More whining

Amid all of the week's whining from Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon, I forgot about the wine.

I finally got around to trying Manny Being Merlot, one of three Red Sox wine labels launched in the name of charity last year. Thanks to Brian and Liza for buying us a bottle when they went to Maine.

I'm no wine connoisseur, but I liked it. It was different. It was billed as a combination of fruit and pepper. At first there's the fruity Merlot taste, but on the aftertaste comes the pepper, more like table pepper, but definitely interesting. I'd have it again, or try Schilling Schardonnay or CarberKnuckle.

Back to baseball whining: John Smoltz tells Cole to stop worrying about money and focus on pitching. Smoltz, who'll probably go to the Hall of Fame, says he was angry when the Braves renewed his contract in 1991. He went 2-11 before he stopped worrying about it and finished that season on a 12-2 tear. Oh, and the Inky reminds us that Smoltz's career earnings will be more than $130 million after this year - a mark I figure Hamels will eclipse in his first contract after free agency.