WE'RE NOW 1 GAME AHEAD IN THE AFC EAST

What a Godawful shitty game played by the New England Patriots. It used to be that after we lost a game, we'd kill the next team on the schedule. Instead, this team looked demoralized, and beaten before they even took the field.

When you put up over 300 yards of offense, you think that your team would score more than 1 touchdown and 14 points. But the Patriots offense was start and sputter all day long.

It started on the first drive. The Pats drove into Jets territory, but failed to get 1st downs and were forced to punt.

After a 3 and out, the Pats had control of the field position battle. Hochstein was called for holding then the Pats failed to convert on 3rd and 13. After the punt, the Jets drove into our territory and took control of the field position.

We then drove all the way down to the 4, thanks in large part to a 50 yard run from Dillon, his longest since 2002. We could even get a first down without getting a touchdown. Maroney was then stuffed for a loss of 1, and Brady was sacked for a loss of 8. The Pats were forced to settle for 3.

Before last week's game against Indy, we had been a really proficient red zone team. We had one of the best scoring and touchdown percentages in the NFL. Lately, we've been folding in the red zone and that is a sure fire way to lose football games.

On the first play of the jets ensuing drive, Artrell Hawkins picked the ball off. Things seemed to be going very well for the Pats. Up 3-0 with the ball back at their 44, we had a chance to start running away with the game. Brady hit Caldwell for 10. Then he hit Gabriel for 22 which got the ball to the Jets 24, then Gabriel fumbled. This was the same type of crap we saw last week. We'd get a huge opportunity on a turnover or a defensive stop, then give the ball right back.

The Jets capitalized on their opportunity with a long, well-orchestrated drive that reminded me of the 2001 Patriots. 16 plays, over 9 minutes of possession, and it ended in a touchdown. After the Pennington interception, the Jets had a good chance to go up at least 6-0 or maybe even 10-0. Instead, they turned over the ball, allowed a long drive and fell behind 7-3.

The Patriots benefited immensely on their next drive from an unnecessary roughness penalty that negated a Brady interception that was really a very poorly thrown ball. They moved the ball all the way down to the Jets 11, but fell a yard short of getting a 1st down and were forced to kick a field goal from the 3 yard line. Nice to get points before the half ends, but if you get the ball to the 11, you have to punch it into the end zone. Still, we were only down 1 point.

In the 2nd half, the Pats allowed yet another massive kickoff return, this one a 62 yarder that gave the jets the ball at our 38. The Jets weren't able to do much, but were able to pooch punt the ball and down it at our 4.

We were able to get the ball out of our own red zone and punt to the jets 25, which is a good result for a drive that starts on your own 4. The jets had another methodical, short passing, short running drive and were able to kick a field goal to go up 10-6.

The Pats had a 26 yard pass play on the ensuing drive negated by a formation penalty on Caldwell. They were able to get the ball to the Jets 32, but after an incomplete and back-to-back sacks, they were forced to punt, and it went into the end zone.

We can't afford to allow sacks. We usually don't allow too many. But in this game, we allowed 4 and that's just inexcusable. We went from close to field goal range to a difficult punt in two plays.

We forced the Jets to punt and got the ball back on the 20. Dillon ran for 13, then for 2. On 2nd and 8, Brady threw a shitty pass that was picked off by the Jets. We're not used to seeing this from Brady, but he's thrown some really dumb passes this season. He almost seems to be trying to force completions, which just isn't good whatsoever. This was a monstrous pick, too. We gave the Jets an opportunity to go up by a touchdown with a field goal, to go up by 2 scores with a touchdown with minimal time left in the 4th quarter.

The Jets, of course, scored a touchdown. There was now 4:45 left and the Patriots needed a miraculous two scores.

Thanks to a 36 yard kickoff return from Maroney, the Pats had good field position. He hit Gaffney for 33 yards, then Brown for 15, then Caldwell for 15 and a touchdown. 4 plays, 61 yards, 0:31 off the clock. Nearly a perfect drive.

We were forced to try for 2 and we got it as Brady hit Caldwell.

The Pats defense needed to come up with some sort of stand. There was 4:03 on the clock and we still needed a field goal to tie. But the defense didn't come up with a stop soon enough. We had to burn through timeouts and got the ball in poor field position with only 1:08 on the clock.

For some reason, we didn't spike the ball until there was only 0:10 on the clock. We moved the ball down the field nicely and quickly, but we didn't stop the frigging clock. We got down to the Jet 46 with only 0:10 on the clock. We basically could only run one play. It HAD to be about 17 yards or so, and it HAD to be near the sidelines, and it HAD to take less than 0:09. We allowed a sack and the game was over.

We only had 26 rushing attempts and were forced to throw the run out. We got down inside the Jets 10 yard line twice but only got field goals. Brady had a moronic interception that changed the game immensely. Gabriel had a huge fumble that took a lot of our momentum away. The defense struggled to force 3 and outs, and struggled to pressure Pennington. We looked extremely vulnerable to the short dump passes. We hardly ever forced the Jets into 3rd and long situations. We allowed a lot of 1st and 2nd down yardage. Those short pass plays really add up.

Meanwhile, on offense, we racked up 377 yards of total offense, but only got 1 touchdown. That's indicative of consistency problems, which we had a great deal of. 4 sacks and 2 turnovers don't help much either, and not being in charge of the field position battle also was a problem for us. It seemed like we were always facing 3rd and longs. We were forced to attempt 4th down conversions thrice. We converted all three, but good offenses don't face those situations.

First back-to-back loss since 2002, first loss to the Jets since 2002. All three of our losses have come in Gillette Stadium, which used to be a fortress for us. Last time we had more than three home losses was 2000.

We need to do a lot of work. We need to adjust the offensive game plan, big time.

PATRIOTS POINT SHAVING A BIT TOO OBVIOUS

Have you ever seen the Patriots play a game that poorly since the infamous 31-0 route in Buffalo? I don't think I have. Nevertheless, we nearly won the day. We were handed this victory over the undefeated Colts on a silver platter several times, but each time we messed it up.

The Colts did their part, too. They gave us the ball on several occasions, and even Adam Vinatieri missed a few field goals. Can I just say that I'm glad that this game didn't come down to an AV4 field goal that he made, because otherwise the reactionary, simple-minded morons in New England would instantly blame the loss on the loss of Vinatieri, instead of blaming the entire team for the loss. Thank God we won't have to suffer through that maelstrom of morons.

We had this game. We had this game at any time we wanted to take it. But we didn't. It wasn't that we couldn't, we just didn't. We didn't execute. We F'ed up and they got away.

To paraphrase Denny Green, the Colts are who we thought they were.

As upsetting as it is to lose a game you easily could have won, I'm going to be optimistic here. We lost, but if we had played just a little bit better, we would have beaten a team that is now 8-0. I don't think this game will be the only meeting between the Colts and Pats this season. And from what we all saw on Sunday night, they look very, VERY beatable.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.

On the first drive of the game, we started off in the wrong direction. Dillon was stuffed for a loss of 2, then Caldwell was called for offensive PI. On 2nd and 21, Dillon ran for 10, then Brady hit Watson for 15 and a 1st down. Brady hit Jackson for 9, then Maroney ran for 12. It looked as though the Colts defense was already dissected and waiting for us to chop them up on the field.

After a false start, Maroney ran for 6, then Dillon for 7, then Dillon for 4 more and a 1st down. Then, something strange happened. We were at the Indy 34, we had a 1st down and we were in total control of the Colts defense. The entire playbook was open. For some reason we decided to throw deep, and into coverage. We weren't desperate enough to do that. We weren't in a position in which we needed to be that aggressive. We could have handed off to Maroney, or thrown a mid-length route for 8 to 12 yards. Nope. We decided to try and hit the end zone. Maybe Belichick wanted to keep the safeties back so the run would continue to work. That's about the only reason I can conceive of to call that play. Brady threw deep to Gabriel, but it wasn't caught by Gabriel, it was caught by the Colts. What seemed to be a sure scoring drive ended with the Colts gaining possession at their 32.

After two incompletes and a false start, the Colts were facing 3rd and 15. We put good pressure on Manning and Colvin almost got to him. But Peyton got the ball off and hit Harrisson for 44 yards and a huge 1st down. The Colts eventually put the ball in the end zone to go up 7-0.

We got the ball back but then the mysterious penalties started. Fourteen year veteran Troy Brown got a 15 yard taunting penalty. This was because.....ummmm...he said something mean to a Colts player. And we all know how sensitive those guys are. You can't touch them, or even say mean things because they are quite fragile and delicate.

Anyway, on 3rd and 20, Brady hit Gabriel for 39 yards. At the end of the 1st quarter, Brady hit Faulk on 4th and 3 for 14 yards and a massive 1st down. Dillon took two shots at the end zone and got in on the second try. 7-7 game.

The Colts got the ball back and easily drove downfield for 7 points and retook a 7 point lead.

The Patriots responded with their own struggle free touchdown drive to tie it at 14-14.

The Pats kicked off and allowed a 70 yard return. Then they committed a PI penalty and the Colts had the ball at our 7 without a single successful offensive play ran. Then we stopped Adai in the backfield for a loss of 1. Then Seau sacked Manning for a loss of 9. So now the Colts were facing 3rd and goal from their 17.

Manning attempted a pass to the end zone that was picked off by Samuel. But, the Colts receiver ran into Samuel downfield. You see, when the Colts are on the field, you can't touch them, even if they run into you. You have to let them run by you, then you can try to cover them. They need a lot of help and a lot of encouragement. In fact, if it's a jump ball, not only should the defensive back avoid making a play for the ball, he should whisper words of encouragement into the ears of the sensitive Colts receiver. They need special help and care and love. Asante Samuel should have known that by standing downfield in the perfect spot to defend against the route the receiver was running, he was being mean to the Colts. Asante should have gotten out of his way instead of allowing himself to get run into by the receiver. The ref was totally justified in throwing a penalty flag for Samuel's outlandish behavior. Imagine, a defensive back in the NFL being mean and not doing everything in his power to help the receiver catch the ball.

End of sarcasm.

The call on Samuel was BS, in my opinion. He was standing there, got run into, then made a play for the ball. Isn't that good pass coverage? The drive should have ended there with the Patriots getting the ball at the 20. Instead, the Colts got a fresh set of downs and were able to kick a field goal.

Afterwards, Brady and the offense had a chance to get some points to end the half, but that drive ended in a misguided throw into triple coverage on Ben Watson.

Here's a few reasons why you don't throw into triple coverage:
1. The pass has to be dead on perfect, a bit off in any direction is probably an INT
2. If a pass is a jump ball pass, the defense has three guys against your one, bad odds for your guy catching it, great odds of it getting picked
3. Even if you do throw a perfect pass, the receiver MUST catch it. If he bobbles it into the air, it will probably be a pick.
4. If the pass is picked, the defender already has two blockers with him and can have a big-time runback, maybe even all the way to the end zone

The Colts got the ball to start the second half. Immediately, Manning hit Harrisson for 36 yards. After Adai got 2 and Manning threw an incomplete, the Pats stopped the Colts on 3rd down. Until the refs threw a flag. They called Vrabel for illegal contact downfield. Replays showed that Vrabel glanced a Colts receiver, but within the 5 yard hit zone. Maybe the refs meant to call it on someone else. Regardless, Vrabel didn't do anything wrong, and it didn't seem as though any other Patriot did.

After a gift 1st down, Wayne fumbled. The ball sat on the ground, waiting for someone to grab it. Nobody did. It was knocked out of bounds by the Colts so they retained possession. Eventually, Vinatieri tried a field goal but missed.

So the Pats had 1st and 10 on their 27, down 17-14 with plenty of time. Then Dillon fumbled. The play was reviewed and the recovery touchdown was called back. The Colts were unable to do anything with the ball despite great field position. Colvin had a huge sack that knocked Indy out of field goal range. The fumble wasn't totally game changing, but it did run another minute off the clock, and resulted in a -16 change of field position for the Pats.

The next drive was confusing. Brady hit Brown for a nice 12 yard gain. Dillon was stuffed for a loss of 1. On 2nd and 11, the Patriots attempted a fake reverse screen. Why? Of all the plays in the playbook, why that one. Both the passing game and the running game were working for us. On 2nd and 11, we could have handed the ball off or thrown a mid-range pass to try to make it 3rd and manageable, not 3rd and long. The Colts defense was weak, but they were also very fast. They eat up plays that take time developing like screens. The fake reverse aspect of the screen was also a bit too much. I think Bellichick was trying too hard to outcoach the Colts.

The play didn't work. On 3rd and 11, Brady was flushed out of the pocket and ran for 9 yards, still shy of the 1st down marker. We punted.

The Colts scored on the next drive thanks to an amazing grab by Harrisson. Not much you could do about that play. But now it was 24-14, and the clock was ticking.

The Pats, thanks in large part to a pass interference call on Indy, were able to drive to the Colts 31 yard line. They were then stopped. Gostkowski attempted a 49 yarder and hit it to make it a 24-17 game.

On the kickoff, Artrell Hawkins made a great special teams play and stripped Wilkins during his return. The Pats got the ball on the Indy 46 and seemed to have a great deal of momentum with them.

We drove all the way to the 16, but were stopped in the red zone, something which hasn't happened much this season. Gostkowski attempted a 36 yarder but kicked it terribly wide right.

The Colts got the ball back and the 4th quarter started. Troy Brown had an absolutely stupid penalty on 3rd and 7 that gave Indy an automatic 1st down. The Colts drove all the way to the 30. Then Chad Scott picked off Manning at the 14 yard line and returned the ball all the way to near midfield.

Huge opportunity for the Patriots. Still only a 7 point game, with 13:16 on the clock. Then Brady threw a ball through the defensive line. It was tipped at the line, and a Colts defender was the one who caught it.

The Colts got the ball back and didn't really move it much with the exception of one 16 yard pass play and a stupid, yet still ticky-tacky flag on Roosevelt Colvin. Vinatieri hit the 31 yard field goal to make it a 27-17 game.

Brady hit Gabriel for 6, Faulk ran a draw up the middle for 10, Maroney ran left for 17, Brown caught a 6 yard pass, then Watson a 5 yard pass and all of a sudden the Pats were on the Indy 15. A PI penalty got them to the 10.

We ran Faulk again on 1st and goal from the 10, but were only able to get 2. I don't know why we weren't using Dillon in this situation. Brady threw incomplete to Thomas on 2nd and goal. On 3rd and goal, Brady threw to Faulk, who was on the 2, but Faulk dropped it. He might have been able to dive into the end zone, he might not have been. Either way, you can go for it on 4th and goal on the 1 or 2 yard line. The Pats settled for a field goal. Not the end of the world, but time was running short.

The Colts drove the ball downfield, but Vinatieri missed a game clinching field goal. We still had a chance. We didn't have any timeouts, but we still had 1:55 on the clock to work with. Brady hit Watson for 25 down the left. We had about 90 seconds to go 39 yards, certainly doable. Brady threw over the middle short to Faulk who once again dropped the ball. The throw wasn't absolutely perfect, it was a tad high, but it hit both of Faulk's hands and he couldn't haul it in. But Cato June was able to. The INT sealed the victory for Indianapolis.

In my opinion, we lost this game on so many levels. The Colts played better than us, but they weren't a more talented team than us. We turned the ball over 5 times. We made some horrendous errors in play calling, and stupid penalties. We also had our fair share of ticky tacky calls against us. Also, did anyone else notice that Ty Warren was getting held on every single pass rush? We didn't score in the red zone enough, we missed a field goal, we allowed a big return on special teams, so many big mistakes and little mistakes. We didn't have that confident stride. We were playing like one of the other 31 teams in the League, we weren't playing like the Patriots.

But I'm hopeful. Indy did not look unbeatable. We rattled Manning and forced some mistakes, we just failed to capitalize on them and we made far too many mistakes of our own. We didn't run the ball enough, especially not Dillon. We had 33 rushing attempts out of 68 offensive plays. Dillon only got 13 carries, but as the power rusher, I think he should have gotten somewhere around 20.

The defense looked good despite allowing so many points. To be fair, they were up against a Colts offense that is stacked. They were often playing in poor field position. The Colts average starting position was at their 37, but that average includes them starting at the 3 after a Brady INT to end the 1st half. Take that drive out and they averaged starting at their 40. One the other hand, we averaged starting out on the 34. The Colts started drives in our territory 3 times, we only had 1 start in Indy territory. The time of possession was split pretty much 50/50 with the Colts having it 1:12 less than us.

We were supposed to dominate time of possession, and starting field position, and the turnover department. We failed to do all three. We played like crap and deserved to lose. But I don't think we'll play that badly again this season.

Ironically, it was mostly the veterans who played poorly. Faulk with 2 dropped balls, Brown with a stupid penalty, Brady with 4 picks, and Dillon with the fumble.

We'll get them in December if we get our minds focused properly.

BC=BIG CHOKE ONCE MORE

Is anybody truly surprised anymore when Boston College loses the big game it should win? Is anyone shocked when they blow coverages, throw picks in the end zone, allow 81 yard rushes, fail to stay at home on end arounds, fumble after picking up a huge first down, or generally screw up big time in any way? Is anyone taken aback when they do this in football, or basketball, or hockey? If you are, you're a sucker.

BC is limited in recruiting because unlike most other schools, they have academic standards. Places like The U, or Virginia Tech do not. But this wasn't a game in which the Eagles were simply a less talented team. The Eagles beat themselves in this one.

The eagles has 430 yards of total offense, but they also threw 2 interceptions, had 70 penalty yards, and only averaged 1.1 yards per carry on the ground. Matt Ryan was 40 for 57 for 402 yards, but he only completed one TD pass. The other two times he hit a man in the end zone, they were wearing black and gold.

The first major BC mistake came about halfway through the 2nd quarter. Wake had possession of the ball at the Eagle 46. Nate Morton went on a deep route and was dropped off in coverage by BOTH the safety and the corner, instead of just one or the other. This left him wide open in the middle of the field with reservations for 6, and a Wake Forest TD to take the lead.

On the very next drive, BC drove the ball from their 27 all the way down to the Wake Forest 30. They were close to field goal range, but on 3rd and 13, Matt Ryan threw a poorly decided upon pass into the end zone where it was picked off by Wake Forest to end the drive.

In the 3rd quarter, BC gave up an 81 yard TD run early on that put them in the hole 21-7. The eagles got the score to 21-14 with a Ryan TD run on 4th and goal.

BC had three drives in the 4th quarter. The first ended with a missed field goal. The second one ended with an LV Whitworth fumble. The third ended with a Matt Ryan TD. Wake Forest held on to win 21-14.

BC is now a 2 loss team in the ACC Atlantic Division, which all but ends their hopes of a division title. They lost to NC State, and Wake Forest. Both of these games were games BC should have won.

Maryland and WFU are now both 4-1 in the ACC. In order for BC to win the ACC Atlantic, they have to win their remaining 3 Conference games (Duke, Maryland, at Miami), and hope Maryland beats WFU. If WFU loses to Maryland AND loses another conference game (they also play Virginia Tech and FSU), and we beat Maryland, we'll still win the division. But now we are no longer in control of our own destiny, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

BEST DEFENSE IN BASEBALL GETS 0 GOLD GLOVES

The Red Sox finished 2006 with a team fielding percentage of .989. They had the highest team fielding percentage in the Majors. They only made 66 errors, which was the fewest in baseball by 14 and the lowest in the AL by 18.

Alex Gonzalez only had 111 games at short-stop, but lack of time at a position hasn't stopped Gold Glove voters before (See: Rafael Palmeiro). He had the best fielding percentage among short-stops with at least 30 games at the position at .985. The Gold Glove winner, Derek Jeter, was at .975. Gonzo had 7 errors to Jeter's 15. Gonzo got slightly more chances than jeter per game at 4.28 to Jeter's 4.07 which indicates better range. We all saw what Gonzo did defensively this season, and it was amazing. He deserved the Gold Glove.

Mike Lowell tied GG winner Eric Chavez for fielding percentage at .987. But Chavez got the nod for another Gold Glove.

Mark Loretta finished close to Mark Grudzelanik in fielding percentage, but the Royal got the award.

I just find it odd that as a team the Sox had a great fielding percentage, and the entire infield had very good defensive years, but no player received recognition for this.

David Ortiz also got snubbed for the Hank Aaron Award by Derek Jeter. This was despite his 54 homers and 137 RBI. Both led the AL. Jeter had a much better average, but he knocked in 90 runs in the best lineup in baseball. Ortiz also had the most total bases with 355.

The Red Sox do not have a representative on the MLB All-Star team currently playing Japanese League All-Stars in Japan.

While over in Japan, MLB has announced that they'd like to start the 2008 regular season in China. The NFL has already announced a pre-season game in The People's Republic and MLB's following suit is a good idea. China is a massive market and a potential pool of talent that MLB could use. MLB already opened the door to China in the WBC when they let China field a team even though it had little chance of even winning a game (they were outscored 30-6 in their 3 games).

WAKEFIELD'S OPTION PICKED UP

The Red Sox picked up the $4 million option for pitcher Tim Wakefield. Wakefield turned 40 this season, but will be back for his 13th season with the Red Sox, by far the longest anyone on the 2007 roster will have been with the team.

Trot Nixon, Gabe Kapler, Alex Gonzalez, Mark Loretta, and Doug Mirabelli have filed for free agency.

Early lines out of Vegas have the Patriots favored by 3 points for the upcoming clash with the undefeated Colts.

VIKING QUEST

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best run defenses in the NFL. Their gameplan on Monday night was simple: stop the run and force Brady to throw the ball. Incorrect decision.

The Patriots knew that running wouldn't work, seemingly before kickoff. On the first drive, the Pats attempted 6 passes and rushed only once. All 6 passes were caught, including the final one in the end zone. The game was over.

Offensively, the Vikings didn't seem to have any gameplan whatsoever. They tried running, didn't work too well. Then they fell behind. The short passes they threw worked, but for some reason they strayed from that plan as the Patriots lead grew and grew. Brad Johnson is not a deep ball QB, and this was made quite evident. The Pats picked Johnson off 3 times on 3 balls that were poorly thrown. The only points Minnesota scored were through special teams.

The Patriots dominated this game from the opening drive to the final whistle. The first drive was a complete dismantling of the Vikings' zone coverage and a stifling of their pass rush. Neither would come back together enough to make a difference throughout the remainder of the game.

The first drive was artistry in coaching and quarterbacking. Brady hit Watson for 8. Dillon was hit in the backfield for a loss of 8. The Vikings celebrated this tackle for a loss, perhaps rightfully so. It may have been the last moment that they were in the game. On 3rd and 10, Brady nailed Gabriel in the seam of the zone for 45 yards. Brady hit Gabriel again for 16 more. Brown caught a 5 yarder, then Watson got it to the 4 with a 16 yard reception. Brady hit Caldwell in the end zone to put the Pats up for good. The Pats would lead for the next 56:07.

The Pats did dominate this game, but they didn't play their best football. Don't get me wrong, they played very well, but they also turned the ball over twice. They also had some missed tackles that turned into huge plays for the Vikings, including the punt return for Minnesota's only TD.

Brady had a career game. He threw 29 of his 43 attempts for completions. He amassed 372 yards, and threw 4 TDs, each to a different player. He hit 10 different receivers. More importantly, he hit 5 different WIDE receivers. About half of Brady's completions were to wide receivers. He's starting to feel more comfortable with them and vice versa.

The Patriots did in this game what they've done many times before. They adjusted the way they played based on the way their opponents play. They didn't even really try to run the ball. As a team, they had 15 total rushing attempts. One was a QB sneak, one was a QB kneel down, and 4 were in the 4th quarter with the game secured. Heath Evans led the team in rushing with his 35 yard carry.

It was a nice road win against a solid team, but we shouldn't get too carried away. Next week is a massive clash in Foxborough with a QB much better than Brad Johnson. However, the Colts don't have much of a run defense. I honestly think we'll rack up a massive amount of rushing yardage against Indy next week. Perhaps in the 300 yard neighborhood. We just have to keep Manning from getting the ball into the end zone, which isn't too easy. But we've done it before.

R.I.P. RED AUERBACH

The sport of basketball and the city of Boston lost a legend. Red Auerbach was, without question, the best coach in NBA history, and one of the best professional sports coaches in the history of American sports. He won 9 NBA Championships as head coach of the Boston Celtics, including a stretch of 8 in a row.

Auerbach was also the first coach to field a team with 5 starting black players. He was the first NBA coach to draft a black player. When he retired from coaching, he named Bill Russell his successor. Russell was the first black head coach in American pro sports.

He was such a good appraiser of talent as President of the Celtics that he drafted Larry Bird a year before Bird graduated. Also, other head coaches considered him so smart that several refused to ever make trades with him, believing that any deal with Red would benefit the Celtics and hurt their own team.

Red also served in the US Navy during World War II.

He died the other day of a heart attack at the age of 89.

THE 2007 RED SOX

HITTING
It is time to look ahead to 2007. The Red Sox in 2006 had many, many problems. Lack of offensive production (820 runs scored as opposed to 910 in 2005, 949 in 2004, and 961 in 2003) was a big problem. The Sox scored their fewest total of runs since 2001. But that season, we allowed 80 fewer runs than we allowed in 2006.



The lack of production was felt worst at catcher, short-stop, center-field, and right-field. Varitek, Bard, and Mirabelli combined for a measly .226 average, with 18 homers (6 from Mirabelli), and 80 RBI. That just isn't the kind of production we're used to seeing. However, Varitek's defensive and game calling prowess make him the full-time catcher for the 2007 Sox. His leadership doesn't hurt, but one can wonder how effective that leadership truly is considering how the team imploded at the end of the year.

If Wakefield is going to be back as a starter, we need to keep Mirabelli as a backup catcher. If not, I think we can look elsewhere. Dougie is a good power hitter, but that's it. He hit .193 and struck out 54 times. That's a K every 2.98 at-bats (Wily Mo Pena was at a strikeout per every 3.07 ABs). Mirabelli also struck out 1.74 times per hit he got. That just isn't productive. Now, Mirabelli wasn't the reason the Sox didn't score runs, but we can improve production there. With Tek turning 35 by April 11, we're going to need a backup catcher to come in, probably every fifth day. That's about 100 at-bats, at least, and 130 to 160 plate appearances. That isn't small potatoes.

The Red Sox could trade for a replacement backup catcher, or they could try to pick one up via free agency. Mirabelli is a free agent at the end of the season. Sandy Alomar Jr., who hit .274 last year as a backup, is a possibility. However, he will be 41 years old. Henry Blanco is also a free agent. He hit .266 in 241 ABs last year. He also added 6 homers. His OBP was .304. Robert Fick will be a free agent. He also hit .266. Furthermore, he can play first-base as well as the corner outfields. Greg Zaun might be a possibility, but it is doubtful he will take a job as a backup catcher. He'd also be expensive. What the Sox need to do at backup catcher is get somebody who will hit around .250 with at least a remote threat of power. We need a guy who won't be a hole in the lineup when he plays. He also needs to be defensively capable, and ideally, capable of pinch hitting off the bench.

First base was not much of an offensive or defensive weakpoint in 2006. Youkilis did his job with a .381 OBP. However, first base is typically a power position, and we lacked power there. Youk only hit 13 homeruns. Twenty-two players listed primarily as first basemen had more homers than Youkilis. We need power to come from somewhere in the lineup. We hit 192 homers as a team last year, which was 6th best in the league. Not bad, but in 2004 we hit 222. Homeruns are the biggest run producing plays in the game and we need to hit a few more of them. However, there is only one very good power hitting first basemen available in the free agent market. Nomar Garciaparra. I think if we were to sign him, we would want to put his offensive talents to use at short-stop.

We don't need a backup defensive first-basemen. This has been something the Sox have been high on ever since Doug Mientkiewicz came to town. You only get four or five bench spots open for position players and one of those is a catcher. Having a guy whose sole purpose is to be a defensive replacement at first-base is a waste of a roster spot. Guys like Olerud, who could hit and start regularly, were good. However, the JT Snow experiment failed miserable. I'd like to see the Sox sign a guy like Robert Fick because he can be a backup catcher as well as backup first-baseman and outfielder. We want to use our bench spots to get guys who are versatile and can fill several holes and play several roles.

Second base wasn't an offensive hole, but we didn't get too much production out of it. Loretta was a solid player with a .285 average, but his OBP was less than outstanding for a #2 hitter at .345. I think #1 and #2 hitters should have an added OBP of .750 or higher in order to be considered a truly great 1-2 combo. Youk and Loretta were at .726 total. In 2004, Damon and Bellhorn were at .753. I think the Sox could put Dustin Pedroia in at second base. I think we need some insurance just in case he needs another year in the minors. Pedroia did hit .305 in AAA with a .384 OBP and he just might be able to fit in at the spot, but it'd be nice to get someone who we know will hit and hit very well. I'll get to that in a bit. Also, Pedroia is capable of playing short-stop.



Third base was an offensive plus for us. Mike Lowell hit .284 with 20 homers, and 68 extra basehits. Nothing there needs to change.

Short-stop was an offensive black hole for us once again. Gonzalez hit .255 with an OBP below .300 and a slugging percentage below .400. This was what we expected out of him, but I think we should try to get more production out of the position. Pedroia could very well be the short-stop in 2007. Once again, however, I think we could use some insurance.

The middle infield spots are the most up in the air spots on the team. Gonzalez, Loretta, and Cora are all free agents. Pedroia is on the verge of breaking in to the team. I think it is safe to say that the Sox will not bring Gonzalez back as a starter for 2007 due to the lack of offense. Gonzalez was a 1 year fix while we waited for Pedroia.

We could re-sign Loretta and have Pedroia start at short-stop. We could move Pedroia back to second base and sign someone to play short-stop. Personally, I like the idea of keeping Loretta around while we bring Pedroia up as well as adding an additional player to the middle infield mix. I think the ideal candidate would be either Nomar Garciaparra, or Alfonso Soriano.

Nomar put up very good numbers last season. Nomar hit 20 homers, knocked in 93 runs, and hit .303. Soriano put up 46 homers, 95 RBI and hit .277. Both of these guys would be ideal #5 hitters in our lineup, or #3 hitters if Manny leaves. Both players are also versatile. Nomar can play SS, 1B, and 2B. Soriano can play 2B as well as the outfield.



If I had my druthers, we would sign Soriano and have him split time between second and the outfield. Loretta would split time with Soriano at second and Pedroia at short. If Pedroia isn't hitting well, we can send him down to AAA for another year and then have Loretta start at short with Soriano playing second base.

We could use a really good middle infielder on the bench, especially considering the defensive liability a Mark Loretta at short-stop might be. This might be a case for Alex Gonzalez to remain with the club. I think we could grab a solid middle infielder off the free agency list or through a small trade. They just need to be solid defensively and capable of playing multiple position. A little speed couldn't hurt, either.

The outfield is very up in the air. Manny was productive, but proved that him being himself can be detrimental to the team. Coco was a no go. Trot was average, at best, and probably will not be back in '07.

I'd love to hang on to Manny. But if he wants to go, then he's got to go. But if we can't get good value, then we shouldn't trade him. I'm glad I'm not the one who has to deal with this problem that Dan Duquette has left us. Ideally, he'll change his mind about leaving and will stay here. Even if he does, I think we should get someone like Alfonso Soriano. We're going to need a large bat in the lineup to replace Manny if he goes, or help the team score runs if he stays.

I think we should give Coco another year in center-field. He started off nicely then the injury seemed to affect how he played. He's too talented and too young to just give up on.

Now, if we get Soriano, but Manny leaves, we'll have a gap in the outfield. But there are two players out there that can fill it. Dave Roberts and Kenny Lofton. Neither player will hit a lot of homers, but they'll get on base, play good defense, and steal bases left and right. Roberts hit .293 for the Padres last season, with a .360 OBP. He stole 49 bases in 55 attempts. Lofton hit .301 with the Dodgers, also with an OBP of .360. He stole 32 bases in 37 attempts. Either of these players would fit in nicely to our outfield and could possibly take the leadoff spot in the lineup. Both are free agents. Roberts has a slight age advantage at 34 compared to Lofton at 39. However, Lofton could be signed for a single year and possibly at a discount because he is at the end of a career without a World Series ring.

Even if we retain Manny, AND sign Soriano, I think we should go after a guy like Lofton. His speed off the bench and his ability to play the field could help us tremendously. Moreover, if Coco continues to struggle, we'll have a solid replacement waiting in the wings.

Do I even need to discuss the DH position? I think we're fine here.



Ideally, these are who my starting position players would be for 2007:
C Jason Varitek
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Alfonso Soriano/Mark Loretta/Dustin Pedroia
3B Mike Lowell
SS Dustin Pedroia/Mark Loretta
LF Manny Ramirez
CF Coco Crisp/Kenny Lofton
RF Alfonso Soriano
DH David Ortiz

The best lineup:
1. Kevin Youkilis
2. Mark Loretta
3. David Ortiz
4. Manny Ramirez
5. Alfonso Soriano
6. Mike Lowell
7. Coco Crisp
8. Dustin Pedroia
9. Jason Varitek

That middle of the lineup is simply sick. This lineup could score 950 to even 1,000 runs. You're never out of a game with that kind of a lineup.

The bench needs improvement, as stated above. I'd love to see Robert Fick be picked up as a backup catcher who could also fill in at first and in the corner outfield. I think Alex Gonzalez could be kept as a backup middle infielder, if not we could go with Alex Cora or perhaps both. Gabe Kapler has always been a hard working, productive bench player for us and I'd like to see him continue with us in 2007. Kenny Lofton could be a good pickup as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/part-time player.

PITCHING
As disappointing as the offense was last season, the pitching was even more so. Our ERA was 11th in the AL at 4.83. We were 10th in hits allowed, 8th in homeruns, and 9th in walks. We were flat out bad. Our best starter was Schilling, who finished the season with slightly above average numbers of 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA.

We're stuck with Beckett in the rotation, and Schilling (thank God) will be back for another season. But we still need some help at the front of the rotation. I think the Red Sox really need to go out and get an Ace. Right now, we're without one. You can get away with that if you have 4 really good starters. However, the Red Sox only have 1 and he will be 40 in less than 3 weeks.



Barry Zito is the biggest name out there. He's not as stunning as he once was, but he was 16-10 with a 3.83 ERA last year which isn't half bad at all. He'll definitely give us 220 very good to great innings, which the Red Sox are in desperate need of. He will be very desired by the rest of the league, though, so he might come a bit too expensive.

Daisuku Matsuzaka might be the answer to the Red Sox prayers. The 26 year old Japanese star (so popular that people born the same year as him are called members of the Matsuzaka generation) is on the market. Every team in baseball has scouted him and most teams want him.



He's 26 but already a legend in Japanese baseball. In high school, he won the coveted national championship. He threw 17 innings in a game (250 pitches), then got the save in the next game. To win the title, he threw a no-hitter. In Japan's Pacific League, he has put up impressive numbers. In 8 seasons, he is 108-60. In 204 games, he's thrown 1402.2 innings or 6.9 innings an appearance (not all his appearances are starts, which makes the stat even more impressive). He has 72 complete games and 18 shutouts. He has 1355 strikeouts (8.69 per 9 IP), 502 BBs (2.7 to 1 K to BB ratio), and a WHIP of 1.14. These are all Japanese League stats, which means they should be looked at almost as AAAA (not a typo) stats.

He's going to be an expensive pickup for whoever wants him. The Seibu Tigers (his current team) are offering the rights to negotiate with him to the highest bidder in MLB. The price is said to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 to $30 million. That is extremely high, but once you consider the financial benefits of signing him, the price can be looked at as more of an investment.

Japan is an untapped market for the Red Sox. The Yankees and Mariners dominate that market and the Red Sox have a very meager market share. This is probably because the Red Sox don't have any Asian born talent at the moment. We had Nomo a few years ago, and Tomo Ohka, as well. However, we have never had a superstar on the level of an Ichiro or a Matsui. The additional revenue that could come from expanding Red Sox Nation across the Pacific could potentially pay for the negotiating rights fee as well as the signing.

As a player, he'd be an unknown. Japanese players have both flourished and struggled in MLB. There really hasn't been too much of a pattern. However, Ichiro and Matsui seem to be good examples of star Japanese players thriving in the US. Matsuzaka already has this status in Japan. It is probable he will do well in the US. Will he dominate? That is unclear.

He has a wide variety of pitches. His fastball is clocked at 90 to 96 MPH. He also throws a splitter, changeup, and slider. It's rumored he has a gyroball in his arsenal. A gyroball is a pitch thrown with a spiral like that of a football. It looks like a fastball delivery, but the way the ball spins throws off hitters timing if thrown properly. Imagine how much Varitek could help this guy get MLB hitters out with this guy's variety of stuff.

My dream rotation would be as follows:
1. Barry Zito
2. Curt Schilling
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka
4. Josh Beckett
5. Jon Lester*

*=if healthy. Lester is currently undergoing chemo in Tacoma. Hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Notice two names absent on that list? Tim Wakefield and Jonathan Papelbon.

I think Wake is still a decent starter, but we can do better. I also still think he is a good pitcher and we should keep him on the club. He's worked well out of the bullpen in the past. His style of pitching is great for bullpen duty, too. Imagine facing Beckett's fastball then have to change gears against Wake's knuckler. I'd like to see him used in a middle-relief role. He could also be a spot starter if necessary.

Papelbon should be the closer. Yes, the shoulder might pose a health problem if he isn't kept on a regular schedule. However, one of the few things that was working for us last season was our closer. Why change it? Not only do we risk having a closer not as effective as him, he also might not be that effective of a starter. It's very risky.



There are also NO really good closers out there in free agency. Gagne's option might not be picked up, but that is wishful thinking.

The Red Sox already re-signed Mike Timlin, which isn't too bad of a signing. However, we can't depend on him for 70 appearances like in 2006. He's turning 41 in March and already has 1099.2 innings and 961 appearances worn into that right arm. I definately think the Red Sox need another strong set-up man this season.

Julian Tavarez finished 2006 strongly and I think having him in the pen will be very nice. He could be a feature set-up man who can pitch multiple innings. That's a huge asset to have in those close games in which the starter leaves after 5 or 6 innings.



Two open spots left in the bullpen. Javier Lopez could be a good situational lefty for us in 2007. We didn't see much of him last year, but what we did see was impressive. If he doesn't work out, we still have DiNardo, Hansen, and Delcarmen available to us.

Jose Mesa is a player we should seriously consider trying to sign. In 79 appearances and 72.1 innings, he had an ERA of 3.86 with the Colorado Rockies. Colofreakinrado! He had 19 Holds to lead the Rockies. He's a guy that could be our featured set-up man in front of Timlin.

So here's my ideal bullpen:
Closer: Jonathan Papelbon
Set-Up: Jose Mesa
Set-Up: Mike Timlin
Set-Up/Middle: Julian Tavarez
Middle/Long: Tim Wakefield
Lefty: Javier Lopez

Not too shabby.

This team, of course, would probably be expensive to field, and it depends on a lot of outside factors. It probably won't be the team the Sox field in 2007, nor will it probably be all that close. This is just the team that I'd field in my little dream world. It would win the World Series, though.