Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 10-6-12

"Ranting with Rizzo" is on every Saturday at noon on
1170AM WDIS, but if you missed it, here's the podcast
of this past Saturday's show, Have a listen: 
  
 
   
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 Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Red Sox Fire Bobby Valentine, Sky Still Blue

 
US Presswire 
 
This might be the dumbest thing I write about all year, it's
just too easy.  Did anyone, ANYONE think that hiring
Bobby Valentine as manager of the Boston Red Sox was
a good idea?  It was one of the most inevitable things we
had to expect.  Not that Valentine is a bad manager, and
you don;'t have to agree or disagree with that statement
for that matter, but it was just a B A D fit, period.

Valentine could be manager of almost any team, and would
have been a better idea than hiring him in Boston, but
whether it was ownership or the GM, the ball was dropped.
I have no idea what they were looking for Red Sox fans,
not a clue.  Exposure? Discipline? Headlines?  Don't know,
but what I do know is that no one is more to blame for the
Red Sox huge shortcomings this year that whoever it was
that pulled the trigger and had the final say on this hiring.

I will make an admission though, when Boston traded away
Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford, and Scutaro, I thought that
they might be in a way backing Valentine.  Shame on me.
I was wrong, and way off, I should have stuck with my initial
instinct, this was a bad fit, and he wouldn't last past this
season.  The news gets worse Sox fans, this won't be an
easy hole to dig out of, not at all.  
  
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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 9-22-12

On "Ranting with Rizzo" this past week there was
talk about the baseball pennant races, and who is
on their way out. We also take a look at week three
in the NFL season. Checkout it out here: 



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 9-15-12

On "Ranting with Rizzo" this past week there was
a big look at the baseball pennant races, and who
still has a shot. We also take a look at week two
in the young NFL season. Checkout it out here:


 
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Pittsburgh Pirates Great Trades, Years Later

The Pittsburgh Pirates have taken alot heat when they
have traded theirs "stars" the last few years, and
much of that is without question deserved, but when
you take a look at these two trades, the only argument
you can against their decision to make the trades is
the garbage they got in return, not the players they
gave up in the trade.

Bryan Morris, Andy LaRoche, Craig Hansen and Brandon
Moss are the player received for Jason Bay on Jul 31st
in 2008 when they made a trade with the Red Sox, and
though there is no question Bay flourished for about
a year and a half, the Red Sox were fine with letting
him get a max contract elsewhere. That elsewhere turned
to be with the New York Mets, and though Bay is a great
team mate and pro by everyone's account, right now the
Mets couldn't get a tub of Bazooka bubblegum for him if
they tried. He's costing them an eight figure salary
and in his time in New York he has put together a .235
batting average with 31 Hr's and 118 Rbi's. If you were
to cut that up into a 162 game season it would work out
to 19 Hr's and 71 Rbi's with that stellar .235 batting
average. At $16Mil a year for 2012, it's fair to say
he's way overpriced and the Pirates are ahead of the
game on this one. The players they received may have
performed poorly, but they were paid that way too.

The other trade the Pirates took heat for was when the
Braves gave Pittsburgh outfielder Gorkys Hernandez,
one of its top prospects, along with pitchers Charlie
Morton and Jeff Locke on June 3rd 2009 for Nate McLouth.
Needless to say that trade did nothing for the Pirates
other than to incense their fans. I once again can't
blame the fans for feeling that way, but 3 years later
I think it's safe to say that McLouth was a McBust for
the Braves and the Pirates once again got away with
one. The Pirates even got Mclouth back, and got rid
of him again he was so bad after he left the 1st time.

The Pirates may have gotten lucky with these two, but
as Lefty Gomez once said "it's better to be lucky than
good". Now the Pirates need to get that "Good" part
together and their fans might forgive them for twenty
years of futility.

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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 8-25-12

On "Ranting with Rizzo" this past week I had alot
to say regarding the Dodgers Red Sox Blockbuster
and why this was a huge win for the Red Sox, did
you miss it? If you missed it or there's anything
you want to here again, here it is:



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Dodgers Try The Yankee Way, Steinbrenner Smiles

A large amount of the focus on the trade between
the Red Sox and Dodgers has been on Boston, and
if you ask me, it makes sense. The got rid of
a boat load of salary, damaged goods, and a
pitcher who has clearly seen better days.

All that being said, from the L.A. point of view
it smells exactly like something "The Boss"
George Steinbrenner would have had the guts to
do. Don't get me wrong, if you're a Dodger
fan this trade stinks, BUT, it has the potential
to pay off like a 100-1 shot at Santa Anita on
a sunny Sunday afternoon. No one, but no one
had the guts to do something like this without
thinking and over thinking it over and over
again. Many a bold move like this caused
Steinbrenner Yankee teams to look like fools
in the 80's and early 90's, but that's until
he mixed baseball people with knowledge and
his go for the gusto approach to finally build
winners.

The Dodgers took a gamble here, they laid out
a ton of money, and got a guy who could be a
cancer in the clubhouse if his bad habits from
his days in Boston turn out to be true, and
team chemistry though sometimes over rated,
can be a big part of whether or not a team will
gel or not. The prospects they gave up in this
deal are just that, prospects, so that's not
exactly a huge gamble, but it helps that they
brought back a California guy in Adrian Gonzalez
as part of the trade.

George "The Boss" Steinbrenner is out there right
now saying: "I would have done that", and everyone
knows that too.

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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 8-11-12

"Ranting with Rizzo" was on this past Saturday at noon,
but if you missed it or there's anything you want to
here again, the podcast is here. Enjoy !



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 7-28-12

"Ranting with Rizzo" was heavy on a Red Sox collapse
for 2012, and took a look around the majors as well
as whether or not the Penn State sanctions were the
right ones, so if you missed anything the podcast is
here. Enjoy the show:






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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 7-14-12

"Ranting with Rizzo" was on a different time this
past week, so if you missed anything the podcast
is now available. Enjoy the show:



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 6-30-12

The "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is now available,
let's talk baseball and take a closer look around
the majors. Enjoy the podcast:



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 6-16-12

The "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is available now,
and baseball is the bulk of the conversation in this
episode. I take a look around the majors, and even
find some time for the NBA Finals. Enjoy the podcast:



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 5-26-12

The "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is available now,
hope you had a GREAT & Safe Memorial Day Weekend.
Now enjoy the podcast:



Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Curt Schilling: You Sunk My Battleship !

Courtesy: Barry Petchesky

Yes, yes, I know, I know, Curt Schilling has nothing
to do with the game or movie "Battleship", but what
better a headline than that one for someone who is
still trying to remain relevant in the public eye,
and is falling woefully short success wise, just
like the recent movie bomb of the same name.

Make no mistake about what I'm about to say, but had
it not been for the "bloody sock" game, the legend
that is Curt Schilling may not be what it is today.
It certainly didn't hurt that Joe Torre refused to
take advantage of Curt and his injury by say, oh I
don't know, bunt against him and put some pressure
on him and his injury, but rather follow some bizarre
unwritten rule of honor and try and beat him straight
up. This of course in turn allowed him to pitch long
enough to beat his Yankees, and complete the biggest
collapse ever in baseball history.

The retirement years haven't been quite as kind to
Schilling, the man many of his teammates referred
to as "Red Light", because he always had a knack of
knowing when to turn towards the camera and mic in
order to get the most media exposure. Lately he
has made the quite a bit of news alright, but not
exactly the kind he would like to be known for.
His video game franchise laid off it's entire staff
on Thursday, the state of Rhode Island last week
wouldn't cash one of his loan repayment checks because
they knew it would bounce, and frankly as much as they
appreciate what he did for them, Red Sox fans have
grown tired of Schilling putting his two cents into
everything he feels needs his opinion as it relates to
the Sox. No one may have sunk Curt's "Battleship",
it seems he did a pretty good job doing that all on
his own by failing to produce many positives from the
$75 million dollar loan he was able to secure from R.I..

Like I said earlier make no mistake about what I'm about
to say, Curt Schilling had a wonderful career, and is a
two time champion. He was more than dominant at times
and thankfully there have been no whispers that I've
ever heard of that he cheated, but perhaps he needs to
turn that red light off for a while.

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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 5-12-12

The better late than never "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast
is available now, so check it out and see what topics
are on the agenda: Red Sox, NBA Playoffs, Josh Beckett,
etc.....Check it out here:



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 4-28-12

The "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is available
and we look at the embarrassing behavior of
Bruins on Twitter is one of the topics as well
as the Red Sox, the NBA Playoffs, and the NFL
draft. Check it out here:



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 3-14-12

The podcast of Saturday's show has arrived
and along with looking at the NBA Playoff
picture, we also take a look at NHL Playoffs
so far. I comment on Dwayne Wade and Ray
Allen's thoughts on playing for the Olympic
team, and and have a look at the start of the
MLB Season. Hope you enjoy it.



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Is Bobby Valentine's Hiring In Boston Already A Failure?

David Goldman, AP

I am very well aware that it may sound like I'm
jumping the the gun on this issue, and it does
sound like a stupid question to many of you, BUT
you cant help but notice that Bobby Valentine's
tenure in Beantown is not off to a very stellar
start.

As of this writing the Sox are 4-6, and that's
good, they were 1-5. So What? Well it's eerily
similar to their start last year, and that was
one of many reasons their two time World Series
Champion manager was replaced, yeah that and that
whole beer in the clubhouse thing. One hundred
and fifty two more games to go you say? Yes,
that's true too, but Valentine either wants to
shake things up and see what happens, or he is
as disconnected with that clubhouse as can be.
He has already apologized to his starting third
baseman Kevin Youkilis for public comments made
about his dedication, and that's only the stuff
we know about. The thing is, right now I'm just
not getting a warm fuzzy feeling that he and his
style are being easily accepted, and/or understood
by that group of players. Again, Is it a little
early? Absolutely, but if I had to make a bet now,
and I don't, I would say that this will be Bobby
Valentines one and only season at the helm of the
Boston Red Sox. Call it a hunch, or maybe even
indigestion, but it's been eating away at me.
I just think that Bobby Valentine is a real smart
baseball man, but sometimes people don't get him.

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Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ranting with Rizzo - Live - Now

"Ranting with Rizzo" is on at 12 Noon and there is
plenty Stanley Cup talk as well as plenty of NBA
playoff scenarios to look at.
Tune in to 1170AM WDIS and WDISAM.Com
Join the discussion. Rizzo@WDISAM.Com

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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 4-7-12

The podcast of Saturday's show is here, and NBA Playoff
talk as well as NHL Playoff talk is in the air.
Is their anything to the Knicks resurgence?
Download the podcast and hear what we have to
say or enjoy it right here, but whatever you do,
don't miss out on it. Enjoy !

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