¡HAY SOLAMENTE UN PEDRO!

Pedro pitches for the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLCS. ¡Buenos suerte, Pedro!

DANIEL BARD IS READY, BUT ARE THE SOX READY FOR HIM TO CLOSE?

The season ended with a Jonathan Papelbon blown save. The Sox have a young fireballing reliever named Daniel Bard. Some have suggested trading Papelbon and passing the closer's role to Bard. But why?

Daniel Bard clearly has the stuff to be a quality closer. If you can get 3 outs in the 8th, you can get them in the 9th. Does he have the mental makeup for the job? Well the only way to find out is to have him pitch the 9th. There's no amount of "mentoring" or "tutelage" that can help him. If he's got it, he's got it. Another year under Papelbon, or a year under Billy Wagner won't change this.

But the Sox have an opportunity to considerably shorten their games by having Papelbon close and Bard set-up. Furthermore, Papelbon has an innings limit, so Bard can spot-close when Papelbon's worked 2 games in a row.

It's clear that Bard is the future closer of the Sox, or at least that's clearly the plan. But unless the Sox can get A LOT in return for Papelbon, there's no point to getting rid of him, at least not now.

So keep Papelbon (unless he's part of a deal to get Felix Hernandez, in which case he's somewhat expendable), have Bard set him up, and you've got an excellent bullpen.

HOW GOOD IS KING FELIX?

It's inevitable, and fun. The Sox get eliminated and for a week (or more) all you can think about are the possible acquisitions for the next year's campaign. And the big name being bandied about is Felix Hernandez, a.k.a. King Felix.

Hernandez turns 24 in April. No typo, he'll only be 24. He was 19-5 for a mediocre Seattle squad this year, and registered a 2.49 ERA. He's got 58 career wins in the bank, and has the potential for 200+ more.

Yet people will not want to trade their precious prospects for this potential Pedro Jr. But Hernandez is worth almost the entire Red Sox minor league system. He's younger than some of the guys people here in Boston don't want to use to acquire him. But he's an Ace.

And if you have a rotation of Hernandez-Beckett-Lester-Matsuzaka-Buchholz, you're in the LCS without even trying.

The local morons will disagree with me. "The Sox lost because they didn't score enough runs. We need bats. We have enough pitching. So don't sell the farm to get Hernandez." And while that seems true on the surface, think about this: Did the Sox lose because they didn't have enough offensive might, OR did the Angels win because THEY had great pitching?

Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. No beer and no TV make Homer go crazy.

Felix Hernandez is worth Jacoby Ellsbury. He's worth several Jacoby Ellsburies. He's worth Bowden, Bard, and all the "untouchable" prospects the Sox have in their nursery.

He might struggle in a more competitive environment. His track record of success is very short. He might not be able to handle postseason baseball. But like I said earlier, he's got the potential to put up 200 more W's in his career. And that's what it's all about.

Source:
Baseball-Reference.com

SEAU IT AIN'T SO

It's pretty much official. The Patriots will welcome back Junior Seau, who is now 40 years old. Hopefully this is an acquisition intended to increase depth and add insurance to a position that's been riddled with injuries for the Pats. If Seau plays more than 8 snaps a game while guys like Mayo and Guyton are healthy, I'll be very disappointed.

I wasn't impressed with Seau in '07, and I can't imagine he's improved much.

Source:
Boston Herald

BRUINS CAP OFF A PAINFULLY LONG WEEKEND

I know what I'm gonna be for Halloween: the Bruins' penalty kill unit. Because it's fucking scary.

Going to B's games the last few seasons, and in each section there'd at least one loudmouthed, simple-minded, one-step-logic moron screaming obscenities at PJ Axelsson. I'd like to meet these jerks now and ask them how they enjoy the PK without the PJ.

The Bruins' penalty kill is 20th in the NHL. The power play unit isn't exactly inspiring to watch either. That's 25th.

All true Bruins fans have a nemesis on the team, a guy that just annoys the piss out of you. That used to be Shane Hnidy for me. Now it's Derek Morris. I just don't understand what he's trying to do. He shoots too often when he's got a guy on him (resulting in blocked shots that rebound into the neutral zone), he misses easy passes from Chara, and in the defensive zone he's a ghost.

The Bruins have a few days off before a nice little road trip to the Southwest. The dry air might help clear their heads a bit. I'd like to see some lines get changed around. I've never been a fan of Lucic on the 1st line. I'd rather see him with Ryder and Krejci. That combo worked well today. And Bitz needs more time, which should come at the expense of Blake Wheeler, who didn't win a single one-on-one battle in this game.

The penalty kill unit might need some external help in the form of a trade or signing. But there's no excuse for an impotent power play. The Bruins are loaded with fast, talented skaters who can make tremendous passes.

Bruins @ Stars Friday night, then Bruins @ Coyotes Saturday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

BIG DADDY DENVER

I'm not ashamed to admit that the Denver Broncos own the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is 1-6 against them. He's 104-23 against everyone else. And Sunday afternoon said ownership continued unabated.

The Patriots lost this game in so many ways. Certainly the officiating wasn't Pro-Bowl calibre. Throwing a taunting flag before the alleged taunt occurs is just weird. Maybe the ref was a pre-cog from Minority Report or something. My theory is he was going to call a late-hit flag on Meriweather, but realized it was a clean play. Then Meriweather provided enough material to call a taunting penalty. That being said, the penalty amounted to 15 yards of Denver's 98 on the drive, so the Patriots bear the responsibility for the resultant touchdwon, and no the refs.

If Gostkowski hits that last field goal. If the Patriots win the toss. If Orton's 3rd & 12 pass that bounced off two Patriots and landed in Gaffney's hands had found the ground. If a Patriot falls on a fumble instead of a Bronco. If the refs didn't call taunting. If the refs didn't have quick whistles. If the replay booth actually replayed questionable calls. If, if, if. If is a middle word in life

The big "if" is, IF the Patriots had played better. Plain and simple. Tom Brady is the leader of the Patriots, and he led them in poor play Sunday. Bill Belichick is an aggressive coach, who loves to pass the ball. So why do you think he was calling so many running plays late in the 4th quarter? He didn't have faith that the pass would work for them. Not at that particular moment.



On paper, Brady's day wasn't awful. 19/33, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. That's a 97.4 rating. But those incompletions. Missing a wide open Moss for an easy touchdown. Underthrowing and overthrowing. He's comfortable in the pocket now, but he's not yet in tune with the playing field beyond the pocket. He and Welker haven't clicked and gotten those YACs we're used to seeing. And he has looked awful when trying to hit Moss deep.

The good news is that these things SHOULD come back to him. The bad news is they might not. The clock is ticking. Then again, to be 2-1 after playing Atlanta, Baltimore and Denver ain't too shabby. Then again, the Patriots haven't won outside of Gillette Stadium since December 2008.



Tennessee comes to town in a nice respite from these big games. Then it's Tampa Bay in London and a much needed bye week.

I anticipate that after that, Brady & Co. will be on the same page. Which is good because it goes Dolphins-Colts-Jets-Saints-Dolphins after the bye.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo

PAPELBLOWN

This has not been a season without frustration for the Sox. They'd go on a stretch when they'd score 6 to 9 runs a game, but the pitching would allow 7 to 10 runs a game. Then they'd go on a stretch when the pitching would keep opponents to 1 to 3 runs. But the offense would score 0 to 2 runs. Occasionally, both would click, and the Sox would be unbeatable for a ten day stretch. But that didn't happen against the Angels.

Did Jonathan Papelbon have a good year? That's a question that will now be asked for at least a month. He had 38 saves, in 41 attempts. That's 92.7% conversion. That's an excellent rate. His WHIP was excellent, as was his ERA. But was he the dominant Papelbon we grew accustomed to? No.

This was an awful way to lose. It seemed as though Fenway Park and October had once again conspired for a storybook Red Sox come-from-behind series triumph. Or at least a chance to stave off elimination for another day.

But when you put yourself down 2-0, you run risks. Sometimes an error will cost you a game. Sometimes a missed call by an ump. Sometimes a lack of clutch hitting, or a bad managerial decision. This time it was a closer who brought nothing to the table.

You go down 2-0, you're on the edge, where even a slight breeze will knock you off. And Sunday that slight breeze was an ineffective closer.

And give credit to the Angels, who thoroughly outplayed the Sox these last 3 games. Their pitching was better. Their bullpen. Their offense. Their defense. Actually, the Sox may have run the bases slightly better than the Angels, which is ironic because people accredit Mike Scioscia with being some sort of baserunning guru.

There's work to be done. The Sox need more pitching. Who doesn't? They need to build a more consistent offense, instead of simply hoping that 4 guys within 6 lineup spots are all hitting hot at the same times.

And honestly, Red Sox Nation, you'd only be surprised by the way this series went if you had refused to see the truth: that this team can be as hot as Scarlett Johansson, and as cold as a dead penguin's ass. This was a bipolar club.

Pitchers and catchers report in... well, I don't know, but they will report. And that's what I love about baseball.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

UP AGAINST IT

I keep hearing people complain that the Red Sox "aren't showing any intensity." How the hell can a baseball player show intensity? Baseball requires a calm and relaxed attitude. In '04, the Sox were down 3-0 to the Yankees but won 4 straight because they were relaxed, not "intense." In '07, they were down 3-1 to Cleveland, but calmly and confidently came back in that series. And if they have any chance of producing another miracle, they'll need to remain cool and collected.

Sox fans who paid attention for the regular season have seen a familiar thing these past two nights: a Sox offense with everyone slumping. This lineup is capable of a relentless onslaught. It's also capable of what we've witnessed lately. Maybe 2 or 3 guys put up good at-bats, and nobody can string hits together.

The good news is that this is self-correctable. And returning to Fenway won't hurt. The Sox scored 90 more runs at home than on the road. They average 1.1 more runs per game in Fenway. So that's something to look forward to.

But the Sox have dug themselves a deep hole. They can come back from this 2-0 deficit, but the hitting has to improve ASAP, and the pitching also has to be lights out.

Game 3 Sunday afternoon at 12:07 PM. Apparently TBS wants all Sox fans to lose sleep at night, and Angels fans to lose sleep in the morning because that's 9:07 AM in Anaheim.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo