"The 2010 Vancouver Games could be the end of the NHL's brief participation in Olympic hockey. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told Reuters on Tuesday that, following Vancouver, his league may rethink its policy of suspending play in mid-season so players can compete in the Olympics. That means the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, could be the first since the 1994 edition in Lillehammer to not feature hockey's best men's players." (CBC)
The NHL doesn't make any money off the Olympics. In fact, they probably lose a buck or two. And much like when the League decided to sign a TV deal with Versus, instead of ESPN, the NHL sees things only in dollars and cents. They don't see the Olympics as a way to grow the game, particularly in European markets. They don't see that if Team USA were in the Gold medal game, many people in the States would become fans of the game.
The NHL doesn't have much going for it, but it does have two things the other leagues don't. It has players who would all kill to represent their countries, and it has more international appeal than every sport except basketball.
So instead of using these tools to grow the game in burgeoning hockey markets like Germany and Britain, the NHL wants to make sure the Ottawa Senators can play the Atlanta Thrashers without any interruption.
The NHL is dying. As BMack wrote earlier, the players aren't happy with the CBA. Teams like Phoenix are hopelessly bankrupt. Then there's an ever-growing threat in Europe called the KHL: A potential pan-European league that wants to someday contend with the NHL.
Right now, leagues like the KHL are prevented from signing NHL players, but more and more Russians are staying home instead of competing against North American players.
The NHL could grow a pair, let things like the Olympics be played, and work together with the KHL to one day have the first truly global sports league. But instead, they'll sign TV deals with Versus, constrict the salary cap to piss off players (because revenues are down because nobody in Miami cares about hockey), and prevent hockey fans from seeing Finland play Canada, and the US play Russia, and Germany play Belarus, and the Czech Republic play Latvia.
The biggest miracle in hockey history isn't the US Olympic team in 1980, it will be if the NHL is still alive in 2020.
Every team in this conference (except Purdue) can piss up a rope. Legacy conferences like the BigTen and the Pac-10 are the big roadblocks to any sort of playoff system. There are two sick teams in the Big Ten this season (Penn State and Ohio State), then a significant dropoff after that.
#1 PENNSYLVANIA STATE NITTANY LIONS Don't forget that Penn State was 11-2 last year. Their first loss came on the road in a windy Iowa City, their second loss was to USC in the Rose Bowl. That's hardly a season to be ashamed of. Their defense is ferocious against the run. Their passing game won't be too sharp, but they can control the clock with the running game. I picked them to win because they play Ohio State in State College.
Key Games: 9/26 vs. #22 Iowa 11/7 vs. #6 Ohio State
Prediction: 11-2, Big Ten Champions, Rose Bowl loser
#2 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES You know what I'm sick of? The word "the." It was one thing when OSU players referred to their school as THE Ohio State. But now "The" precedes "Ohio State" on bumper stickers everywhere. Fuck "the."
OSU will fall to Penn State because their offense will be one man. Shut down Terrelle Pryor, and you've shut down the Buckeyes. He's a dynamic QB, rushing for 631 yards, and throwing for 1,311. But now he's by himself, and will underperform in big games.
Key Games: 9/12 vs. #4 USC 11/7 @ #9 Penn State 11/14 vs. #22 Iowa
Prediction: 10-3, BCS Bowl berth and an embarrassing loss
The rest of the previews will be alphabetical...
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI The Illini boast incredible talent in the skill position with guys like QB Juice Williams (3,173 passing yards, 719 rushing yards) and WR Arrelious Benn (1,055 receiving yards), but that's essentially all they have. Their O-Line is full of holes, as is their defense. Their games will be exciting to watch, but Illinois will be raped by quality opponents.
Key Games: 9/5 vs. Missouri 9/26 @ #6 Ohio State 10/3 vs. #9 Penn State 11/27 @ Cincinnati
INDIANA HOOSIERS Indiana sucks. They finally sorted out their QB situation, but any team outside of the WAC that resorts to utilizing the "pistol" offense is both desperate and bad. Their defensive backs will allow lots of Big Ten QBs to pad their stats.
Key Games: 10/3 vs. #6 Ohio State 10/31 @ #22 Iowa 11/14 @ #9 Penn State
Here's a girl dressed in an Indiana Jones costume:
IOWA HAWKEYES The most forgettable team in college football. The good news for the Hawkeyes is that Iowa City is a tough place for opponents to play. The bad news is that they have to travel to State College, Columbus, and East Lansing. But they wisely threw in cupcakes like Northern Iowa, Arkansas State, Iowa State, and Michigan.
They'll be in and out of the Top 25 all season, feasting on the weaker BigTen programs, and being gobbled up by the giants.
Key Games: 9/26 @ #9 Penn State 11/14 @ #6 Ohio State
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES The Wolverines might be the 3rd best team in Michigan, behind MSU and CMU. Their QB position continues to have more question marks than a XXXL Riddler costume. They'll once again occupy airtime with pundits asking "Will Michigan return to form?" And for now, the answer is a deafening "FUCK NO!"
Key Games: 9/12 vs. #23 Notre Dame 10/3 @ Michigan State 10/10 @ #22 Iowa 10/24 vs. #9 Penn State 11/21 vs. #6 Ohio State
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS Setpember 19th. That's when we'll find out if MSU can be a contender. They play #23 Notre Dame in South Bend. A win there, and they might be for real.
And here's another reason why the Big Ten sucks. MSU doesn't play Ohio State. They simply don't play each other. Penn State has to play both MSU and OSU. But Ohio State and Michigan State benefit from softer conference schedules. Just force Notre Dame to join the Big Ten, make 2 divisions, and have a title game.
The Spartans have to sort out their QBs, but they return 8 defensive starters, and have good receivers for whoever winds up throwing the ball. They also get to host Iowa and Penn State.
Key Games: 9/19 @ Notre Dame 10/24 vs. #22 Iowa 11/21 vs. #9 Penn State Never vs. #6 Ohio State
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS Too many teams in this conference have two word names. Lame. Minnesota returns 10 offensive starters, but they failed to run the ball consistently in '08, and will continue to do so. Their defense blows. They allowed 142 points in their last 3 games of '08. That's 47.3 per game.
It won't help that they play PSU, OSU, and Iowa on the road.
Key Games: 9/19 vs. California 10/17 @ #9 Penn State 10/24 @ #6 Ohio State 10/31 vs. Michigan State 11/21 @ #22 Iowa
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS The Wildcats don't have to play Ohio State either. Their defense boasts plenty of playmakers. But their offense will be a major struggle. QB Mike Kafka can run, but his passing has yet to be tested. They lost their top 3 WRs to graduation (Northwestern players actually graduate), and have no definitive ground game. Low scoring and boring games for the Wildcats.
Key Games: 10/17 @ Michigan State 10/31 vs. #9 Penn State 11/7 @ #22 Iowa
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Their mascot is a train. How could you not love that?
Purdue finished 9th last year, and things don't look much better. No QB, no receivers, and their running game is completely untested. They don't have to play Penn State, but they have to play Oregon in Eugene, and host Notre Dame.
My God, how many BigTen and Pac-10 cupcakes can Charlie Weiss and Notre Dame devour?
Key Games: 9/12 @ #16 Oregon 9/26 vs. #23 Notre Dame 10/17 vs. #6 Ohio State 11/14 vs. Michigan State
WISCONSIN BADGERS Wisconsin begins their season with home matches against Northern Illinois, Fresno State, and Wofford. That should be against the rules.
The Badgers might surprise some people this year. They have a formidable offensive line, and a burgeoning D-Line. If they catch lightning in their platooning QB and CB situations, they could finish in the top 4 of the conference. Penn State doesn't have to play the Badgers, which might determine who wins the Conference title. Fellow 2nd tier contenders Michigan State and Iowa both have to play in Madison, which is an extremely hostile environment.
Key Games: 9/26 vs. Michigan State 10/10 @ #6 Ohio State 10/17 vs. #22 Iowa
After some dreadful preseason performances, the Patriots waived Kevin O'Connell. He was 12 for 26, with 2 INTs, and an abysmal 25.8 QB rating. Against Washington, he was 3/10 for 18 yards and threw 2 picks.
So it looks like Andrew Walter is the #2, with Brian Hoyer at #3. Although I wouldn't be shocked if the Pats signed a veteran.
Every weekday from now until the NFL season kicks-off, Boston Blood Sox will preview one group of Patriot players. Today we start off with the most important position in the game, with the most valuable player in the game.
For the first time in his career, Tom Brady will be making a start after missing games due to injury. He hasn't played a full a game since Super Bowl XLII. So that's February 3, 2008 to September 14, 2007. Nearly a 20 month gap.
It would be crazy to expect Brady to put up the kind of record-breaking numbers he put up in 2007. He will have a similarly stacked receiving corps to throw to, but the offensive line is weaker, and the running game might be better.
In '07, the Pats were accused of running up the score when they'd throw the ball late in games instead of running it. What the morons of the world failed to comprehend was that the Patriots had no dependable run game to get first downs and dependably salt games away. I think the Patriots depth at RB in 2009 will help Tom Brady by giving him more 2nd & 6, 3rd & 2 type downs.
From the preseason games, there's a bit of reluctance on Brady's part to fully step into throws. But that could be rust as much as it could be hesitation. He didn't show much fear during or after some big hits he received in the Bengals game.
I think Brady will throw 30 to 35 TD passes, be around 63% accurate with his passes (that's his career percentage), and keep INTs to a minimum. I don't foresee much difficulty with him barring another injury.
The Patriots don't have the same kind of QB depth as they had last year with Cassel as the back-up. But remember those idiots clamoring for the Pats to keep Cassel just in case Brady's knee wasn't healthy? How would the Pats' salary cap look like if these clowns ran the team?
Andrew Walter has a bit more experience than O'Connell, but a guy who can't cut it in Oakland even as a backup worries the hell out of me.
So basically, if Brady goes down again, it will be a worse feeling than it was last year. O'Connell has shown some sparks, but the Patriots without Brady are like a ship lost in a storm with no compass.
It was a tale of two innings in Manchester, NH. Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed 5 runs off 4 hits and 3 walks for AA Portland yesterday. He bounced 8 sliders in the dirt, and threw 49 pitches. He was only slated to throw 55 pitches, but convinced the Portland coaches to give him an allowance of 10 pitches in the 2nd inning. He threw 9, and retired the side in order.
So is this good news, bad news, or what? Overall, the line score of 2 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 3 BB looks dreadful. Although the 58 total pitches for 2 innings sounds about right for Daisuke.
After the game, Daisuke stated (via a translator):
"In the first inning, I think I got into the game at about 60-to-70 percent of maximum output for me. That’s how I was approaching it. There were a few things that I wanted to work on, and that’s why I wanted to get into the game gradually. Mind you, I didn’t think I’d get hit up quite that badly, but I think in the second inning I just applied a few of those things I worked on in the first."
If he's telling the truth, then I guess this rehab outing is somewhat positive. Then again, the Sox need him to throw more then 1 good inning a game. Then again, when was the last time Daisuke only needed 9 pitches to get through an inning?
Daisuke makes his next rehab start Thursday for AAA Pawtucket.
Last night, it was announced that Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi would be retiring. It was a surprise, but not a shock. Bruschi's certainly lost more than a step these past few seasons. And with the Patriots seemingly committed to using more 4-3 defenses this season, it was Bruschi who would be the odd man out.
Bruschi was a member of 5 Patriots teams that made the Super Bowl, and all 3 that won it. He was part of the Homeland Defense that controlled the NFL in 2003 and 2004. He was a true playmaker.
In 189 regular season games for the Pats, Bruschi compiled 1,065 tackles, 668 total tackles, 30.5 sacks, forced 18 fumbles, intercepted 12 passes, and returned 4 of those for touchdowns.
He was never a big numbers type of player, but he came up with big plays at big times. He set an NFL record by returning 4 straight interceptions for TDs. He forced big fumbles, made big tackles, and changed games with just one big play.
The last few seasons, he's been a ghost on the field. Not only was he not making big plays, he was struggling with regular ones. He was a starter almost by default. To his credit, he never let up. If it was possible to try harder than he did when he first came into the League, he was doing so these last few years.
He's not going to the Football Hall of Fame. But you can bet the farm that he'll be inducted into The Hall at Patriot Place as soon as possible.
After a 10 month hiatus, Paul Byrd's return to the Sox rotation was more than impressive. He scattered 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 shutout innings, and helped propel the Red Sox past Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays. The victory gave the Sox their first series sweep since they took 3 from Baltimore in Camden Yards at the start of August.
Alex Gonzalez is having the hot-streak of his life. He's 10 for his last 23 (.435). He's hit 3 HR and knocked in 11 RBI in only 15 games with the Sox. He was 2 for 3 this afternoon with a double and a triple.
It's just one start, and it was against a weak offense that wasn't prepared to face him, but if Byrd can come up with some Brad-Penny-in-April kind of starts, then things aren't so dodgy at the bottom end of the rotation.
It was apparently Old Timers Day at Fenway. Not only did 38 year old Paul Byrd look solid, 38 year old Billy Wagner was lights out in his Sox debut. He threw 16 pitches, 11 strikes, allowed 1 hit, and struck out the side in the 8th.
The Sox have Monday off before starting a HUGE 3 game series down in Tampa Bay. The Rays lost today, so the Sox are 5 games ahead of them in the loss column. Taking 2 of 3 down there would be a killer blow to the Rays.
Texas also lost, so the Sox have a 3.5 game lead over the Rangers.
Tim Wakefield was brilliant in his return to the rotation. But now he's leaving said rotation, at least for one start. He's stated that he felt back and hip stiffness/pain in the 3rd inning of his start against the White Sox on Wednesday. That stiffness and pain haven't gone away.
The Sox pushed Jon Lester back to Tuesday to take Wakefield's turn. Paul Byrd took Lester's spot this afternoon against the Blue Jays.
So right now Beckett hasn't pitched like an Ace in a few weeks. Lester can't reach 7 innings. Buchholz is hit or miss. Wakefield is down again. Tazawa looked dreadful last time out. And our hopes are riding on Paul Byrd.
Trying to get information out of the Patriots is like trying to pull the ship out of a ship in a bottle. Even if you do get anything out, it will be broken up bits, and essentially worthless.
The Patriots are conceding that Brady has a sore right shoulder. They seem to be implying that he won't play in Thursday night's preseason finale against the Giants. Bill Belichick stated:
"I’m saying that we made the decision to play other quarterbacks in the second half of the Washington game because we wanted to see them play, and that will be the same situation [in] the Giants game. Tom had a desire to play, but we made a football decision to play other players because I think we need to see other players at that position and make an evaluation there."
Brady has 15 days to recover from whatever the hell is wrong with his shoulder. I doubt there is any tear, or even strain. I'm not too worried about it.
Josh Beckett still doesn't look like an Ace. It's now 3 straight outings without a Quality Start, as Beckett only went 5 innings. 5's were wild for Beckett, as he allowed 5 runs off 5 hits, and 5 walks in his 5 innings.
But the good news is that the bullpen kept things manageable, and the offense put up the necessary 6 runs. Ellsbury was back in the lineup, and was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a very long RBI ground-rule double hit 418 feet to right-center. Jason Bay hit a game tying HR in the 5th, his 29th of the season. Kotchman hit an RBI groundout in the 8th, which was the game-winning run.
Bit of a potential mess for the Sox Saturday night as 11-5 Ricky Romero faces Clay Buchholz. Although the Sox have hurt Romero a lot this season.
The Yankees won, Tampa Bay lost, and Texas lost. The Rays also traded Scott Kazmir for prospects. God knows why. The Sox now have a 2.5 game Wild Card lead.
The big story coming out of Friday night's Patriots/Redskins game will be Tom Brady's shoulder. It's also, perhaps, the most overblown, over-inflated story since Time and CNN went berserk over shark attacks in the summer of 2001.
In case you spent Friday night in a cave, Brady was hit by Albert Haynesworth, and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. He was seen on the sidelines windmilling his right arm. Apparently, he took the field in the 3rd quarter, then left, and returned to the locker room for the remainder of the game.
The Patriots, not surprisingly, were pretty tight-lipped about any injury. Officially, it's being described as a "sore shoulder." Bill Belichick, after the game, remarked: "He's got some bumps and bruises just like everybody else who played in the game."
And until he practices again, there is no way to tell what the problem actually is, or if there is a problem at all.
I'm not a doctor, but it looked like an awkward fall, with a few extra pounds (Haynewsowrth) loaded onto a shoulder in a strange position. But it didn't look like any injury occurred.
Imagine sleeping on your shoulder wrong. Now imagine sleeping on your shoulder wrong with Albert Haynesworth on top. Now imagine that you only slept for 2 seconds. Inconvenient, painful, but not permanent.
The good news is that Brady+Moss=2007. These two were electric to watch. And one can only imagine how exciting the show would have been had Welker played. Brady and Moss combined for a pair of TDs in the 1st half.
Fred Taylor and Laurence Maroney didn't impress me. Maroney was his usual inconsistent self, mixing in 6 yard runs with half yard stumbles. He also had trouble hanging onto the football. And Taylor couldn't get any traction.
Joey Galloway looked decent. The Pats could use him in a Jabar Gaffney type role, and he appeared to still have the requisite speed to do so.
The defensive front was OUTSTANDING. They put consistent and multi-directional pressure on Jason Campbell on almost every down in the 1st half. Unfortunately, the secondary behind them looked like The Four Stooges. coverages were easily blown, DBs were confused, and horrible mistakes were made. It's going to be a long season back there. But at least it will be exciting.
Speaking of Campbell, how much did the CBS announcers wash his balls? Everything he did seemed to be amazing and wondrous. Paris Lenon fucks up (CUT!) and buys a token fake, jumping in the air like a fool, and suddenly Jason Campbell is a Pro Bowler.
The final preseason game is Thursday night in Foxborough, against the Giants. If Brady does happen to play, it probably won't be for very long.
And Chad Ochocinco says Brady's fine:
"Just got a call back from Tom Brady, says he's fine and there's nothing to worry about...It pays to have everyones phone number, seriously he said he's cool..."
Last night, Francona was cautiously optimistic that Jacoby Ellsbury would be in tonight's lineup against the Blue Jays. The injury's been described as a mild high-ankle sprain on the left leg. The good news is, it doesn't seem like a DL sort of injury.
The Red Sox could only ride the 23 year old, ex-Japanese Industrial League arm of Junichi Tazawa so long before things got messy. Last night he allowed 9 runs off 10 hits in 4 innings. It was without a doubt his worst outing.
The good news is that Nick Green can pitch, or so it seems. 2 no-hit innings. Although he did walk 3.
The 9-5 scoreline is deceptively close, as it was 9-2 White Sox going into the bottom of the 8th.
Now the Blue Jays come to town. Josh Beckett opposes Scott Richmond Friday night.
The Red Sox released Brad Penny last night, clearing a roster spot for Billy Wagner. The release came at the request of Penny, who wants to be able to sign with a new team before the September 1st deadline for playoff roster eligibility.
Penny wasn't going to be much of a bullpen pitcher. He's never done it, and would only be used as a long inning mop-up guy, a quasi-starter.
Penny was 7-8 in a Red Sox uniform. He started off well enough, going 5-1 in April and May. But he finished his tenure going 2-7. He was 0-3 in August with an 8.31 ERA.
Could this be the start of something big. Tim Wakefield returns to the rotation with 7 quality innings of 1 run ball. Victor Martinez can catch the knuckleball (unlike certain Captains). And David Ortiz is hitting big-time clutch homeruns again.
Wakefield got a no-decision, but he registered his 12th Quality Start of the season, allowing 6 hits and only 1 walk over his 7 innings. He threw 94 pitches, and 73 of those were strikes. That's a strike-to-ball ratio of 3.5:1. That's excellent for any pitcher, let alone a knuckleballer. Of the 27 batters Wakefield faced, he started 20 of them with 1st pitch strikes.
In May, who would have thought David Ortiz would be at homerun #22? This was his first multi-homerun game of the season, and his first since September 17, 2008. Much like Wakefield makes the rotation fearsome, a power-hitting David Ortiz makes the lineup a force to be reckoned with.
The Red Sox are now 19-6 against the Central Division.
The Yankees beat the Rangers, giving the Sox a 2.5 (2 in the loss column) game edge in the Wild Card.
Junichi Tazawa takes the hill Thursday night as the Red Sox go for the sweep. But he's up against John Danks, who is 11-8 with a 3.85 ERA. We've seen that the White Sox have a very good rotation. If they had some hitting, and a good bullpen, they'd be sick. Too bad.
It wasn't easy. It wasn't pretty. But it wasn't quite as ugly as Monday night's win.
And I think all the Varitek lovers out there have to admit that Victor Martinez is a serious hitter. The lineup improves so much when he's in there. He hits the ball solidly, and hits it where it's pitched. His RBI single in the 7th was a good example of taking what a pitcher gives you. He didn't do too much with it, just hit it on a rope over the short-stop and into left field.
Jon Lester isn't an Ace. He's close. He's very close. On most teams, he'd be the #1 pitcher, and he might even be the Sox best starter. But Aces get deeper into games. 6.2 innings and 3 earned runs is technically a Quality Start, but just barely.
Lester has a tendency to throw a lot of pitches early on. And his stuff deteriorates very quickly after pitch #105.
Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 30th Save of the season, becoming only the second man in MLB history to record 30+ Saves in each of his first 4 seasons. The other guy to do that was Billy "100 MPH straight fastball" Koch.
And of course, Jacoby Ellsbury set a new Red Sox record with 55 stolen bases. What's really amazing is that he's only been caught 9 times. So 85.9% of the time, he gets the base, and only 14.1% of the time he gets the out. That's a crucial part of base-stealing. In his career, he's stolen 114 bases, and only been caught 20 times (85.1%).
Tim Wakefield makes his much anticipated return tonight. He faces Gavin Floyd, who has a solid 3.98 ERA and 10-8 record.
The very strange Bill Wagner had a twist ending this afternoon. After his whimsically named agent Bean Stringfellow made it well-known that the Red Sox refused to agree to Wagner's conditions, therefore keeping Wagner in New York; we find out that the Sox agreed to one of his conditions, and now he's coming to Boston.
Let's just go over a rough sequence of events to reinforce how bizarre this story has been:
1) The Mets put Wagner on waivers, the Red Sox claim him.
2) The Mets and Sox worked out a deal
3) Wagner claimed that he'd refuse to waive his no-trade clause unless the Sox guaranteed not to pick up his 2010 option, and not to offer him arbitration
4) The Sox claim that Wagner never proposed these conditions
5) Wagner and his agent say that Wagner will stay in New York in order to preserve his recently reconstructed arm.
6) Wagner and his agent agree to come to Boston, the Sox agree not to pick-up his option, but maintain the right to offer arbitration
So yeah, very dramatic.
And to his credit, Papelbon was somewhat welcoming in his remarks once the trade became "official."
And seriously, I'm sick and tired of every remark made by every athlete being overanalyzed and investigated to death. I'm listening to WEEI right now and nobody is talking about how this move affects the Red Sox bullpen. They're discussing what Papelbon said a few days ago, and whether or not that demonstrates some sort of latent insecurity. Apparently, everyone's a shrink.
Remember when sports talks was about sports, and not about quotes and remarks?
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 3 innings of rehab ball for the Sox' Gulf Coast League affiliate in Fort Myers yesterday. He threw 37 pitches (surprisingly low for 3 innings), struck out 4, walked none, allowed 1 hit, and didn't allow a run.
His upcoming rehab starts:
Saturday 8/29 with AA Portland Thursday 9/3 with AAA Pawtucket
Unfortunately, AAA Pawtucket's season ends on September 7th. The Sea Dogs end their season on the same day. So Matsuzaka might have to finish his rehab starts with the big club.
Apparently Clay Buchholz pitches to the level of his opponents. Against Sabathia, Verlander, and Halladay, he allowed 4 earned runs in 19 innings (1.89 ERA). Against Jose Contreras, he allows 7 runs in 4.2 innings. Thankfully, Clay's next opponent will be Toronto's Ricky Romero, who's 11-5 with a 3.91 ERA.
Jose Contreras really sucks against the Red Sox. Even though he got charged with only 1 earned run, he was primarily responsible for Chicago's 3rd inning collapse. It was his error that allowed Ortiz to reach on a weak groundball, and his wild pitch allowed Youkilis to score the tying run.
We saw in this game why Billy Wagner would be a good addition to this team. The bullpen did an excellent job, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing only 1 run. But the fact that they HAD to pitch 4.1 innings is why adding another arm out there will help.
With 38 games left in the season, Papelbon's already made 52 appearances. Ramirez has made 55, Delcarmen has been in 51 games, and Okajima's made 56 outings. Having a guy like Wagner could help keep the bullpen fresh. With starters like Buchholz and Tazawa, who struggle to reach the 6th inning, the bullpen needs to be as deep as possible.
Jon Lester faces Freddy Garcia Tuesday night. Yes, Freddy Garcia's still knocking around out there.
The Sox want Billy Wagner. The Mets want to dump Billy Wagner's contract. Billy Wagner doesn't want his $8M option for 2010 picked up. I don't see what the hold-up is.
Wagner can help bolster the Sox bullpen. The relatively innocuous comments from Jonathan Papelbon ("Has he pitched this year?) and Manny Delcarmen ("I think our bullpen is fine right now") notwithstanding, Wagner has 385 Saves in his career. He might turn out to be Eric Gagne 2.0, or he could bolster a bullpen that's lost it's early season form, and has been rundown by lackluster starters failing to go 7 innings.
There are some reports that Wagner's people (his agent has the laughably silly name of Bean Stringfellow) have made two conditions clear to the Red Sox:
1. They agree NOT to pick-up his 2010 option, so he can sign with a team as a closer.
2. That they do not offer him arbitration, allowing teams in 2010 to sign him without compensating the Red Sox with draft picks.
These are reasonable terms, to be sure. I don't want to spend $8M on Wagner in 2010. But the Red Sox denied being offered these conditions. So God knows what's actually going on.
But if the Sox make the playoffs, and subsequently do well in the playoffs, it will be because the starting pitching sorted itself out. It will be because of the return of Tim Wakefield, or perhaps Clay Buchholz finally settling in as a Major Leaguer. It will also be because JD Drew, Jason Bay, and David Ortiz figured out how to all hit at the same time.
This Billy Wagner situation might be more trouble than it's worth. Papelbon's comments aren't as bad as some have made them out to be, but they could just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Then there's how much Eric Gagne struggled to figure out his new role.
Tim Wakefield will return to the rotation Wednesday night. Victor Martinez will catch him, and he'll replace Brad Penny. Penny will be shifted to the bullpen to be used as a long-reliever.
This move makes sense, except why didn't the Sox use Smoltz in this role? Brad Penny has made 4 relief appearances in his career. Smoltz has made 242. Opponents were hitting .230 off Smoltz the first time they faced him. Of the 8 homeruns Smoltz allowed, 0 came the first time thru a lineup. Opponent OPS for Smoltz the first time thru was a meager .597. For Penny, it's .789.
Smoltz just seemed like a better choice for this role. He boasts 154 career saves, and also 4 postseason saves.
Penny leaving the rotation is fine, and he's probably better suited to be used in large-deficit games. It'll help save the other guys in the bullpen. But I just can't get over how the Sox could have a versatile guy like Smoltz and simply let him go just because he sucked as a starter. You spend a couple million dollars on the guy, at least see if he can contribute as a middle-reliever.
All the attention on Sunday's Mets/Phillies game will go to the game-ending unassisted triple play, but the real focus should be on Pedro Martinez'z 6 inning, 4 earned run win. Pedro's now 2-0 for the Phillies, in 3 starts. His no-decision was a 3 inning performance that was cut short by a rain delay.
Smoltz made his Cardinals debut on Sunday. He struck out 9 in 5 innings of shutout work. 7 of those strikeouts came consecutively, setting a new franchise record. But it was against the worst hitting team in baseball: the San Diego Padres. They're averaging 3.82 runs per game, which is the worst in MLB. So I wouldn't look too much into Smoltz's performance.
Thank God Varitek was catching instead of Victor Martinez. Otherwise, Beckett might have had a bad start.
Josh Beckett's outing was one of the more bizarre I've seen from a starter in recent memory. It's rare that a guy goes 8 innings but also gives up 8 runs. It's really rare that Beckett (or anyone else) allows at least 1 run in each of the first 5 innings. In fact, it was the first time he's ever done it.
Apart from 7 to 10 atrocious pitches, Beckett wasn't too bad. But that's how good the Yankees' lineup is hitting these days. Anything less than perfection will turn into hard hits.
If the Red Sox don't have a Cy Young calibre Beckett to send out there every 5th day, they have little chance to win the Wild Card and if that somehow happens, they have NO chance to win a playoff series.
The division race is over. There are 39 games left, and a 7.5 game deficit isn't insurmountable, but I cannot fathom the Red Sox being able to trim 1 game off New York's divisional lead every time through the rotation.
The Red Sox now host the AL Central's 2nd place team, which is also the 6th place Wild Card team. The White Sox aren't as good as most 2nd place teams out there. They're only 2 over .500. The Red Sox are 7.5 games ahead of the White Sox in the Wild Card standings.
It would have been nice to save both Jon Lester's 8 innings, and the 8 runs of offense for the series against the Yankees. Then again, it's also nice to finally sweep a series on the road against a team that isn't the Baltimore Orioles. The Sox hadn't swept a non-Oriole road series since winning 3 in Detroit at the start of June. They hadn't WON a non-Oriole road series since June 28 in Atlanta.
This was one of Jon Lester's most efficient starts of the season. 105 pitches over 8 innings (13.1 pitches per inning). He induced 14 groundball outs, including a pair of 6-4-3 double plays.
New father Dustin Pedroia returned to the lineup and was 1 for 4 with an RBI, a run, and a walk.
JD Drew had a monster night from the 8th lineup spot, going 4 for 4 with a pair of homers and 3 RBI. When everyone's healthy and playing well, Drew becomes a big anchor for the bottom of the lineup. When pitchers navigate through Pedroia-Youkilis-Ortiz-Martinez, they still have to deal with the likes of Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, and JD Drew. So when everyone's healthy and playing well, this lineup becomes very difficult on opposing pitchers.
Here are the pitching probables for the Yankee series: Friday: Brad Penny vs. Andy Pettitte Saturday: Junichi Tazawa vs. AJ Burnett Sunday: Josh Beckett vs. CC Sabathia
The match-ups aren't quite as lopsided as that series down in the Bronx. And the Beckett-Sabathia game could be a real fun one to watch.
I don't think it's too much of an overstatement to think that Wednesday night's 6-1 defeat of Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays is the biggest win of the Red Sox season so far.
For all the Varitek worshipers out there who thought young guys like Buchholz would struggle with Victor Martinez behind the plate, suck on this: Buchholz has a 1.89 ERA in his last 3 starts, all with Martinez catching.
How nice is it to have a productive Jason Bay and a power-hitting David Ortiz in this lineup. Without these guys, the batting order looks like something you'd see in the NL. But with these guys hitting well, it becomes truly fierce. Ortiz hit his 19th HR, Bay his 27th, and Martinez also hit his 19th.
Buchholz's 6 quality innings, and the offensive production against Halladay not only won the game, it helped save the bullpen. Papelbon was unavailable, so building a nice cushion was essentially necessary.
The Sox go for the sweep Thursday night as Jon Lester faces 5-1 Brett Cecil. Sweet name.
Source: ESPN.com Photo Credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese
Tim Wakefield is healthy enough to pitch, just not healthy enough to field. Both his pitching and fielding will apparently be tested Friday in a rehab start for AAA Pawtucket. He's been throwing side sessions with Victor Martinez (George Kottaras is on the DL), and the pitching's been fine. He just can't move off the mound.
The loss of Tim Wakefield might be one of the most underrated injuries in baseball this year. An All-Star pitcher, with 11 wins at the break (he's still 2nd on the team in wins) goes down, and it's supposed to hurt a club. The Sox are 13-4 in Wakefield's starts. He was also averaging 6.4 innings per start, helping to preserve the bullpen.
The Sox are going to need one of three things to make the playoffs: either Tim Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka return and pitch effectively, or Clay Buchholz gets as good as Jon Lester.
