Day of rest

As I said, My back and I are taking today off from painting. Instead I went to see my walking buddy to wander around campus and chat. Then I went to lunch with some friends that I haven't seen in a long while.

As far as the painting goes, here is a picture of one of my many supervisors inspecting my recently completed work.

I think she approves.

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Today is the final Red Sox game of the 2022 season and as I said the other day, I'm hoping they are busy during the off-season trying to get the roster back into shape. I had high hopes for this team but they just couldn't hold it together long enough to make it into the playoffs. And now, with the end of the 2022 season, they have some significant holes to fill before the start of the 2023 season.

Here is a list of the players that are either outright free agents or have the option of opting out of the final year of their contract:

• JD Martinez
• Nathan Eovaldi
• Michael Wacha
• Rich Hill
• Eric Hosmer (opt-out)
• Xander Bogaerts (opt-out)
• Tommy Pham (mutual option)
• Chris Sale (opt-out)

I fully expect Bogaerts to opt out and elect free agent status. Hosmer and Pham will probably stick around for 2023. Sale is a huge question mark because of his never-ending injury status. If he decides to opt out, I can imagine there are not a lot of teams that will jump at the chance to overpay him. Then again, if he can stay healthy, he's a hell of a pitcher.

All-in-all, that means they need to replace three (possibly four) starting pitchers, their DH and their shortstop.

That's going to require money and some solid negotiating skills. I'm not sure that Bloom has the skills and I'm pretty sure Henry has said he doesn't want to spend the money.

Like I said, it's goiong to be an interesting offseason

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Speaking of baseball, Aaron Judge hit his 62^nd home run of the season last night, breaking Roger Maris's American League record for the most home runs in a single season.

This is not the most home runs ever. That record is held by Barry Bonds with 73. There are also two others with more than 62 home runs: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

The problem with Bonds, Sosa and McGwire is they were all heavy steroid users so their records are considered tainted by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. They possess what are known as "asterisk" records.

I guess the old saying, "Better living through chemistry" doesn't apply to baseball players...

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The baseball game started at 4:00 this afternoon and the Red Sox are currently winning 3-0 in the second inning. If they win, they will have swept the Rays in their final series of the year.

While I continue to watch the game, you can visit these:

• Key phrase in this story: "...the splatter ring around that was caused by the sheer velocity of the fart..."



• As far as I'm concerned, it should be legal to shoot these people dead.



• I think we can all agree that From Odenville to Pell City would be a great name for a redneck romance paperback whose main characters are named "Cleavus" and "Lurlean".



• Man, I wish they had padded quiet rooms when I was in school. i would have done everything I could to get locked in one.



• Oh Canada.



• This guy is a scumbag.



• I'm pretty sure Wax-Worm Spit and Digested Plastic was the name of a 1980's German techno band.