Warren: Art....how short of a leash do you think Julien will have ?

Art Martone: Reports are that he has a one-year deal. That's a pretty short leash. But this organizaton has changed coaches 7 times in the last 10 years -- thanks to assistant sports editor Mark Divver for that eye-popping stat, which appeared on the cover of the newspaper today -- and the last thing they need is more instability at the position. I think Julien will be given every chance to succeed.

Warren: Art...do you think Chiarelly is feeling the heat that he better turns things around immediately or he will be an ex-bruins GM very soon ?

Art Martone: I think so, absolutely. (It's Chiarelli, BTW!)

Warren: Art...speaking of the bruins..has anyone ever asked...how come Bobby Orr plays no role with the organization ?

Art Martone: I don't know why, Warren, except that he's an agent and that would obviously be a conflict of interest. But I don't think there's bad blood between the sides any longer.

Warren: Art....pretty solemn in New York today...I wonder why ? ;)

Art Martone: Um . . . because the Yankees lost three straight in Colorado and are now 10 1/2 games behind the Red Sox? Or because no one in baseball is playing worse than the Mets?

Warren: Art...do you foresee a day when major league baseball might have a labor deal similar to football....franchise player designations, hard salary caps, virtually no guaranteed money ?

Art Martone: No, absolutely not. The baseball union would have to agree to all those things, all of which they'd see as givebacks, and I can guarantee it'll never happen. But it doesn't have to. Baseball is as financially healthy as it's been in many years, and both sides are happy with the way things are.

SoxFanatic456: Who are the Celtics looking towards with their 1st Round Draft pick?

Art Martone: Here's what I know: They're absolutely looking to package the pick for a veteran, for many reasons . . . the main one being that they'd better start winning, and soon, or this management team will be out of work. A trade for a high-profile veteran could, all by itself, vault them into the top three or four in the Eastern Conference -- which is *very* weak -- and get people excited about the team again. And I think Danny Ainge really needs to show some progress, or perceived progress, to protect himself. In that light, the pronouncement by Kevin Garnett that he won't come to Boston hurts them badly. Garnett would have been the perfect complement to Paul Pierce, unless, say, Kobe Bryant, since Bryant and Pierce are essentially the same player and probably couldn't co-exist. I'm sure they'll keep searching for a trade partner between now and the NBA draft on Thursday.
[2007.06.22 12:17:27] Warren: Art....seems like I am the only one talking Bruins hockey among New England sports fans...just goes to show how far the bruins have fallen in the popularity scale .

Art Martone: Is that a question, Warren, or a statement? As a statement, it's pretty accurate.

Warren: Art....What's likely to become of Providence Bruins coach Gordon...he quietly waits his turn in Providence or when his contract is up he flees...he seems like he can work with a young clubs well and might be a keeper ?

Art Martone: He has a history with Claude Julien -- they played together in the past -- and may join the Bruins' staff as an assistant.

Warren: Art....the cubs traded catcher Michael Barrett to the Padres...should the sox have gone after him ? he certainly would have been a upgrade over Mirabelli offensively or are we stuck with Mirabelli cause nobody can catch his knuckleball ?

Art Martone: Michael Barrett's a regular, and a well-paid one ($4.6 million) at that. The Sox couldn't bring in someone like that as a backup.

Warren: Art...why not call up Pauley for Tuesday ?

Art Martone: It's a possibility. (I leep forgetting to mention him!) Pauley, incidentally, is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA with the PawSox.

Warren: Art...seems like Giambi is going to talk to steriod investigators but only about himself....will we really regain anything by this...even a blind man could tell Jason did steroids ?

Art Martone: ESPN's Buster Olney made a good point: Giambi sets a precedent. MLB threatened him with a suspension if he didn't talk to Mitchell, and he agreed. Now they can make the same demand of other players, and they can theoretically suspend the ones who refuse. If Giambi had said no, fought whatever penalty there was through an arbitrator and won, the other players would be untouchable. They may still be, if someone does what Giambi didn't, but as of right now MLB has the test case it needed.

Warren: Art....while he didn't get rocked...do you think Roger made a mistake...and has hung on one year too many ?

Art Martone: Can Roger Clemens still pitch in the major leagues? Yes. Can he be *Roger Clemens*, Hall of Famer? That's another question, and it didn't look good yesterday. He can pitch effectively, as he did last Friday in a loss to the Mets, but he's been so-so in his other two starts. At age 45 (about to be), that kind of inconsistency has to be worrisome.

Warren: Art...have you seen any sneak peaks at ESPN's summer series, The Bronx Zoo ? from what I have read about it...it won't be short on entertaining or amusing....I still say they should do a fever pitch part two :whistle::whistle::whistle:

Art Martone: No, I haven't seen it. (Official name: The Bronx Is Burning.) I can't imagine the story itself would hold much interest for non-Yankee fans -- it doesn't for me, even though the Red Sox were in a season-long pennant race with those Yanks -- so it'll be interesting to see how the filmmakers broaden it to appeal to a mass audience.

Blue Elvis: Michael Smerconish, in the Philly Daily News advocates Bonds stepping aside after #754 in order to redeem himself in the eyes of the public and the press. Do you think that A) Bonds would ever step aside like that, and B) Would this truly redeem him, or he would he be viewed as even more arrogant, or possibly a coward?

Art Martone: Hi, Elvis. I saw that story and my first thought was: No way. There's absolutely no way someone as self-centered and egotistical as Bonds would ever do that. Strangely, I think it *would* redeem him, in that it would be about the first selfless thing he's ever done on a baseball field. But the odds of it happening, in my mind, are roughly on par with the odds of Ann Coulter eloping with John Kerry.

Warren: Art...since it seems that anyone good in Pittsburgh eventually leaves because of free agency or is traded because of pending free agency...is Jason Bay of the Pirates untouchable ...might the sox be able too make the Pirates any offer they can't refuse ?

Art Martone: Calling Pam! Calling Pam!

Warren: Dice K tonight against Maddux and the Padres....will the real Dice K show up ?

Art Martone: I would anticipate Matsuzaka pitching well, given that a) the Padres aren't that good an offensive team, b) Petco Park favors pitchers, and c) Dice-K can be difficult to decipher when teams face him for the first time.

SoxFanatic456: Whohave or will the Sox call up today when they officially put Schilling on the DL?

Art Martone: It looks it will be either Brandon Moss or David Murphy, though, strangely, both apparently made the trip with the PawSox from Indianapolis to Louisville after last night's game. As Sean McAdam noted in yesterday's Sox Talk, neither Bobby Scales or Joe McEwing -- other logical choices -- are on the 40-man roster, and it's doubtful the Sox would remove anyone from the 40 to bring up someone for four days.

Warren: Art...has free agency in baseball ended the days of the big blockbuster trades ...I remember as a kid teams made lots of big trades...today it seems like this hardly happens

Art Martone: It *is* more difficult, due to the complex and expensive contracts. But free agency means there's more actual player movement than there was in years past.

Warren: Art....new Bruins uniforms...just another ploy to prop up souvenir sales ?

Art Martone: I don't know if that was the *only* motivation, but it might have been one of them. A more logical reason, though, is an attempt to separate themselves from the failures of the last 10 years -- years coinciding with the time they last changed uniforms -- and tie into their historic past.

Warren: do you think the game has gotten a handle on steroids or it's still being widely used ?

Art Martone: Widely? No. Still being used? Absolutely, as the periodic suspensions prove.

SoxFanatic456: Are there any rumors swirling around on the Red Sox trade front?

Art Martone: When they were struggling last week, you began to see Internet chatter about the Sox pursuing Miguel Tejada or being willing to trade Mike Lowell. That stuff all died down when they started winning again, and there's been no indication from traditional sources that anything is imminent,

Warren: how about a on-line virtual tour of the projo sports room ? I am curious how it looks and hows things operate ....

Art Martone: Believe me, it's not that exciting. Things are particularly quiet during the day. At this moment, there's a discussion of where to buy coffee going on. Maybe we can put the rantings of Sam The Ram online, though; he's one of our frequent callers and he's, ah, a little excitable. Bob McGarry, our extraordinary assistant, is also discussing at this moment the possibility of changing the Mendoza Line to the Lug-ie Line (in honor of the man Terry Francona has taken to calling "Lugie"). You can guess who that might be.

Art Martone: Bill Angell, one of our library workers, says the Lugie Line will be set at .150.

Warren: you can get great gourmet coffee in Mystic Village in CT.

Art Martone: Well, there you are.

Warren: sounds like you need a New Yorker in the mix ...I volunteer;)

Art Martone: You're in touch with us so much, it's like you work here!

SoxFanatic456: Art, this isn't a question, but I just wanted to say thank you for taking an hour to come down and answer our questions. Once again, thanks!

Art Martone: Thanks, Fanatic! I enjoy it, and we'll be doing it again next week.