THE 2006 RED SOX: PREVIEW PART I

The 2006 Red Sox look to build on last season and continue their run of post-season berths. At no point in Red Sox history have they ever made the playoffs 4 seasons in a row. If they do it in 2006, it will be 4 in a row, and 6 out of 9.

The Red Sox have rebuilt the all too flawed 2005 team with additions such as Josh Beckett, Alex Gonzalez, Mark Loretta, J.T. Snow, Mike Lowell, and Coco Crisp. Several members of the core team that won it all in 2004 will be returning with the notable exception of Johnny Damon.

STARTING PITCHING
Undoubtedly, the biggest problem with the 2005 season was a lack of pitching. As a team, the Sox ERA was 4.74. Only two regular pitchers - Mike Myers and Mike Timlin - had ERAs below 4.00. Myers is gone to the Yankees, but Timlin remains.

At the top of the rotation are Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. Schilling will start the season in the #1 slot on Monday against Kevin Millwood. He is recovering from a very rough season in which he battled injury all year long. The big question is, what is left in the tank for Schilling?

Schilling only pitched 8 innings in Grapefruit League play. He did not perform very well, but he seemed to be using the time to experiment with new styles of pitching. The thing about Schilling is that even if he is not 100%, he is a very smart and tough pitcher. He knows how to get things done. I think he will be fine this season. Not as good as he was in 2004, but good enough to lead this staff. I think he will win 18 games, pitch 220 innings, and finish with an ERA around 3.50.

Beckett is another large question mark. Beckett is still a youngster, only 26. He has yet to achieve in a season what has been expected of him. This could very well be that season. He will have plenty of veterans around him to learn from. However, he'll also be trying to learn a new league. I think he'll start off a bit rocky and then finish the season strong. I'd say 16 wins, and an ERA of 3.40.

The rest of the rotation is much less spectacular. Wakefield, Clement, and Wells are all capable of greatness in one start then crappiness in the next.

Clement started last season off very nicely earning an All-Star bid. Then it seemed as though hitter's figured out what he would be throwing. He has always been a strong starter and weak finisher. I think he'll be solid for us on the whole finishing with 16 wins and an ERA of about 4.00.

Wakefield is a question mark. He always has been. His stuff hasn't changed much and it still works. I think he is getting older, however. Believe it or not, knuckleballers get tired too. I predict he will win 15 games for us and have an ERA of around 4.40.

Wells doesn't want to be here, but he hasn't allowed his unhappiness to affect his pitching in the past. He is coming off an injury and is getting up there in age, but I think there is still some gas left in the tank. He will be highly motivated to pitch well to make him more tradable. I think if he pitches well, he will be dealt by the All-Star break and replaced by Papelbon. For the first half of the season I think he'll win 7 or 8 and have an ERA of 4.60. Not bad for a 5th starter.

Papelbon will start the season in the bullpen. I think he will come into his own this season. With the uncertainty of the starting staff, he is almost bound to make at least 10 starts this year. If he does, he will not get overexposed and should perform nicely both in the pen and as a starter.

TAVAREZ SUSPENDED FOR 10 GAMES

Tavarez was suspended for 10 games starting Opening Day unless the reliever appeals. He probably will appeal and the suspension will probably get reduced. No other player was suspended or fined in the incident. I'm sure Tavarez's history (this is suspension #5) didn't help him in this situation.

In other news, the Red Sox and David Ortiz are on the verge of agreeing to a $50 million contract extension which would keep Ortiz with the Sox until 2010. Ortiz would finally be getting paid an amount he deserves: $12.5 million a season.

Today is the last day the Red Sox will be in Florida. They play Philly this weekend before starting the season on Monday in Arlington against the Rangers.

I can't friggin wait.

RED SOX HAVE A LOT OF FIGHT IN THEM

So Julian Tavarez was covering home plate. Joey Gathright slid into Tavarez. Tavarez thought Gathright was a bit too over zealous. So Tavarez hit him with his fist. You know, the animosity between the Red Sox and Devil Rays never ceases to amaze me. This incident seems as though it was our fault, but usually it is their doing (Gerald Williams charging Pedro, the constant throwing at our best hitters). I for one am grateful for it because it makes playing the D-Rays 20 times a season bearable.

This incident comes right after Josh Beckett and Ryan Howard got into a shouting match that resulted in the benches clearing but no punches being thrown. Howard hit a long fly ball and stood to watch it. It wasn't a fair our foul type thing, this one was to center field. He stood and stood up Beckett and watch his potential homerun fall into the center-fielder's glove for a long out. Then Beckett, upset by this classless showboating, yelled at Howard. The yelling continued when Howard took the field and Beckett returned to the dugout. The benches cleared as Howard approached the dugout. I can't say I blame Beckett. I mean, who admires their fly outs in spring training anyway?

The Red Sox will play the Phillies in Philadelphia to end spring training on Saturday and Sunday. Beckett will probably not pitch in those games. The Sox host the Devil Rays April 18th to the 20th. Tickets are on sale now.

One thing is for certain about this Red Sox team. They've got fire in them. They may not be the Idiots of 2004. But they are definitely not bland and boring.

BC WINS, BC LOSES, BC LOSES

This weekend was all about college sports, which is rare in New England. Boston College was in the Sweet 16 in both men's and women's basketball. BC was also in the NCAA hockey tournament along with BU, Maine, UNH, Harvard, and Holy Cross.

The weekend started off poorly for BC with a heartbreaking 60-59 loss to #1 seed Villanova on Friday night. The Eagles should have and could have won this game. They pulled out to a 16 point lead in the first half and were playing their brand of basketball then for some reason allowed Villanova to set the pace for the rest of the game. Nova came back but BC led by 8 points with 10:00 left in regulation and blew that lead too. Down the stretch, BC really shot itself in the foot at the foul line and offensive possessions that went nowhere.

BC did not score from 3:07 left on the clock until Jared Dudley hit his 3 pointer at 0:28. Coming down the stretch, that is a terrible drought. Only BC's defensive play prevented Villanova from running away with it. The Eagles went 3 for 7 from the foul line, several of those misses coming with less than 5:00 on the clock and the front end of a 1 and 1. Overall, BC was 8 for 17 in the game and Villanova was 14 for 20. In a game as close as this, that is a huge differential.

In OT, the Eagles simply looked frazzled. They missed their first three shots, not scoring until 2 minutes into overtime. By then they were down by 5. Craig Smith got it within one with a drive to the hole and the foul on the play gave BC a chance to tie it at 56-56. But Smith missed it.

The game came down to BC with the ball and 18 seconds on the clock. They were down 58-57. They inbounded and Craig Smith hit it to take the lead with 12 seconds on the clock. At first, BC defended Villanova perfectly. Then on an inbound play, the Eagles let Nova inbound it beneath the basket. Will Sheridan put it in for the Wildcats and the Eagles were sent back to classes.

Craig Smith had a good day but not one his best. He had 14 points, and 14 boards, but he was 2 for 6 from the line and turned the ball over 7 times. The only player that rebounded consistently besides Smith was Sean Williams who turned in another good defensive performance (7 rebounds, 3 blocks). Boston College turned the ball over 21 times, while forcing Villanova to turn it over 10 times. Near the end of the game, the turnovers were hardly even forced by Villanova. Passing the ball to no one, bad dribbling, et cetera.

BC had a great run this season. They finished 3rd in the ACC, and was on the precipice of greatness all season, losing by only 2 to Duke twice, and losing to #1 Villanova by a single point in OT. They had a team capable of winning it all. They just made a few too many mistakes near the end.

The BC women also fell just shy of making the Elite 8, losing to 5th seeded Utah 57-54. This came after BC upset #1 seed Ohio State to make the Sweet 16.

Here's the good news for BC. They won in the first round of the NCAA hockey tournament 5-0 against Miami-Ohio. Also winning in the first round was BU. Holy Cross pulled a major upset by beating 3rd in the country Minnesota 4-3. Also in the first round, Maine beat Harvard 6-1 and UNH barely fell to Michigan State 1-0. The big match-up for the second round was BC vs. BU. The game was played in Worcester and the winner would be going to Milwaukee as part of the Frozen Four. Boston College had lost to BU in their past 4 meetings, including a 1-2 OT loss in the Hockey East Championship game and a 3-2 loss in the Beanpot. BC got revenge though, with a 5-0 drubbing that sent BU packing back to Boston and sent the Eagles packing for Wisconsin.

Boston College was joined in the Frozen Four by North Dakota. Today Cornell plays Wisconsin, and Maine plays Michigan State for the last two spots. BC will be up against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux in the national semi-finals, which will be in less than 2 weeks.

SOX DROP TO YANKS, PENA HOMERS

Adam Stern had yet another good Spring outing and is making a good case for the Red Sox to carry 5 outfielders. He went 3 for 5 with a double, a homerun, and a stolen base. He also knocked in two runs. He is batting .429 in Grapefruit League play to go along with his .667 WBC average. Overall in Spring games he is batting .500 (15 for 30) and is slugging 0.967 combined.

Willy Mo Pena also did well, going 2 for 4 with a laser homerun and 2 RBI. It wasn't enough thoush as Papelbon gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, Timlin gave up a run in an inning, and Riske gave up 2 runs in an inning. Craig Hansen continued his scoreless Spring with a clean sheet in the 8th.

COLTS FANS UPSET AT LOSS OF VANDERJERK?
You'd think that Indy fans would be jumping for joy. After all, last season ended for them on a missed field goal and they had just signed the guy who almost never misses when it matters most. Yet it seems as though many Colts fans are dissapointed to see Mike Vanderjagt leaving and going to Dallas and Adam Vinatieri coming to Indianapolis. This makes me wonder, maybe Indy fans are morons. Also, maybe Pats fans are overreacting.

TEN DAYS TIL OPENING DAY
Opening day in Arlington, TX is getting closer and closer. There are still a few questions yet to be answered, however. Curt Schilling will start on Opening Day, and Beckett will come after that. But who will be #3? Probably Clement who has had a good spring. Then Wakefield. Then the #5 hole which is vacant because Wells won't be starting until the 10th game of the season. Papelbon will probably pitch there, but if he does well, will he be removed from the rotation?

Then there's the question of the backup catcher. The pride of Ithaca: Josh Bard, has seen the most time there this spring. He brings some experience to the position with 149 games caught with the Indians. In 1,197.2 innings behind the dish, he has allowed 9 passed balls or 1 every 133 innings. He's batted .278 this spring and has seen more time than the other catchers. Unless the Sox can acquire another backup catcher, I think he will be it.

LET'S CALM DOWN, PEOPLE

Been listening to WEEI off and on and reading a few posts on a few message boards and I think that people in Patriot Land need to calm down. Some people are viewing this as the end of a dynasty. Some people are proclaiming Vinatieri as being "greedy". I think these opinions are too extreme.

In the end Vinatieri is a kicker. He's a great kicker, but he isn't the be all and end all of the team. Yes, he was money when it mattered most. But there are many more important elements of a football team that are more important.

I don't think Vinatieri is being "greedy" either. He wants security and he's gotten it with his $3.5 million signing bonus. This type of stuff happens in pro sports. It is a business.

So let's get off the Patriots back just a bit. Let's see who they get to replace Adam and how it works out during the season. And let's get off Adam's back. Both the team and Adam have performed so well for us over the past few seasons that we should cut them just a bit of slack.

COLTS SIGN VINATIERI

Of all the teams, he had to go to the Colts. Indy signed away one of the biggest heroes in Boston sports history today. They needed a kicker and they got one of the best ever. This is just another player the Patriots have lost this year. Others such as Willie McGinist, and David Givens have left the team. There is some serious work to be done down in Foxborough to fill these holes for the 2006 season.

Having Vinatieri was like starting every game with a 3-0 lead. He is the clutchest player in any sport that I have ever seen. When you called on him to be the hero, he would do it, even on the bigger stages.

Adam was getting older. Last season, he had some troubles with his back and his range was down. The Patriots took a lot of punts when maybe 2 seasons ago they would have attempted field goals. His kickoffs also weren't going as far as in the past, but that is a small part of the game.

The Patriots depended on Vinatieri more than any other team depended on their kicker. We play such a close game and depend on getting small edges that amount to victories. Vinatieri was one of those edges. The Pats will get a decent kicker to replace Vinatieri, but I don't think there is a kicker out there to match Vinatieri's ability to perform under pressure. The Patriots will have to adjust for that.

THE FUTURE OF THE WBC

Japan won the first ever World Baseball Classic. Did you know that? Now for some reason, the next WBC will be in 3 years in 2009. Perhaps for the next one, they'll learn a few things:

1. Don't schedule games during the NCAA tournament. Even the NIT knows that.

2. Try not to have it during Spring Training. It isn't really the best players in the world when they're kept to pitch counts and are swinging like it is Spring Training.

3. Maybe have more international umpiring crews.

4. Don't just arbitrarily select 16 countries, make them qualify in some way.

5. It is boring to have teams in the same group in the 1st round play in the next round. We never got to see the US play Cuba or the Dominican play Japan.

6. Don't put the games on ESPN Deportes and don't give the NIT more priority on regular ESPN.

It will be back in 2009, they're sticking to March, and it will probably still be in North America.

It will be interesting to see how participants in the WBC start off the season. Will they be warmer and fresher having played in serious games, or will they be colder having had limited playing time, or will they be worn out? Time will tell.

To Mr. Steinbrenner, though. One MLB player was hurt, more than 150 were not.