2009 RED SOX PREVIEW: FIRST BASE

In my opinion, Kevin Youkilis was the best player on the Red Sox in 2008. .312 average, .390 OBP, .569 slugging, 115 RBI, 29 HR, Gold Glove quality defense at first, and 36 games of solid fill-in work at third. Youkilis just turned 30 a few days ago, and he's truly in his prime. He'll likely be the best offensive player on the team. Oh yeah, he was also 10 for 30 in the ALCS, with 6 RBI.

Sean Casey retired. The Sox acquired Brad Wilkerson, who's played some first base in his 8 year career, but doesn't have much of a bat. He's a career .247 hitter, coming off a .220 season.

Mark Kotsay is another option, but won't be available until at least May. He hit .276 with the Braves and Sox last year. He'll be a welcome addition to the bench when he returns. And his wife will be a welcome addition as well.



The Sox have given Chris Carter a lot of playing time this Spring. He leads the team in ABs. He played in 9 games last year and the Sox seem to be grooming him to be a backup first baseman, either in Boston, or Pawtucket. He hit .300 down there last year, along with 24 HRs. He's 26 years old, and if this is Mike Lowell's last year with the team, Carter might be at first in 2010 with Youkilis shifting to 3rd.

30 year old Jeff Bailey is another guy who could be the #2 first baseman. He's having an outstanding Spring, he's got solid time in The Show already (50 ABs in 27 games last year with a .280 average), and he can play the outfield as well. This versatility makes him a good candidate for the bench, especially before Kotsay returns.

Lars Anderson is a 21 year old prospect shooting up through the organization. He hit .316 in AA Portland last year, along with .317 in A+ Lancaster. He doesn't have much more than double power, but he's got good plate discipline and some day will be a nice addition to a lineup. Either that or trade-bait, but the Sox seem pretty high on him. I doubt he'll get much time in Boston (if any) this year before September call-ups.

The Sox have an MVP caliber first baseman, backed up by some solid young talent. Which is good, because that MVP caliber first baseman might have to spend a good deal of time at third base.

NOW YOUKILIS IS HURT

And you wonder why managers and teams HATE the World Baseball Classic. Team USA has lost their best player for the remainder of the tournament, as Kevin Youkilis returned to Fort Myers for an MRI. Apparently, he has tendinitis in his left Achilles.

Here's what grinds my gears. He told US manager Davey Johnson THREE DAYS AGO that his ankle was sore. And this is the big problem with having the WBC in March. Davey Johnson needs Youkilis for a few weeks. The Red Sox need him for a few months. The Sox have to trust an outside group of managers, coaches, and trainers to care for their players. This alien group does not have the Red Sox' best interests in mind.

Fuck Davey Johnson, and fuck having the WBC during Spring Training.

Source:
Boston Herald

SOX DUMP BARD... AGAIN

Once again, Josh Bard is leaving the Red Sox. George Kottaras has been named the backup catcher. And the worst position on the Red Sox has gotten even less productive.

Kottaras has power. He hit 22 homers in AAA Pawtucket last year. But he also struck out 110 times in 395 at-bats and only hit .243. He has 5 career Major League at-bats.

Perhaps this is prelude to a trade for another catcher. Perhaps not.

Bard had been hitting .429 in Grapefruit League play. Kottaras is hitting .286. Varitek is steaming along at a .160 clip.

Hopefully this move is not because Bard is struggling with the knuckleball. Sacrificing offense to help one mediocre over-the-hill pitcher would be a shame.

Sources:
Extra Bases
BostonRedSox.com

2009 RED SOX PREVIEW: CATCHERS

What a sad way to start the season preview. Jason Varitek has given us years of service, helped win two World Series, caught 4 no-hitters, et cetera, et cetera. But after the shit he pulled, or rather tried to pull in the offseason; he warrants no more mercy, and no more excuse-making.

Jason Varitek is an offensive black hole, and he's been one for about 1,500 plate appearances. 37 year old catchers almost never improve at the plate, even if their numbers have nowhere to go but up.

Varitek hit .220 last year, with an appalling.313 OBP and a weak .359 slugging percentage. He struck out 122 times, only walked 52 times, and was an abysmal .201 against right handed pitching.

Varitek's numbers were actually inflated thanks to teams like Baltimore (9 of his 43 RBI or more than 1/5, came off the O's. He also hit 5 of his 13 HRs off them), and Kansas City (Tek hit .429 agianst the Royals).

And how bad can a man do in the postseason? He was 4 for 34 in October, or .118. He hit .050 in the ALCS.

What's my point? There is nothing, absolutely nothing to suggest that the Red Sox will get any significant production from their starting catcher. He can't catch up to the fastball anymore, he struggles against mediocre pitching, and he's slow. Hopefully I'm wrong and he hits .260 with 20 homeruns. But I just don't see it.

So who's backing Varitek up? Ithaca, New York's Josh Bard, formerly of the Padres, formerly of the Red Sox.

Bard was a solid acquisition for the Sox. He was injured for most of 2008, but when healthy, he's got a little pop in his bat. In '07, he hit .285 with the Padres, with a nice .364 OBP.

George Kottaras is the 3rd option. But he only has 5 career MLB at-bats, and has been a .240 hitter in 3+ years in AAA.

Another possibility is Dusty Brown, who hit .290 in AAA Pawtucket last year. Expect to see Brown pass Kottaras on the depth chart. If Bard struggles, or Varitek is a complete waste, Brown will be in Boston by late summer.

It will be interesting to see how Bard does catching the knuckleball. It will also be interesting to see just how often Tim Wakefield actually starts. Also, don't be surprised if Bard catches non-Wakefield games. For instance, day games after night games. This would give Varitek a rest, and perhaps help the Captain's production. At this point, nothing could hurt Varitek's offense.

PEPPERS WANTS TO BE A PATRIOT

Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers wants to be a Patriot. Or, at the very least, no longer wants to be a Panther. The Cowboys were another team mentioned as a desirable destination for Peppers', according to the AP.

Peppers doesn't want to be a Panther, and doesn't want to play in a 4-3 defense. He wants to be an OLB in a 3-4.

The Panthers have denied alleged talks with New England about Peppers. Vic Carucci of the NFL Network reported that Peppers had been targeted by the Pats. Fellow NFL Network reporter Adam Shefter insists "That trade is not gonna happen. ... Julius Peppers will not be a New England Patriot next season."

The thing with Peppers is that the Panthers aren't going to let him go cheaply. The Pats have reportedly tried to use their newly acquired 34th overall draft pick to get Peppers. This probably wouldn't be enough for Carolina.

Peppers had 14.5 sacks last year, and would certainly make the Patriots pass rush a fearsome one. I've got a feeling this deal will happen, just not for awhile.

Sources:
Associated Press
Reiss's Pieces

A VERY BOSTON FINAL 4 IN HOCKEY EAST

The basketball tournaments weren't the only ones with upsets this weekend. 5th seeded UMass-Lowell went up to Burlington and swept Vermont, possibly knocking the Catamounts out of NCAA tournament contention. 6th seeded Boston College, who got swept by UNH a few weeks ago, took 2 games from them in Durham, advancing to the semis. The two top seeds struggled big time. Regular season champs BU needed 3 games to knock out Maine. Northeastern also needed 3 games, and then overtime in game 3 to knock out 7th seeded UMass.

So now it's UMass-Lowell vs. Northeastern, then Boston College vs. Boston University. Northeastern swept UMass-Lowell in 3 games this season. BU also won their season series against BC, winning 2 games and tying the 3rd. But BC seems to have found themselves, albeit a bit late. BC's 5-0-1 in their last 6 games, with 3 of those wins against nationally ranked teams.



The semis are at the Garden Friday night, with the Hockey East Final Saturday. Remember, Northeastern and BU are probably already in the NCAA tournament. And the winner of the HE tourney gets an automatic bid. So BC or UMass-Lowell can find themselves in the national tournament with only 2 more wins.

BC GETS A 7 SEED, AND A DATE WITH USC

I was expecting Boston College to get an 8 or 9 seed, so this is a nice little surprise. BC will travel to Minneapolis for the opening round, and will face 10th seeded Southern Cal. BC is in the Midwest Region (Indianapolis), and if they can beat USC, will play either Michigan State or Robert Morris.

USC was 21-12, and surprisingly won the Pac-10 tournament. They were 5th in their Conference, so this is a solid 1st round selection for BC. They should beat this team. Michigan State is tough, but BC is fortunate not to have to face a 1 seed in the 2nd round.

The only other "New England" school to get into the tourney was UConn. The Huskies got a 1 seed, despite losing their opening game in the Big East Tournament. UConn gets to start off in Philadelphia, but they're part of the West region, so they'll have to go to Arizona to make the Final Four.

The TD BankNorth Garden will host the East Regionals. Pittsburgh is the #1 seed in the East bracket, and Duke is the #2. Here are the 14 other schools who might invade The Hub:

#3 Villanova
#4 Xavier
#5 Florida State
#6 UCLA
#7 Texas
#8 Oklahoma State
#9 Tennessee
#10 Minnesota
#11 Virginia Commonwealth
#12 Wisconsin
#13 Portland State
#14 American
#15 Binghamton
#16 East Tennessee

Boston College was one of 7 ACC teams to get in. The Big East and Big Ten were the other Conferences with 7 teams in. Here are the other teams to get in:

#1 North Carolina
#2 Duke
#4 Wake Forest
#5 Florida State
#7 Boston College
#7 Clemson
#10 Maryland

The tournament starts Thursday, and BC plays Friday.

BRUINS STILL CAN'T BEAT GOOD TEAMS

After compiling 2 wins in a row (for the first time since February 26th), the Bruins headed into Pittsburgh, had a 3-2 lead going into the final period, and were outscored 4-1. It only took the Penguins 61 seconds of sloppy Bruins' hockey to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.

Apparently, 60 minutes of hockey is too much for the Bruins. To be fair, they had 5 penalties to kill. The refs called much too tight of a game, against both teams. Lots of nit-picky hooking, holding, and interference calls.

Since February 7th, the Bruins are 2-6-2 (6 points) against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended right now. That's abysmal. In the 10 games against playoff teams before that, the Bruins were 8-1-1 (17 points). 10 games against playoff teams before THAT? 8-1-1.

Before February 7th, the Bruins were 18-3-4 against playoff teams. That's 40 points, or 1.6 points per game. In the last 10 games, it's been 0.6 points per game. Horrible. Dreadful. Shitty. Tragic.

The Bruins will win the Northeast division, but securing the 1 seed or the 2 seed is looking less and less likely. There are 12 games left, folks. 6 at home, 6 on the road. 4 against playoff teams, 8 against non-playoff teams.

The big games to gauge whether or not the Bruins are out of this extended funk:
3/22 vs. New Jersey
3/29 @ Philly
4/9 vs. Montreal

How the Bruins perform in these games will tell us if they're destined for a first round exit, or if they can go deep into the playoffs.

The B's have a few days off to sit in the corner and think about what they've done. They host the hapless Kings Thursday night.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar