Questions, Comments and Thoughts on the Middle East

So congradulations to Ryan Howard on winning the Home Run Derby. The dude has some serious power. I was impressed. In all honesty, I didn't believe that Papi would win. I love him, but I didn't. The day before yesterday he was forced to play nineteen innings, and every at-bat he felt the immense pressure to win the game with one swing of a bat. Even though he didn't have to play in the field, it was a grueling game. He must have been absolutely exhausted, especially after a long flight sometime during the night from Chicago to Pennsylvania. In addition, though he has kept pretty quiet about it, his wrist has been hurting him every single time he swings the bat. I wasn't even really disappointed when he was knocked out of the derby. He needs some rest.
On to a different topic. In the Globe today there was an article on Jonathan Papelbon and his fearlessness, his drive to win, by Amalie Benjamin. If you don't get the Globe, you can find it here. Itwas a very well-written article by a very talented writer. I'm glad that Benjamin has been given this opportunity to be an everyday sportswriter following the absence of Chris Snow. She's quite a good writer and I wish her continued luck.
Another article that interested me, I found at foxsports.com. It was an article which gave each team in the AL a grade for the first half. Our Red Sox were given an A-, and the article praised our run-scoring ability as well as the front of our bullpen, while naming the back end of our starting rotation as a concern. I agree with this analysis. With this grade we were given the rank of third-best in the AL, trailing the Chicago White Sox (A) and Detroit Tigers (A+). I think the fact that we were just able to take two of three games from a team with a higher grade than us bodes well for our postseason success. The one aspect of our game that I feel was left out was our stellar defense. There was no mention of our spectacular leather in the brief summary of our team, and in my opinion our fielding abilities will be huge when it comes time for postseason rivalry. Still, I think this article sums up well the first half we have had. Also, note that the Yankees were given a C+. Just because it makes me happy. The article can be found here.
In other Red Sox news, Jason Johnson was demoted to the minors. Not Pawtucket. Not Portland. No, Johnson was sent down to Single A. Clearly, the Front Office was as unimpressed as I am. As Kaylee told me last night via instant message, Single A is where he belongs. Yet at the same time, I feel bad for the guy. He probably assumed he would be sent to Triple A to hone his skills and maybe make a few appearances in the bigs later on in the season as he improved. But Single A? That's just embarrassing. He must have been crushed. Designated for assignment by the Indians, forced to make a start for a top team riding a 12-game winning streak and facing Dontrelle Willis, of course he was nervous. I don't mean to make up excuses for him, but he must have been humiliated to be sent down 3 levels after making only 2 big-league starts for the Red Sox.
And in case anyone was wondering, the title for this post is a line my volleyball coach uses all the time. I don't really have any thoughts on the Middle East.