Five things

5 baseball related thoughts while wondering if anyone can stop Tom Brady and the Patriots:

• I'm glad the Red Sox signed Hideki Okajima for another year. Like most of the bullpen, he didn't have a very good year overall but he had a good September (1.38 ERA, WHIP of 1.00 and an opponents OPS of .532. Okajima's surprise All-Star performance in 2007 was a major reason the Red Sox won the World Series that year. And really, didn't you think they signed that year him so that Daisuke would have someone to talk to?

• Chad Finn suggests on Boston.com that the Yankees should sign Manny Ramirez to a one-year deal. It actually makes a certain amount of sense from a baseball perspective. And wouldn't you just love the see the back pages of the Post and the Daily News the first time Manny is being Manny?

• I would really like the five men on the Hall of Fame Expansion Era Committee who didn't vote for Marvin Miller to man up and explain their reasoning. Miller is arguably one of the three most influential people in baseball in the 20th century (along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson). How he is not in Cooperstown remains beyond my ability to comprehend.

• The Washington Nationals are going to be a fun team to watch. As of right now, I have them third in the NL East (Phillies, Braves, Nats, Marlins, Mets). If Strasburg wasn't rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, I might have them second.

• Only 86 days until Opening Day.