Happy Superbowl Sunday, all. Obviously everyone's focused on tonight's game between the Patriots and Giants, and it seems silly to try to fight that. On the other hand, if you're reading this, it means you're at least thinking a bit about baseball. So let's talk about that. Why, on this most footballing of days, are we still reading about baseball? What is it about baseball that keeps our attention, even in the middle of winter?

Hell, why am I writing about baseball (even while wearing my Gronk jersey)? A lot of it, I think, can be summed up by one word: summer. Every time I think about baseball, it's a reminder of warm days and sunny skies, two things which are in pretty short supply in New England for much of the year. As far as the sports themselves, I appreciate the long season in baseball. I enjoy the more laid-back atmosphere as you watch a baseball game. On a visceral level, I like that baseball isn't as brutally physical a game. I can watch it without feeling much guilt at the damage the players are doing to themselves. Not that I don't enjoy football, but that always bothers me.

Anyway, that's one guy's thought process. I'm going to leave the thread up for y'all. Talk baseball, talk football, talk about this week's Parks and Rec. It's Superbowl Sunday, have a bit of fun. After the jump, Superbowl picks from our panel of baseball experts.

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As we continue to expand our content here at Over the Monster, one goal is to make the site a fun place for discussion on the weekend. So in addition to Saturday morning recaps, I'm going to be writing short posts with the goal of getting a conversation started. Once the season gets going, they'll probably be up a few hours before game time, to get everyone in a baseball mood. I'll be writing the pieces, but mostly it'll be about you folks and where you want to take the discussion. So if something happens during a given week that you think the community should talk about, send me an email or a tweet, and I'll take a look.

Odds are pretty good that everyone (myself included) spent a couple hours yesterday watching the Red Sox "virtual waiting room" reload. Because we are nutcases. And because that simulated ticket line graphic was oddly mesmerizing. Regardless, the smell of Red Sox tickets is in the air. Of course, with ticket sales come ticket policies, and this new one you may not have noticed.

Short form: upper bleacher seats, the most affordable actual seats in the park, for high-demand games (basically Yankee games plus a few interleague matchups), will be digital-only. If you want to get into the park with those tickets, you'll need the credit card that was used to buy them. On the one hand, this means they're almost impossible to scalp, so you won't wind up on the corner of Brookline and Landsdowne paying some guy named Fitzy $60 for a seat in Row ZZZ. On the other, it means you can't give your tickets to anyone, either as a gift or because something came up and you have to skip the game.

What do we think, commenters of OTM? Is this actually going to discourage scalpers? Why start with the cheap seats? Is this simply one more hurdle in the already-tricky process of buying tickets to see the team we love? Chat it up.

Your suggested open thread topic of the day: which bargain bin relievers are of interest to you, if any? I've got a few to get you started, with their various positives and (sometimes noticeable) warts on display over at Baseball Nation. The basic premise? These guys can't get a job -- or even an offer -- until Ryan Madson finds out where his new home is. Once he does, (and assuming that home isn't Boston), who do you want to see fill out the pen out of who remains?

Give us the how, the why, and all that happy stuff. Like with the starters thread, we'll feature some of the most thoughtful responses at a late date (presumably before all of these guys start to come off of the market -- otherwise, what's the point?)

Personal preference? Not Chad Qualls. In the right context, this groundballer can have some definite use, but Fenway and the AL East isn't that context. Need more than what my short list provides? Baseball Nation's free agent tracker should suffice, once you sort by position and search for "RP". And no one is forcing you to look outside of the organization, either: have a plan that involves in-house pieces? Do tell.

There is nothing going on in the world of baseball today, a fact that is driving all of us slowly mad. Here's the deal: I know you all have your preferences for starting pitchers. I would like you to detail your plans for filling out the rotation, by any means -- trade, signing, conversion from relief -- in the comments. If you empty relievers into the rotation, figure out a way to replenish the pen, too.

Think of it as your holiday wishlist a few days before Christmas. The Red Sox are more likely to make a move that plugs a rotation spot after the holidays, as they will be less than two months from spring training -- meaning everyone who remains unemployed will also be less than two months from spring training, except their version is much more hypothetical. Now is as good of a time as any to discuss what it is you want the Red Sox to do.

We'll feature a few of our favorites in a later post, so remember: you're not just doing this for discussion, but also for Internet fame.

There obviously comes a point at which you have to accept that an era has come to an end. You say your goodbyes, write off your losses, and move on. I write this before watching the final two games of the season—and I don't plan to rescale my opinions, regardless of what happens. I've already said my goodbyes to the 2011 season, emotionally at least.

Why have I given up? Well, a lot of it has to do with the fact that it seems a lot of the team has also given up—or at least they play as a team bereft of hope. Don't get me wrong—I don't mean to smear everyone with the brush of resignation to fate. The only way Dustin Pedroia gives up is if his body won't let him get on the field, and you know that guys like Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett have that competitive fire burning inside of them. But, that fire never caught on with the rest of the team. As much as Pedroia is lauded as the heart and soul of this team, he didn't really seem to lead the team this year. In fact, there was never consistently a leader this year, somebody who took charge and put the team on his back all the way through. Jed Lowrie did it for a few weeks at the beginning of the season to guide them out of their April doldrums, and Jacoby Ellsbury did it for stretches as well, but there was no consistent focal point, no one to really rally around all year long. Did that hurt the team? I don't know, to be honest. But it certainly couldn't have helped.

One could also drag out the injury card and use that to try and explain things. Yes, there are shadows of 2010 looming large in the story of 2011 to date. But yet, it's still not the same.

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