2009 RED SOX PREVIEW: OUTFIELD

Possible super lame nickname for the Red Sox outfield:

The Triple J Ranch

For the first time this century, the Red Sox start a season without Manny Ramirez penciled in as left-fielder. It's still strange. But necessary. Manny's offseason demands hopefully demonstrated to even the most ardent Manny apologist (Bill Simmons), that he is a spoiled brat and a loose cannon.

Anyway, ENOUGH MANNY FUCKING RAMIREZ BULLSHIT! HE'S A DODGER! FUCK HIM!

Jason Bay's the left-fielder, and he's the most reliable of the three starters out there. He hit .293 in his time with the Sox last year, and had 101 RBI between the Sox and Pirates. He performed solidly in October, which had been a concern. He hit .341 in the playoffs with 9 RBI and 3 HR.

With his performance last year, it seems he's back to his usual form. An average hovering between .290 and .300, a very good OBP that approaches .400, and a tidy .550 slugging percentage.

I'm very interested to see where Bay ends up in the lineup. It could be 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, even leadoff. He's versatile enough to do an adequate job wherever he hits, and he seems to have the disposition of someone who'll do what he's asked without a problem.

Jacoby Ellsbury's overrated until proven otherwise. We all fell in love with him in September and October of 2007. But since then, he's been strictly mediocre. Yeah, yeah, he steals bases. Whoopty doo. But what good are stolen bases if you can't even get ON BASE?

Ellsbury's 0 for 14 in the ALCS was a major reason the Sox lost the series. Nobody else wants to say it, but it's the truth. His .280 average was nice, but batting average isn't as important as OBP. His was .336. That's only .023 higher than Varitek's. He also struck out twice as often as he walked. At the very least, Ellsbury and these subpar numbers were far from leadoff material.

Until he proves otherwise, I'm afraid he's a bottom of the lineup player.

Then there's the Great Enigma in right field. JD Drew. A man capable of this...



And this...



also has multiple yearly flings with the disabled list. He had a .408 OBP last year, but only played in 109 games. This year, he's already gotten cortisone injections for his back. It's strange. He's got some bizarre form of hypochondria. He always thinks his back is hurting him.

Nobody's going to call him Iron Man anytime soon. But he's still a solid ballplayer, and the Sox still desperately need his production, when he happens to make it in the lineup. He had 6 RBI in the postseason, not great, not bad. He had a .250 average in the LCS (bad), but had a .379 OBP (good). In two years with the Sox, he's had some big hits.

He'll hit around 20 HRs, maybe more. He'll flirt with .300 and end up in the .280 to .290 range. RBIs might be hard to come by, depending on where he ends up in the lineup. He may even be the leadoff hitter for a good part of the season.

Brad Wilkerson will be a backup outfielder when the season begins, but I don't see much of a place for him once Kotsay returns. Jeff Bailey can play the outfield and Wilkerson is a pretty light hitter.

Rocco Baldelli is one of the players Sox fans might be most anxious to see. The Woonsocket product was once one of the best up-and-coming players in the game. His ability to play every day has diminished, but he can fill-in for Drew or Ellsbury against lefthanders (he hit .292 vs. LHP last year).

A serious question with Baldelli is this. Drew is liable to miss a few weeks at a time. Ellsbury doesn't need much rest, but there's a good chance he hits .150 in his first 200 at-bats and needs to be replaced. Is Baldelli up to playing everyday for 2 or 3 weeks at a time?

Mark Kotsay and Jeff Bailey are also options. Kotsay is out until at least May. Bailey can latch on as an outfielder and can play first base, so I think he's likely to make the 25 man roster, especially with Kotsay out. With Wilkerson's offensive troubles, Baldelli's health problems, and Kotsay's injuries, Bailey might be JD Drew's #1 backup out there in right.

2009 RED SOX PREVIEW: SHORTSTOP

Julio Lugo had a disappointing 2008. Although at times he looked sharp. He had a good start to the season, then faded a bit, then got hurt.

Honestly, I'm not a Julio Lugo fan and I never really have been. At best, he's a .350 OBP, .400 SLG kind of guy. And he's rarely that good. Moreover, he's a defensive negative. He had a .945 fielding percentage. League average at short was .971. He made 16 errors in only 81 games.

He had a great Spring going before getting hurt. He was hitting .450, but I'm not looking too much into that. This is Lugo's last chance, at least in my mind, to prove he belongs on a team as good as the Red Sox.

Jed Lowrie is the primary backup at short. He's also having a good Spring. Unlike Lugo, he can field. He's not going to hit, at least he hasn't shown the potential to do so. He's basically a .260 hitter. But I think he can reach those Lugo numbers of .350 OBP and .400 SLG.

He's also a great fielder, especially compared to Lugo. He didn't make an error in 49 games at short last year. He can also fill-in at third and second if need be. I want to see Lowrie given a chance as a full-time player. He's not going to hit, but neither is Lugo. And at least Lowrie can field.

PATS TO START SEASON IN PRIME TIME

The Patriots' season will begin Monday September 14th at 7 PM. The opponent: Terrell Owens' Buffalo Bills. The venue: Gillette Stadium.

I, for one, cannot wait.

FOUR NEW ENGLAND TEAMS IN NCAA HOCKEY TOURNEY

Technically, there are 5 New England teams. But Albany, NY is more New England than New Haven, CT; so screw Yale.

Boston University is the #1 overall seed.

Here are the regions and the pairings:

Northeast - Manchester, NH
#1 Boston University vs. Ohio State
North Dakota vs. New Hampshire

Prediction:
BU should roll over Ohio State. New Hampshire is essentially playing on home ice against a North Dakota team that's a long way from home. UNH actually beat BU back in October, but the Terriers have improved exponentially since then. BU goes to the Frozen Four from the Northeast.

Midwest - Grand Rapids, MI
#1 Notre Dame vs. Bemidji State
Northeastern vs. Cornell

Prediction:
Jordan Pearce - Notre Dame's goalie - is sick. I saw him back when they visited/dominated Boston College in November. He'll carry them very deep into this tournament.

Northeastern vs. Cornell is a tough matchup for both teams. Northeastern is cold, losing to UMass-Lowell, BC, and UMass-Amherst in the past few weeks. Cornell's Big Red are far from red hot, but Northeastern's struggled in big games this year. Then again, Cornell has been horrible away from Ithaca, so I give the edge to Northeastern.





Whoever wins Northeastern/Cornell, Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2" will get played to death, and Notre Dame will beat the winner.

East - Bridgeport, CT
#1 Michigan vs. Air Force
Yale vs. Vermont



Michigan gets the #1 seed, but they have to play in Yale's backyard. Big Blue will crush the boys in Air Force blue, and Yale will roll over a sputtering Vermont side. Yale's only lost three times at home and they won the very tough ECAC (regular season and tournament). Yale comes out of the East Region.

West - Minneapolis, MN
#1 Denver vs. Miami (OH)
Minnesota-Duluth vs. Princeton

Teams I know next to nothing about. Except this: Denver is good. Denver is really good. The Pioneers (that's Denver) move on to the Frozen Four.



Who wins it all?

Notre Dame, unfortunately.

Games start Friday afternoon.

Sources:
Hockey East
Associated Press

2009 RED SOX PREVIEW: THIRD BASE

One of the biggest question marks for the Red Sox this year is what will Mike Lowell give the team? He only played in 113 games last year, hit .274, with 73 RBI. This was one year removed from being 5th in MVP voting with .324-21-120.

He's only played a few Spring games, but he's looked solid and healthy in them. It will be interesting to see how well his hips absorb the daily wear and tear of playing third base and batting 5 times a night.

Jed Lowrie was supposed to be the backup for Lowell (after Youkilis, of course), but with Lugo needing surgery he might not be able to for a bit of time.

If Lowell is healthy and productive, even at the same level he was last year, the Sox have a solid anchor at the bottom of the lineup. If not, they have yet another hole, and the lineup starts looking very suspect.

BRUINS EXCORCISE SOME DEVILS

After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the lowly LA Kings, and with the Devils 9-2 in their last 11, this clash between the top two teams in the East was a potential turning point for both teams, particularly the struggling Bruins.

Finally, the Bruins had a little bit of luck on their side. But that luck was assisted by hard work and quality play. Their first goal, for instance, deflected off a New Jersey skate and past Brodeur. However, the B's were on a power play thanks to a sloppy New Jersey line change which came about thanks to a long, hard possession in the Devils' zone.

The Bruins seemed to find a chink in Brodeur's superhuman armor. His ankles. They peppered his ankles with shots, and he let a few in. Kobasew had a wraparound goal to make it 2-0, and Lucic attacked Brodeur's heels to make it 4-1.



The game was playoff caliber in terms of physicality, with the Bruins just slightly coming out on top. Zdeno Chara owned Zach Parise and tossed around all 230 pounds of Bobby Holik on more than one occasion.

This physical play affected the Devils. In the 2nd, they got two frustration penalties. Parise slashed at Chara, and Holik crossed the line with Stephane Yelle.

New Jersey's goal came after an unsuccesful Bruins power play. It was the only stretch that the B's looked a bit lazy, even slothful. But once the Devils made it a 3-1 game, the Bruins shifted it back into high gear. The 3rd period was their best 3rd period I've seen in over a month. They continued to pressure Brodeur, and they made nothing easy for the Devils.

Oh, and Timmy Thomas had a season high 41 saves. He was simply outstanding.

Marc Savard had a goal and an assist. Milan Lucic's goal snapped a 14 game goalless streak. He was also paired with Thornton and Yelle on a grueling 4th line that drained tons of energy from the Devils.

The Bruins have 5 days off. Yeah, they don't play until Saturday when they play the Leafs in Toronto.

With this win, the Bruins clinch the Northeast Division. Their first divisional title since 2004, and their 22nd all-time. Meanwhile, Montreal is on the verge of vanishing from the playoff picture.

Today's victory also gives the Bruins the edge in the season series with New Jersey. That might end up being important as head-to-head results are the 2nd tie-breaker for playoff seeding. At the moment, the Bruins have a 5 point lead over New Jersey, but the Devils have a game in hand.

Bruins @ Maple Leafs, Saturday night at 7.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

BU BARELY SURVIVES UMASS-LOWELL TO WIN HOCKEY EAST

The UMass-Lowell River Hawks did something only three other teams had been able to do: hold BU to 1 goal. But 1 goal was all the Terriers needed to capture their 7th Hockey East Championship.

UM-L had their chances. They were given 7 power plays, including a 5 on 3, but they couldn't beat Freshman netminder Kieran Millan, who was named the tournament's MVP. BU also had a bit of bad luck, hitting the post 4 times.

One confusing play came in the 2nd, about 9 bodies piled into the BU net after a rebound, and the puck was knocked in by a UMass-Lowell stick. The goal judge lit the lamp, but the on ice officials gave no indication. They went to instant replay and inexplicably called "no goal." I still can't figure out or find out why. The official reason given was that the whistle blew before the puck crossed the line. Which, from the replays, wasn't true.

Conspiracy?

Anyway, BU has essentially secured the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Northeastern, UNH, and Vermont are also going to get in.

Sources:
Hockey East
College Hockey News
USCHO.com

UMASS-LOWELL UPSETS NORTHEASTERN, BU NEARLY SUFFERS SAME FATE

College hockey, the OTHER March Madness.

The UMass-Lowell River Hawks seemed dead in the water midway through the 2nd period last night. They were down 2-0, with the newly named Hockey East Player of the Year in Northeastern's net, and the #5 team in the nation bearing down on them. You could understand how a team might lose confidence in that situation.

But Ryan Blair picked up his teammates with 1:16 left in the period. The importance of late period goals cannot be overstated. UMass-Lowell spent their 15 minutes in the locker room with positive thoughts, and only a 1 goal deficit facing them. Northeastern, on the other hand, must have had a doubt or two.

In the 3rd, a bench minor for too many men gave the River Hawks a power play. They pulled their goalie, and Scott Campbell found the back of the net with 1:05 ticks on the 3rd period clock. 2-2, and UMass-Lowell had the momentum.

Three minutes into OT and Chris Auger tipped a shot past NU goalie Brad Thiessen, who summed up the stunningness of the moment by standing frozen in his half-butterfly for a good 3 minutes.



UM-Lowell now vies for their first ever Hockey East title against a team with 6 Hockey East Championships, and 4 national titles.

The BU Terriers and BC Eagles met for the 4th time this season and 246th time in history. It did not disappoint. Unlike BC's basketball team, their hockey team went down with a fight.

A duel between goaltenders for 2 periods saw BC up 1-0. It took BU 50 minutes to get onto the scoreboard. But once they did, it only took them 44 seconds to score all 3 of their goals. It was an offensive explosion that will send chills up the spines of college coaches nationwide as they prepare for the NCAA tournament.



The Eagles made it a game when Joe Whitney scored with little less than 6 minutes left. BC peppered the BU net with shots, but Hockey East Rookie of the Year Kieran Millan stood strong and the Terriers advanced to the title game.

I'm rooting for UMass-Lowell, but I don't see them having much of a chance. The River Hawks upset Northeastern, but they've been cold lately, losing to UMass and BC. BU is red hot. They've lost 2 games since January, and they've already beaten UM-L 3 times this year.

BU 5, UML 1

The 25th Hockey East Championship is tonight at 7 on NESN.

Source & Photo Credits:
Hockey East