his best offensive lineman (Steinbach) in mini-camps, and allowed a promising young rookie to practice without pads on (RB James Davis), only to see him get injured is lunacy. If Holmgren takes the job his first order of business needs to be replacing Mangini.

That brings us to the only negative with hiring a guy like Holmgren to take over football operations in Cleveland, is who does he bring in as coach? I think you can cross off your list the other big name coaches like Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan. While all of those guys would form an “Unholy Alliance” in Cleveland, none of them would likely want to work under another “coach”. One big name that could be a possibility would be John Gruden. Yes Gruden just signed an extension with MNF, but deals like that can be broken if needed. Remember Gruden got his start in the NFL under Holmgren, first in San Francisco and next in Green Bay. Also Gruden was born in Ohio and went to college there. A Holmgren-Gruden marriage is possible and could be the recipe for returning the Browns to greatness.

This 3 (or 4)-team mega deal isn’t 100% finalized yet but is close enough that I think we can dissect it properly.

The Deal:

Seattle Mariners acquire: Cliff Lee (signed for 2010 for $9 million)

Philadelphia Phillies acquire: Roy Halladay (signed for 2010 for $15.75 million) and $6 million from the Toronto Blue Jays, and LHP Phillippe Aumont (AA), CF Tyson Gillies (A+), RHP Juan Ramirez (A+) from the Seattle Mariners

Toronto Blue Jays acquire: RHP Kyle Drabek (AA), C Travis D’Arnaud (A-) From Philadelphia, and 1B/3B Brett Wallace (AAA) from the Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics acquire: OF Michael Taylor (AAA)

*Note the Athletics-Toronto portion doesn’t have anything to do with the overall Halladay-Lee trade

From the Blue Jays perspective they did well in receiving three top prospects for Roy Halladay. Halladay is one of the top five pitchers in the game, but he was going to leave as a free agent after this season, which would only bring back a pair of high draft picks in the 2011 draft. I think the Blue Jays were smart adding $6 million in cash to make this deal work, Toronto will still save almost $10 million and they increased the level of prospects they received.

While all three prospects are legit players with unlimited potential, Drabek and Taylor are the real prizes here. Drabek, son of the former big leaguer Doug Drabek, is a top of the rotation prospect that should move up to AAA this season. If he keeps dominating like he did last season and works on his changeup he could be ready to fill Roy Halladay’s place in the rotation by mid-season. Taylor is even more likely to help in the majors this season as he is ready to step into either corner outfield spot. Taylor doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but does offer major league tools across the board. D’Arauad is a longer way away, but does have the talent to become a quality major league starting catcher.

Now it appears that Toronto is flipping Taylor to the Athletics for 1B/3B prospect Brett Wallace. Wallace offers more power and natural hitting ability than Taylor, but doesn’t have the speed or defensive ablity that Taylor brings to the table. This component of the deal I’m not as crazy about from a Blue Jay’s point of view. Wallace is almost as major league ready as Taylor, but the Blue Jays have Lyle Overbay and Edwin Encarnacion at 1B and 3B respectively. While we are at it lets put to bed the Brett Wallace at 3B idea, he’s an awful defender there and not worth the headaches. He should be viewed as a 1B/DH type (potentially could play a little LF but think Adam Dunn). And unless the Jays have a plan to move Overbay Wallace is their DH, meaning Lind and Snider are manning the corner outfield spots. Offensively that has the chance to be great…defensively it could be disastrous. I think I would have rather had Taylor giving you you a defensive boost (while still giving you some offensive value) over Wallace and the home runs. Overall though the Blue Jays end up with three top prospects for Halladay and that is what’s important at the end of the day.

The A’s did pretty good in this side trade. Wallace is a top notch hitting prospect but the A’s already have Jake Fox in the majors, and Chris Carter, Daric Barton and Sean Dolittle in the wings as well. First base was a log jam for the A’s so moving Wallace to get a quality OF prospect is well worth it. Taylor’s defense should be very noticeable in the spacious Oakland Coliseum. His defensive ability and speed will be a solid boost to a young and promising Athletics team.

The Mariners for their part did well in this deal. You can’t argue at adding Cliff Lee to your staff. Lee has been among the elite pitchers in the league for the last two seasons. He had a spotty track record before that, but all in all is a top notch pitcher. When it comes to top notch pitchers who have been traded or signed recently Lee is a slight notch below Santana and Sabathia, about even with Halladay (for one year Halladay though Lee is a few years younger). He is probably slightly above Bedard and Haren, and above Burnett and Lackey as well. In Lee the Mariners get another front of the rotation starter to go next to Felix Hernandez. That is a 1-2 punch that is very capable of winning the A.L. West and doing some serious damage come playoff time. Seattle does take a risk in giving up three highly rated prospects for Lee, because he will likely leave via free agency next season. But the risk is worth it if Seattle is challenging for the playoffs come September. As for the prospects Aumont and Ramirez are nice arms, but nothing to really worry about losing. Gillies is the one player who could really come back to haunt them. He seems to be a great CF prospect, albeit 2-3 years away. The real thing I wonder about this deal from Seattle’s perspective is, why not just increase your offer and trade for Halladay and sign him to an extension like the Phillies are doing? Money is an issue sure, but the Mariners have been among the top payroll teams over the last 7-8 years (easily in the same range as the Phillies), and have even more payroll flexibility than Philadelphia. I would have paid the higher prospect price for the assurance of locking up an ace for 4-5 years. Regardless, the Mariners are going for it out West this season, and should look to acquire a few more bats to give them the edge over the Angels.

It took 5 months but the Phillies finally got their man. Roy Halladay was their target all throughout July, before they “settled” on Cliff Lee for their playoff run. On paper it looks like the Phils made out like bandits in this deal. They got Halladay for 2010 at Cliff Lee prices ( after the $6 million from Toronto), and three young prospects to replace the three they sent for Halladay. In reality though I don’t know if the Phillies gained any ground in this deal. Halladay is an elite pitcher and has been better than Lee, but he’s also a little older and will likely cost more (slightly) per season than what Lee will get in his next deal. Overall I don’t mind the prospects they gave up to Toronto for Halladay, they were going to have to pay a premium price for a pitcher of Halladay’s status. What I do mind is the return they got for Lee. Aumont and Ramirez are both quality arms, but also both profile as relievers, and combined aren’t as valuable as Drabek. Drabek is also within one year away from the majors, while Aumont and Ramirez both are a little further off. Gillies could end up being the best player Philadelphia received, but even his best case scenario he is equal to Taylor as a prospect, and is two or three years behind him in terms of being major league ready.

I think the Phillies really blew it here with this deal. If they weren’t going to be able to lock up Lee long term, then I don’t have a problem with trading for Halladay, but why does that mean you need to trade Lee? Why not have Lee, Halladay, and Hamels in the same rotation together? It can’t be money because for this up coming season Lee is only costing $9 million, not bad for your third starter. The Phillies could have easily traded Joe Blanton and his $8 million dollar salary for prospects, and be able to afford Lee and Halladay in the same rotation. While it is true any potential Blanton trade wouldn’t return you near as much in prospects as Lee did, but the value of Lee over Blanton for one season would be worth it.

Winner(s): No team really lost here though I think there is a definite pecking order. I like what the Blue Jays did here, acquiring three upside players, two of which are nearly ML ready (though I still wonder about the Wallace-Taylor swap), next I like what the Athletics did coming late to the party. Wallace was redundant in Oakland where as Taylor fills a need. After Oakland I like Seattle taking a chance on Lee and going for the ring this season. They gave up nice prospects, but no one they can live without. The Phillies got their man, but I really think they outsmarted themselves here, keeping Lee probably would have been the way to go, or getting back at least one player who could help them this season. Instead they got three prospects who will need some work in the minors before they make their way up to Philadelphia.

Red Sox Agree To Terms with Lackey and Cameron: The Boston Red Sox made two big moves yesterday signing John Lackey, the top starter on the market to a 5-year $85 million deal. After adding another top flight starter, Boston moved quickly to fill their hole in LF by signing OF Mike Cameron to a 2-year $15.5 million deal. I like both moves for the Red Sox and I also liked how they moved quickly to sign these players to fill their needs. Let’s look closer at these deals for a minute, and what it means for the teams involved.

Signing John Lackey was great move for the Red Sox considering their other options for adding a starting pitcher. None of the other top free agent starters were nearly as good as Lackey and all of them are looking at $10 million a year salaries. While I’m not usually a fan of 5-year deals for starting pitchers, Lackey was one of the younger starters on the market and has been reasonably healthy throughout his career. Lackey gives the Red Sox the best rotation in baseball, joining Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Dice-K, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield.

The signing makes even more sense considering the impending 3 team trade involving Seattle-Philadelphia-Toronto, and includes top pitchers Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Yes Halladay might be a better pitcher, but the Red Sox would have to shell out 3-4 top young players and $20 million a year to keep Halladay in the mix. And While the price for Lee (in prospects), might have been cheaper, extending him (which might not be possible) might have been more years or money. Now the Red Sox can have Buchholz and Lackey instead of just Halladay, and they can use their other prospects (and maybe Buchholz as well) to trade for a big bat. Boston does have to give the Angels their first round pick (the Blue Jays now get their 2nd round pick for Marco Scutaro) 29th overall for signing Lackey, but that’s not a big loss. The Red Sox already received the Braves 1st round pick (2oth) for Billy Wagner, and will get an additional 1st or early 2nd round pick for Jason Bay when he signs. In addition the Red Sox get a supplemental 1st round pick for each Bay and Wagner, meaning they will be pretty set when next year’s draft rolls around.

If signing Lackey wasn’t enough Boston made another smart move yesterday by inking Cameron. While Cameron is getting up there in age (36) he’s still been a fairly productive outfielder, and well worth the 2 year $15.5 million dollar investment. Cameron will shift over to LF, but does give the Red Sox plenty of flexibility having him back up Ellsbury in CF (not to mention maybe giving him a few pointers). Cameron loses a little value in moving to LF, but gives them a top notch defender to play balls off the Green Monster. While Cameron’s skills have declined some, he still routinely posts OPS numbers in the .800′s and has hit 20 or more home runs in each of the last 4 seasons (including 2 in San Diego). While he is no longer a threat on the base paths, he is by no means a base clogger. Cameron still has the wheels to take two bases on a single and steal an occasional base. While he might not have the profile of a Bay or Holliday, he signed for half of what they will make next year and for a third of the years it will take to sign them.

The Red Sox couldn’t afford to bring in both a top pitcher and a top hitter, Cameron now gives them a lot of value in the outfield at a very reasonable price. While the offensive numbers may be lower, defensively Cameron should save a lot of runs in the outfield. With Lackey and Cameron on board, the Red Sox will limit their opponents (the Yankees) chances for getting into a slugfest. The moves also keep the Boston farm system in tact to make a move or two at the trade deadline.

Angels Sign WS MVP Matsui: As the Red Sox made two moves the Yankees watched one of their own stars slip away. What makes it even worse, is that he went to another one of their A.L. rivals. The Angels did well signing Hideki Matsui to a one year $6.5 million deal. Matsui on a multi-year deal is a huge risk, he is injury prone, lacks any defensive value, and will be 36 next season. But Matsui at one season, for half of what he made last year is brilliant. When he’s healthy Matsui is a great DH; he hits both lefties and righties very well, offering moderate power and great plate discipline. The Angels need to just keep him out of the field…where he is awful defensively and is more prone to injury. The only downside to this move is it puts Bobby Abreu back out in the field every day, which comes with its own defensive limitations. But it does give Los Angeles depth and a solid offensive core. Between their outfield, 1B and DH, the Angels have 5 players who have 20+ home run power (Abreu is pushing it) and all capable of an .800 plus OPS. Matsui alone doesn’t make up for the losses of Figgins and Lackey that the Angels have suffered, but it does dull the blow a little bit.  Overall its a good move by Los Angeles as they look to finally overcome the Yankees and Red Sox.

By Contributing Fanspeak writer Geoff Nelowet

A year ago the Georgetown Hoyas fell to a disappointing 16-15 on the season and a birth in the NIT. That 2008-09 team was built around a freshman center, and they were lead by a freshman point guard. In other words, last year’s squad was deplorably inconsistent. This year’s team loses two starters in F DaJuan Summers and G Jessie Sapp, but expect a huge turnaround this year from a more seasoned core of players.

Fortunately for Georgetown, that freshman center – Greg Monroe – is a definite all-American candidate, and he will likely be in the NBA this time next year. Monroe averaged nearly 13 points and 7 boards as freshman a year ago. He may be the most dominant big man in the Big East this season, and he is now surrounded by a solid collection of talented and experienced players. Guards Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark are all a year older, and they will be key contributors averaging double figures this season.

The biggest obstacle for the Hoyas this season will be the difficulty of the Big East Schedule. Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Connecticut are all ranked in the top-20 nationally, and Georgetown sits behind all but Cincinnati. Let us not forget the wealth of talented unranked teams in the Big East as well such as Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Louisville. Rankings, of course, mean nothing, but the Big East is ostensibly one of the deepest, most talent-rich conferences this year, and any Big East win will be a major accomplishment. Georgetown will be facing an uphill battle all season.

Georgetown is going to make major strides this season, and they have the talent and experience to make a run in both the Big East and NCAA tournaments. Winning the Big East, though, will be a daunting task, and it is in all likelihood not within this team’s grasp. The Hoyas should expect to win 20 games this year, and they should aim to finish in the top 5-6 in the conference. There are simply too many powers this year for Georgetown to dominate the conference, as they may be one of 8-9 Big East teams in the NCAA tournament.