SO WHY THE F*CK DID THE BRUINS TRADE CHUCK?

Last night, the Bruins traded winger Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild. As surprising as this move was, it was simply stunning what the B's received in return: Alexander Fallstrom, Craig Weller, and a 2011 2nd round pick.

Fallstrom is currently playing for Harvard. He's a freshman. In the NHL, you can draft a player and they can remain with their junior team, or their college team. He's a 6' 2" 200 pound forward.

Weller scored 1 goal and 2 assists last season for the Wild. He's 28 and has 4 NHL goals. He's good for a bunch of penalty minutes, and maybe he might fit-in on the 4th line. I'm not really sure. All I know is the guy spent 6 seasons playing for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL.

So the Bruins traded a solid 3rd line forward for a POTENTIAL 4th liner who hardly ever scores, a college freshman, and a draft pick 2 years away.

I'm not too happy. But I am quite confused. It's not a bad deal for the future, but it hurts the team right now. And the last thing this team needs is to be hurt. Kobasew only has 1 assist so far, but he has played decently in every game. And if this was about clearing cap space, why not do it before the season, and perhaps create enough room to re-sign Kessel.

The Bruins' biggest weakness seems to be at defense. Hopefully this move clears space for the Bruins to make another deal for a solid defenseman who can play the penalty kill. But I have my doubts.

I'll miss Kobasew. He was what he was, and wasn't going to get markedly better. But he was a solid backbone-of-the-team kind of guy. He played the Carolina series with 2 broken ribs for Christ's sake. Yet folders like Blake Wheeler get to stay with the team.

Sources:
Boston Herald
Hockey Data Base
Harvard Athletics

PATS DRILL THE OILERS

Last year when the Cardinals came to Gillette, they were smoked 47-0 in a snowy, freezing rain, wintry mix, crappy winter day. They simply didn't want to be there that afternoon. The Titans looked the same way, on and off the field.



When the visiting team exits the tunnel at the very last minute to warm-up, you already know the Pats have won.

This was the biggest shutout in the NFL since 1976.

Tom Brady looked outstanding. It was against a crappy defense, but Brady finally clicked with Welker and Moss. 9 different Pats caught catches, Welker for 150 yards and 2 TDs, Moss for 129 and 3 scores. Brady's 5 1st quarter touchdowns is a new NFL record. He got me 51 fantasy points.



Laurence Maroney was decent. Then again who wasn't.

I wouldn't get too accustomed to games being this easy for the Pats. The combination of a listless 0-6 team with wretched weather rolled out the red carpet for the Patriots. They did show some improvement in certain areas, and it was nice to face a cupcake after taking on some quality opponents. It was also nice to give Brady an opportunity to get back on track.

Next week is another easy team, but in a weird place. The Pats play the Buccaneers in London. The Patriots have yet to win away from Foxborough.

Also, the Bills beat wunderkind Mark Sanchez and Coach of the Year Rex Ryan. So the Pats are atop the AFC East once again.

And this picture is just awesome:



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP

NORTH DALLAS 3-0

The Bruins did something last night that they'd failed to do in all 5 previous games this season: they didn't allow a power play goal. They didn't allow any goals, in fact. Tim Thomas registered his most impressive outing of the young season, stopping 27 shots.

It's difficult to overshadow a goalie's shutout, but the collective efforts of the Bruins did just that. Marc Savard had 2 goals, Bergeron had a goal and an assist, Ference was a well deserved +2 with 3 blocked shots, Lucic and Chara were credited with 5 hits, and Derek Morris blocked 5 shots.

As a team, the B's blocked a staggering 24 shots. Dallas could not get through the vaunted layered defense the Bruins mounted. It was this same team-oriented defense that gave the Bruins the #1 seed in the East last year.

None of the Bruins goals were magnificent. There was a touch of luck to them. But the opportunity for that luck was a result of good play. Savard's 2nd goal was an absolute snipe from an extreme angle beyond the faceoff circles. Savard's 1st goal, and Bergeron's goal were deflections. Very fortunate deflections.

This roadtrip along with a nice shakeup in the lines (the Sturm-Savard-Ryder line played excellent in this game) could be just what the doctor ordered. The Bruins travel to Phoenix to take on the Bankrupts. The puck drops at 9 Eastern.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mike Fuentes

¡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