A Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins Smorgasbord For The Boston Faithful

The past week in Boston sports has been loaded with news across the board ranging from the Sox reemergence to the Celtics tying up the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead of writing three separate posts addressing the hot button topics for the Sox, Celtics, and Bruins I've decided to write one big post that touches all bases. Without further adieu here's some fodder for the Boston based sports fan.

Checking in with the Red Sox...

As a team the Red Sox have been playing better as of late taking 3 out of 4 from the overhyped Detroit Tigers, including batting around Verlander a little bit, and then climbing out of the AL East basement by beating the Blue Jays 2 out of 3. Offensively the Red Sox are clicking with David Ortiz leading the way and Kevin Youkilis and Ryan Sweeney finding their way off the DL and into the lineup. Ryan Sweeney has done a great job as a fringe player in the Andrew Bailey deal by currently tying for the league lead in OF doubles at 16. He hasn't hit for power he's played solid defense and done well with the stick. The other pleasant surprise that has come about in the past month is Daniel Nava playing a solid LF and hitting the ball consistently like he never has before.

The Sox have won 6 of their last 8 series, only dropping 1 against the Rays and splitting a 2 game set with those same Rays. Their maligned starting rotation and bullpen have righted themselves with the bullpen rocking 4 pitchers sporting ERAs under 3.00 led by Scott Atchison at 0.86 (All Star anyone?). In the rotation Beckett, for all his indiscretions, has actually chalked up 7 quality starts out of 10 outings with 2 of those non quality starts coming against the same team in the Detroit Tigers. He's been throwing better of late and yes he's a dickhead and can be a callous prick but he's done a good job of shutting down opponents. Clay Buchholz has started to get back on track as well looking more like the guy we saw in 2010 and early 2011 before breaking his back. Back to back quality starts against Rays and Blue Jays is what I like to see out of him. Jon Lester has battled inconsistency as of late but he'll find his way he does this every single year and as far as the youngster Felix Doubront is concerned he's been the Sox best and most consistent starter. Doubront leads Sox starters with 6 wins, a 3.75 ERA, and a 66:25 K:BB. Can't complain about that in the 4 spot but you know what I can complain about? Daniel Bard, the starting pitcher.

In my eyes the experiment is over it's time to send Bard back to the bullpen where he was one of baseball's top set up guys. After watching him struggle yet again with his control by walking 6 guys and hitting two others on his way to giving up 5 ERs on 1 hit in 1.2 IP against the Blue Jays I'm done with this experiment, for now. Bard came out after the game and said that he's not sure everyone involved approached his transition from reliever to starter properly since he's having trouble repeating his delivery pitch to pitch. Uhhh isn't that your job? To make sure that you can repeat your delivery on a consistent enough basis to be a starting pitcher? It's time to send him back to the bullpen let him right the ship and then maybe later this year or next year he can try again to hack it in the starting rotation. Personally I'd rather have the Daniel Bard who throws 97-99 MPH in the 8th inning striking out 10 guys per 9 innings as opposed to the starter who throws 90-92 and a K:BB of 34:37. That's right more walks than strikeouts that's just not acceptable for a team that has World Series aspirations. Do what's best for the Boston Red Sox Bobby V and put Bard in the back end of your bullpen until you and Bob McClure are positive that he can strike out more guys than he walks.

Onto the Eastern Conference Finalist Boston Celtics...

It's become a 3 game series between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. After the Heat won the first 2 games in Miami the Celtics did their job and held serve by winning the next two at the The Garden. Their are two major reasons the Celtics were able to fend off the Heat and win two games at home: Rajon Rondo taking over and Kevin Garnett finding the fountain of youth. 

Out of the 4 games the two teams have played so far Garnett has racked up 3 double doubles and in the 2 wins he has put 24 /11 and 17/14. Garnett has been the teams heart and soul, a great defender, and caused the Heat all kinds of problems with his rebounding prowess in the middle. The Heat have struggled to find someone who can guard him away from the basket and in the paint, where Garnett has been spending more time than I think I've ever seen him do in Celtics green. Even if Chris Bosh comes back in game 5 I don't know if he'll have the ability to hold up against Garnett in the paint after a 21 day layoff with an abdominal strain. 

The other guy who's been unreal for the Celtics is embattled PG Rajon Rondo. After going the distance and playing all 53 minutes in a game 2 OT loss, not to mention a career high 44 points, Rondo did what few people could do and bounced back 2 days later and played 43 minutes putting up 21 points and 10 assists. In game 4 after the Celtics jumped out to a big early lead and the Heat stormed back to send it to OT Rondo stayed the course and led the Celtics to a 93-91 victory. His stat line: 15 points, 15 assists, and only 3 TOs. For the entire series Rondo has only turned the ball over 11 times. Think about that...11 times in 4 games! For a PG that's an unreal number. Rondo has been consistently hitting open jumpers and forcing the Heat to make defensive adjustments by playing either LeBron or Battier on him. He's been a matchup nightmare for the Heat and if he can continue to be then the Celtics have a good chance of coming out on top in these Eastern Conference Finals. 

The final key to the Celtics ability to knock off the Heat? Paul Pierce NOT fouling out. Fouling out in 2 of the 4 games so far is unacceptable. I know the officiating has been brutal but Pierce has to make some kind of adjustment that will allow him to play the entire game because the Celtics aren't the same team offensively when he's not on the floor due to their lack of punch on the bench. If Pierce can stay in the game and carry the team through tough stretches then the Celtics have a fairly good chance of taking down the mighty Heat. 

Finally, Tim Thomas...

What are you doing Timmy? What's this crap about taking a year off to spend time with your family, friends, and faith? You have one year left on your contract why don't you just stick it out, play through this next season, and then retire off into the sunset? Oh right, that's because the Bruins are planning on shopping you around this summer because you have a $5 million cap hit and the big wigs are ready to hand the starting job to restricted free agent Tuuka Rask. I understand that Tim Thomas has done great things for the Bruins organization but he's a 38 going on 39 year old goaltender who has had some injury problems over the past couple of seasons.

The Bruins would making the shrewd business move by hedging their bets that Thomas won't continue to play at a Vezina Trophy level for the next couple years and extending a young, talented goalie in Tuuka Rask. Thomas would still get a slight majority in a time share with Rask but instead he's decided to put the Bruins organization in quite the awkward situation by announcing, via his bookface page no less, that he plans on sitting out the upcoming season.

The main that I can't seem to wrap my head around is what's Thomas's end game? If he goes ahead and sits out this year he'll come back a year older with a year of rust on his game. At the tender age of 39 no team is going to want to take a long term flyer on him, which is exactly what I think Thomas is pining for here: a long term deal. His best chance at a long term deal is to either play lights out for the Bruins this year or get traded somewhere showcase his talents for a full season somewhere else and get rewarded with a 3 year deal. If the Bruins go ahead and suspend Thomas for the season then he's on their roster again in the 2013-2014 season and he's right back in the same predicament that he is right now except a year older and with a less likely chance of securing another guaranteed year or two in the NHL. He's sabotaging his value to not only the Bruins but to the entire NHL by sitting out this upcoming season if he in fact follows through with it. I mean hey whatever floats your boat Thomas you brought the Bruins a Stanley Cup so I can't complain too much but this whole fiasco does confirm one thing I've always thought about you: you're a class A looney tune.

That's all for tonight folks and remember to tune into game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Celtics down in Miami tomorrow night. GO CELTICS!

Geoff Jablonski

Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox Starting Left Fielder? Sure, Why Not?

The 2012 Boston Red Sox have been decimated by injuries through the first month and a half of the season. There's really no other way to put it. Each member of their starting outfield from opening day has found its way onto the DL and that's not even including presumed starting LF Carl Crawford who landed on the DL in spring training. Jacoby Ellsbury separated his shoulder, Cody Ross broke his foot and Ryan Sweeney bonked his head leading to concussion like symptoms. If the outfield injuries weren't bad enough the Red Sox also lost struggling 3B Kevin Youkilis to a DL stint earlier in the year. His injury though ended up possibly providing a solution to the Red Sox outfield injuries. Allow me to explain where I'm coming from here folks.

When free agent to be, well he does have a $14 million team option for next year but that puppy ain't getting picked up, Kevin Youkilis went down a few weeks ago the door opened for Sox top prospect Will Middlebrooks. All Middlebrooks did after being called up was provide solid defense at third and bring some pop to the lineup. After setting the world on fire the first 6 or 7 games the league adjusted to the young power hitter causing him to go into a mini slump and make it seem like the easy choice was to demote him to AAA when Youkilis returned. Not so fast, Middlebrooks surprised most people including me by making his own adjustments and getting right back on track handing the Red Sox into quite the quandary.Red Sox fans want the Middlebrooks era to start now but the problem for Red Sox management was that Youkilis has almost no trade value currently due to back to back injury filled seasons. Yes he's versatile but if he can't prove he's healthy teams won't fork over the young pitching the Sox covet.

No fear Red Sox Nation the answer came to my last night during Youkilis'a return engagement when he started at first, Middlebrooks at third, and Gonzalez in right. The best way to showcase that Youkilis is still worth a pretty good prospect and keep all your top bats in the lineup is to shift Gonzalez to left at home where it's a short field and allow Youkilis to play first while simultaneously providing in house insurance in case Middlebrooks hits a wall. If Middlebrooks stalls out then Youkilis can easily be shifted back to third with Gonzalez coming back to first. If Youkilis can't stay healthy or hit effectively you can yank him and again Gonzalez goes back to first. Best case scenario the Red Sox hold onto all the parties involved Carl Crawford comes back to LF and Youkilis bounces back and forth between first and third with Gonzalez starting at first on a daily basis. The ultimate insurance policy in a former All Star. I BY NO MEANS AM SAYING THAT GONZALEZ SHOULD PLAY OF FOR THE LONG TERM JUST IN THE SHORT TERM WHILE THE SOX GET THEIR DUCKS IN A ROW!

Now this entire situation is predicated on Gonzalez being willing and able to shift out to left field for a short while. Personally I think that as a pretty good team guy Gonzalez would be willing to roam LF, something that he did for a while while attempting to crack into the Texas Rangers lineup, and honestly he'd be fine out there. Watching him play the OF he gets good jumps on the ball off the bat and has enough athleticism to cover Fenway's left field. If Carlos Lee, Jason Kubel, and Josh Willingham can stand out in left so can Gonzo. I also don't buy into the whole hey he might hurt himself playing outfield. Gonzalez is a baseball player and an athlete he can handle a position switch for the good of the team. He plays Gold Glove first base he'll do well in left and luckily Youkilis is also a Gold Glover at first helping the cause.

The Red Sox seem to be starting to put it together after taking 2 out of 3 in Philadelphia from the Fightin's and 2 out of 3 in Baltimore from the AL East leading Orioles. They team is starting to click on all cylinders with their top prospect in Will Middlebrooks getting the best kind of seasoning possible; in meaningful games early in the season at the big league level. Putting Gonzalez in left field for a little while also allows the Red Sox to not only showcase and see what they have in Youkilis but also whether or not the Middlebrooks era is ready to begin on a full time basis right out of spring training in 2013. The DH spot also isn't an option for those who want to put Youkilis, Middlebrooks, or Gonzalez there as David Ortiz has once again solidified his spot among the games upper echelon of DHs. Shifting Gonzalez to left for the time being allows Bobby V to keep Ortiz, Youkilis, Gonzalez, and Middlebrooks in the middle of his order forming quite the 3-6 wallop.

The Red Sox team as a whole would benefit from Gonzalez taking a bullet for the team while they determine the right move between Middlebrooks and Youkilis in the long run. Adrian Gonzalez can more than handle 30 games or so roaming the territory in front of the Green Monster. Give it a shot Bobby V and if it doesn't work then oh well, you can shift back Gonzo back to first base and decide on third base another day. Hell maybe the shift will ignite Gonzalez's bat and get him on par with where he should be and not sitting around .280 with 3 HRs. Gonzalez is a bat that needs to be in the lineup and the best way for the team to maximize its talent level currently is being putting Gonzo out in the OF. Hey what's the worst that can happen?

Geoff Jablonski

These Sox Can't Get Started

Two teams, 17 innings, Baltimore 9 Boston 6 with the pitchers of record being two position players. Chris Davis of the Orioles threw 2 shutout innings to grab the first win for an AL position player since 1968. For the Red Sox Darnell McDonald got hung with the loss and saw his ERA balloon to 27.00 after giving up a 3 run homer to Adam 'not PAC-man' Jones. After wading thru 17 innings to polish off a 1-5 homestand against perpetual AL doormats Oakland and Baltimore the Red Sox Achilles heel has openly shown itself. That weak link in the chain is Red Sox starting staff. They ultimately will be the ones who determine the fate of John Henry's latest Beantown Bunch.

This isn't news to most Red Sox fans seeing that before the season most of the teams question marks were located in the team's bullpen and starting staff. I thought that Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Clay Buchholz would provide stability at the top with Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront providing great potential in the 4 and 5 slots. The bullpen was in semi disarray at the start of the year after Andrew Bailey's injury and Alfredo Aceves shaky introduction into the closers role but in the past few weeks the back end of the pen has really solidified itself. The starting rotation on the other hand, which I thought would be a strength based on Beckett and Buchholz having strong bounce seasons has actually been God awful.

The Red Sox stand at 11-16 in the basement of the AL East. Their defense hasn't been the problem (outside of a few miscues by saltalamacchia) their offense hasn't been the problem (Ortiz has made up for Youkilis sucking and A Gonz power outage) but rather it's been the teams starting 5. It's gotten to the point where when I watch a game I'm shocked to see one of the Sox starters even start the 7th inning. I'm openly jealous of almost every other teams starting rotations being able to work deep into games effectively instead of doing it Clay Buchholz style where you pitch 7 innings and give up 7 runs.

Speaking of Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox #3 starter who is currently sporting an ERA north of 9.00, I think I've found the perfect solution for him. Instead of letting him try to work out his command issues in the big leagues and taxing the bullpen in the process I say utilize the fact that he still has options left and let him take the Cliff Lee route of ironing out his problems in AAA before coming back to the show. Cliff Lee spent the beginning of the 2007 season ironing out his issues only to find himself as one of baseballs best a year later. It can work. Give Buchholz a chance to find himself in a pressure free environment get him righted and back to where he was before he broke his back. Then he can truly be the Red Sox #3 starter and help lead them to the playoffs, hopefully.

Their team ERA currently is better than only the Minnesota 'we suck some awful' Twins coming in at a calm cool 5.36. They have 1 complete game and 1 shoutout to go with a 1.47 WHIP and .272 BAA. Most of these numbers are being inflated by the poor starting pitching the team is receiving. We've already been over the terrible awful that has been Clay Buchholz but he's been joined in misery by supposed ace Jon Lester who's 1-2 with a 4.62 ERA. Those numbers are pretty damn far off where I thought he would be checking in on May 7th just check my fantasy draft where I made him the ace of my staff. Lester's problems though seem to be quite fixable. The biggest problem he's been running into is falling back into his old habit of letting walks came back to bite him in the ass in the form of a long drawn out inning that jacks up his pitch count. His last two starts however after getting absolutely shellacked by the Rangers have been right on track, 7 IP 0 R 1 BB 7 SO against the White Sox and 6 IP 3 R 3 BB 2 SO against the Orioles. I like his odds of getting back into All Star shape.

My main issue with Josh Beckett is that he isn't the gamer everyone thought he was after the 2007 regular season and postseason. In that year Beckett single handedly made sure that the Red Sox were going to win the 2007 World Series but other than 2009 he's been altogether a disappointment. Beckett made 30 starts last year but as everyone knows quite well he wasn't around in late August and September while the team was collapsing he was too busy getting hammed on brewskis in the clubhouse. This year, outside of that gross first start in Detroit, Beckett had actually been the Red Sox best starter logging 4 straight quality starts but then, shocker, injury struck again in the form of a 122 pitch outing against the Chicago White Sox. After the start Beckett said he needed to be skipped next turn due to general soreness. That start that he needed to take off was made by Aaron Cook who got lit for 7 runs in just over 2 innings a game that the Red Sox lost to the Orioles. Beckett is talented there's no doubting that but when his team needs him the most he has a tendency to get injured or fade into the background. As of today he has been cleared to start Thursday against the Cleveland Indians and hopefully he's able to provide a quality start and get the team a much needed W.

Rookie LHP Felix Doubront is just that, a rookie. He throws too many pitches and gets himself into far too many jams but all in all he's been about as good as you can hope for at the back end of a rotation. He gives you 5 to 6 innings and tends to give up 3 or less runs. He hasn't been spectacular mostly thanks to high pitch counts and long innings that force him out of the game before he truly should be getting the hook but with time he'll learn to be more efficient. Right now the Red Sox need longer outings out of him but I don't know if this is the right place to be looking. Like I said just a sentence ago  he's far too inefficient right now to consistently work deep into ballgames and give the bullpen a day of rest.

That brings us to the Sox #5 starter and probably the one with the highest ceiling, Daniel Bard. Bard, much like Doubront, has given the Sox exactly what they must have expected he was moved from back end of the bullpen to the starting rotation. He has been keeping the ball in the ballpark, surrendering only 1 home run so far, and other than a start against Tampa when he walked 7 guys he's been keeping the free passes to a minimum. The biggest problem for him has been that he isn't stretched out enough yet to go more than 7 innings at the maximum. He's only worked 7 innings once and hasn't gotten out of the 6th on two other occasions out of 4 starts. His stuff has been top notch but, and the Sox can't pretend to be shocked by this, he hasn't been dominant in the starting rotation like he was at the back end of the bullpen. I get why they moved him to the starting rotation it makes sense to have your best pitchers pitch more innings but that comes with growing pains and at a time when the Red Sox starting rotation is in shambles they need someone to carry the load for a start or two and throw a complete game or two Roy Halladay style.

The best solution for the Red Sox is for these 5 guys to get themselves straightened out and that's up to Bob McClure to find the proper solutions. There are no outside solutions that I would endorse for the Red Sox considering the dearth of talent at the top of the farm system as is. As far as Buchholz is concerned I've stated that I think the best solution is some time to right himself away from the bright lights but as far as the others are concerned they'll have to work their problems out up in the Big Leagues. Red Sox Nation needs the Sox starters to go deeper into games and provide the team with innings it desperately needs. Like it or not Red Sox fans this season might not go as originally planned and you can blame the Sox starting 5 for that but unless the 5 individuals mentioned above can correct themselves. There is a legitimate chance we're looking at a year of misery in the Fens. As a fan I can't go through another year where the Red Sox finish dead last in quality starts even behind the terrible starting rotations thrown out there by the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros of the world. It's time for the Sox starting rotation to step up and shit or get off the pot.

Geoff Jablonski

Causeway Street Patriots Nation turns its lonely eyes to you

Quick question Red Sox and Patriots Nation what building houses the last two Boston sports champions simultaneously? Ding ding ding! Time’s up! Sorry Gillette but it’s not you with the Revolution and Patriots nor is it you Fenway Park with the Red Sox and the Liverpool whatevers but it’s you TD Garden!

The TD Garden suffered for years through a myriad of names ranging from the Fleet Center and multiple other random names including at one point when you could by the rights to name the stadium whatever you wanted for a day – fun fact. Finally (mercifully a better word?) though it’s two inhabitants, the Bruins and Celts, finally turned the corner from habitual first round exit and perpetual suckfest, respectively, and rewarded the Boston faithful with a Stanley Cup and an NBA championship. In the past 5 years the Bruins and Celtics are the only champions that the great region of New England has to boast about to those arrogant New York pricks. The Red Sox have come close in that 5 year window losing in game 7 of the ALCS to those loveable Tampa Bay Rays, I know I should hate them because they’re in the AL East but boy are they fun to watch and they just seem to do everything the right way, and the Patriots have made it to the biggest game on Earth twice as favorites only to be turned away by the fuckin’ Giants, sorry still a little bitter about Super Bowl XLII and XLVI, yet it’s only the Bruins and Celtics who have delivered the crowns upon which titletown USA was built: the Stanley Cup and NBA title. After watching the Red Sox win the 2010 offseason and subsequently drink there way to infamy during the 2011 baseball season and then turning their eyes and watching the Patriots go from a solid team who should win a playoff game or two to Super Bowl favorites only to be bested by Eli Manning it’s now time that Boston turns its sad eyes back to the Bruins and Celtics in hopes that they’ll quell that championship thirst.

The Red Sox turned out to be the ultimate paper champions when the shit hit the fan and the Patriots gave it a valiant effort but if you honestly thought that Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo and their band of misfits we’re going to stop Eli on that last drive after the Welker-Brady miscue then you’re a better fan than I can ever be. It was becoming more and more clear throughout that game that the defense was playing masterfully but the ball just wasn’t fumbling the Patriots way and midnight was bound to strike soon on the Cinderella defensive scheme, yet I digress. Back to the topic at hand which is the Celtics and mostly the Bruins carry on their shoulders the Boston fan bases hopes and dreams for being the sports elite and lately they’ve done a fine job of it. Time to take a glimpse at each team’s chances of restoring the peace in Beantown.

First up we have the Celtics who about a month ago didn’t appear anywhere near sniffing the second round of the playoffs let alone a shot at the title but recently they’ve started to gain some steam with no coincidence that they’re resurgence coincides with Paul Pierce getting healthy again and KG looking the best he has since the devastating knee injury of three years ago. Before KG blew out his knee against Utah 3 odd years ago the Celtics appeared poised to make it two rings in three years but since then they’ve still managed to make it to game 7 of the NBA finals against the vaunted Lakers before blowing a late lead in L.A. but last year they were bounced unceremoniously by the new Big Three in Miami.

The Celtics started the abbreviated 2011-12 year 0-3 and then 4-8 before ripping off 9 out of 10 with a 5 win streak currently in their midst. The shortened season tends to favor a team like the Celtics as long as they can get into the playoffs in the top 4 seeds. A shortened season favors older teams who are good enough to allow their old dogs a few games off here and there and still track down one of those top seeds. Home court has always been crucial for this latest version of the Celtics. The swap of big baby Glen Davis for Brandon Bass has looked like a stroke of genius on the part of GM Danny Ainge and another mind numbing mistake by Orlando GM Otis Smith. Bass has been a better offensive player and a better defender and rebounder than baby while playing alongside Garnett he’s done a great job of bringing out the firey defender in Garnett once again. When Garnett is defending like he has been lately while also pouring in between 15-20 points and grabbing roughly 10 rebounds the Celtics are on the right track. Ray Allen has been phenomenal all year and he’s the kind of guy who takes pride in staying in shape over the long haul. Pierce took the beginning of the year to get healthy and as long as he can stay in shape he’s a great offensive piece to center it all around. Rajon Rondo makes this offense tick and his health will be one of the keys to the Celtics making a run deep into the playoffs, just if he could shoot but oh well.

The true key in my mind will be whether or not Ainge is able to swing a deal for a body to defend the paint and chip in some offense because as good a player as he was in his hay day Jermaine O’Neal just can’t stay healthy enough to be a solid contributor over the long haul. Mikael Pietrus is a great wing defender and once he settles in he’ll be a huge piece coming off the bench down the stretch and the Celtics are all set backing up the guard spots with veteran Keyon Dooling and youngster Avery Bradley. Bradley has settled in nicely and is playing very good perimeter defense and taking care of the ball not much more you can ask for in a backup PG. The Celtics are a big body and possibly a wing scorer off the bench from giving the Heat, Bulls, Mavs, Lakers and anyone else one last run for their money. There is hope but don’t hang your hat on it rather I’d hitch my wagon to the latest Boston champion: the Boston Bruins.

As an abashed Bruins fan who watched and had my heart broken by the Spoked B my entire life watching them blow top seeds and get bumped out by the dreaded Canadiens habitually last years run to the Stanley Cup was absolutely orgasmic. For once the Bruins were the team who got ridiculously hot at exactly the right team and ran train on the rest of the league. The Bruins were the ones with the top goaltender, Timmy Thomas, who could stop mass quantities of rubber on command and lead his team to numerous 1-0 and 2-0 victories. The Bruins were also the ones with the annoying as shit guy in Brad Marchand and the gifted offensive talent who caught fire at just right the time in David Krejci. It was beautiful to watch the Bruins exile their past demons by coming back from a 2-0 hole against the Canadiens in round 1 and then sweeping the Flyers, who just the year before had sent the Bruins into the history books by rebounding from a 3-0 series deficit to advance, with beat down after beat down. They then leaned on 2-time, in 3 years might I add, Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas to carry them past the very gifted but goaltenderless Tampa Bay Lightning in 7 games. Finally in the Stanley Cup Finals the Bruins squared off their polar opposite in the savvy but weak President Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks and after losing the first two games in Vancouver rebounded to humiliate the Canucks and Roberto Luongo throughout the last 5 games by winning 4 and the Cup.

After a deep run in the playoffs and the retirement of the Bruins heart and soul Mark Recchi the Bruins understandably got off to a super slow start this year before rebounding in a big way. After the season’s first month and first ten games the Bruins were an abysmal 3-7 and looked brutal after losing a home and home to the Canadiens. I don’t know what Claude Julien did but he found a way to light a fire under his teams ass and watched them rip off 10 straight wins and points in 15 straight with their only non win point coming in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Western Conference leader Detroit Red Wings. That’s 29 out of a possible 30 points. Led by young sniper whiz kid Tyler Seguin and the league’s best goaltending tandem the Bruins found their stride and after dropping two in a row then won 7 more in a row. The Bruins have hit a little bit of a snag lately with some poor losses against some below par teams but have still been able to keep up the pace with the top team in the Eastern Conference: the New York Blueshirts.

Peter Chiarelli found a way to wrestle power and money away from the Jacobs family like no one has been able to before and he has rewarded the Hub of Hockey with one championship and a very real possibility of another one. The Bruins are loaded with young talent and depth up to wazoo not to mention the top goaltending tandem in hockey: Tuuka Rask and Tim Thomas. The Bruins already have a 20-goal scorer in Tyler Seguin and 4 other guys over 15 goals: Patrice Bergeron (15) Nathan Horton (17) Milan Lucic (19) Brad Marchand (19). With a reinvented power play (11^th in the league at 18.5%, thanks to Tyler Seguin channeling his inner Marc Savard and being able to control the halfwall), the usual amazing penalty killing (7^th in the NHL), a GAA of 2.2 (4^th), and a GFA of 3.4 (1^st) the Bruins are the envy of the NHL currently. On any given night Julien can move his ‘first line’ center David Krejci who has become more and more of a magician with the puck to the third line and bring defensive minded Chris Kelly up to the first line and still pull off a 4-1 win over the Southeast Conference leading Washington Capitals.

Defensively Julien’s system is better than ever and you can thank Big Z, Zdeno Chara, coupled with the emergence of Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuck, Andrew Ference and Adam McQuaid teamed up with his amazing backstops for keeping the Bruins near the top of the league in GAA. The Bruins have depth for days and 3 very solid lines that can score at will and a 4^th line that is amazing at beating and battering the other teams top lines. All of this goes without mentioning the best reason why the Bruins have a very good chance of piecing back together New England’s broken hearts by making a run deep in the playoffs: the play of the Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand line. The Bruins second line has become one of the top 3 or 4 lines in the league and has been producing points at an unreal rate. In 51 games Bergeron has 46 points to lead the Bruins Seguin is a close second with 44 points and Marchand is pulling up the rear with 38 points. This line can shut down another teams top line while also putting a few goals up on the board what more can you ask for? The Bruins have a shot to repeat and win a title that New England feels it deserves after having the Super Bowl pulled from the grasp for the 2^nd time in 5 years.

There you have it folks a few reasons why there is a legitimate shot that either the Bruins or Celtics will be able to deliver a championship in June 2012. If I was a betting man I wouldn’t hesitate to throw a few bones the way of the Bruins and maybe even grab the Celtics if the odds were right because if things break their way you never know what a few old dogs might be able to pull off. Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski

Yu Would Like To Play

The Texas Rangers delivered an early Christmas gift to their fan base, they hope, by winning the Yu Darvish sweepstakes with a record bid of $51.7 million. That’s $51.7 million just to hold a formal conversation with the young Japanese phenom not including the $50-60 million it’ll take to actually get him to pitch in Arlington. If you’re a Red Sox fan you’re probably holding back laughter and pointing your finger at the Rangers front office and thinking to yourself, “nice job Texas you just won the rights to the next Daisuke Matsuzaka.” I personally though am all in on the Whirling Darvish. I think he would’ve been money well spent for the Red Sox and believe that as long as the price tag is south of $125 million the Rangers got a great deal. Allow me to explain why Darvish’s situation is the polar opposite of Matsuzaka’s.

In my eyes the major difference between the two pitchers is their personal backgrounds. Daisuke was and still is a hermit crab whereas Darvish is a peacock thirsting for the spotlight. Matsuzaka is Japanese to the core and spent his entire childhood and adult life in that culture with his trip to become a Red Sox his first foray outside his comfort zone. Darvish on the other hand is the product of an Iranian father and Japanese mother. His parents met at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida where his dad was a soccer player. His father went to high school in the United States as well and Darvish has made it known for years that he wants nothing more than to return to the land where his father went to high school and college to showcase his skills. He is also a national celebrity in Japan who is consistently seen enjoying the nightlife where Matsuzaka was a celebrity in his own right but didn’t allow his personal life into the media like Darvish does. Darvish wants to be the main attraction of the island nation. Yu Darvish isn’t only the best pitcher in the Japan Professional Leagues he’s the nations number one celebrity having achieved cult status at the ripe age of 21. The advantage in preparation for making the move from Japan to America goes to Yu Darvish.

Next lets break down Daisuke’s career in Japan with Yu’s. Daisuke spent 8 years in the NPB compiling a 108-60 record with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 K’s. Over 7 years in the NPB Yu has compiled a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA and 1,259 K’s. They both won one Elji Sawamura Award as the best pitcher in Japan and two ERA titles and we’re selected to 5+ NPB All-Star Games but the difference is Darvish’s 2 Pacific League MVP Awards.  It shows just how much he means to his team that he has won 2 MVP’s over 7 years. Matsuzaka was a great pitcher in his own right but Darvish is on another level. They have both been the dominant and featured starting pitcher in Japan during their time in the NPB and we’re both the #1 pick coming out of high school. Their careers and numbers are nearly parallel though Darvish has had an ERA under 2.00 in the past 5 years with his 2011 season being the lowest at 1.44. For all the time Daisuke spent as the best kept secret in Japan, Darvish spent just as much time being the best pitcher in Japan and letting everyone know it. 

Each has an arsenal of pitches that are quite different though everything we know about Darvish’s pitch arsenal is heresay much like Matsuzaka’s was before he arrived in the Western World. Matsuzaka throws a fastball in the 90-92 MPH range, a slider/cutter in the mid-80s a changeup in the high 70s-80 range and a slow curve. There has been no gyro ball as was widely rumored but only a change up with fade into a right handed hitter. Yu throws a little harder fastball in the 92-95 MPH range, a hard slider around 80, and then an array of secondary pitches: cutter, curveball, changeup, and two seam fastball. Again most of those secondary pitches are hereseay and we’ll found out what he can really throw effectively when he gets to America. Physically Matsuzaka stands 6’0 tall and weighs 185 lbs. Yu towers over Daisuke standing at 6’5” and weighing in at 220 lbs. Physically Yu is built to succeed in the MLB’s 5-man rotation much more than Daisuke ever was. Daisuke was built for a 6 man rotation that tailored to his throwing routine, which consists of lots and lots of long toss, something that isn’t done but once every few days in America. Again I would personally favor Yu’s physical gifts more than Daisuke’s so I’ll give him the edge here too.

Now the final reason that I love the Darvish signing for the Rangers if they can finalize it: the market he’ll be playing in. Daisuke was thrust immediately into one of the two hardest markets, with New York being the other, in all of baseball to succeed in and asked to be an ace. He pitched quite well in his first two years going over 200 innings and 200 K’s in his first year and then racking up 18 wins with a 2.90 ERA. The past three years however have been wasted years watching his ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 skyrocket while his wins and IP have been on the decline. In true Boston fashion with each performance the expectations have been elevated leaving Matsuzaka virtually no chance of succeeding from here on out. In Texas, Darvish won’t be faced with nearly the same challenges from a media standpoint. He’ll also be helped out by the fact he’s joining an organization with the beginnings of a long-term juggernaut already in place. On the field the Rangers have a strong, fairly young starting 9 highlighted by 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton and perennial all-star 2B Ian Kinsler. The pitching staff is also strength for the Rangers even with the loss of SP C.J. Wilson. He’s being replaced in the rotation by former closer and relative flamethrower Neftali Feliz, who the Rangers are able to move due to the acquisition of rock steady CP Joe Nathan. The Rangers are coming off back-to-back AL Championships and World Series defeats. There isn’t the same amount of pressure on Darvish to be an ace like there was on Daisuke to be a savior in Boston. Darvish can come in and be a 3^rd starter on this team while he acclimates to his new surroundings and then in due time grow into the ace I think he can be.

My final analysis of the potential signing of Yu Darvish by the Rangers is that comparing it the Red Sox missteps with Daisuke Matsuzaka is like comparing Love Actually to Wedding Crashers. The two moves are/were done in completely different circumstances with different expectations in place. The Red Sox looked at Daisuke as a chance to crack the Japanese market wide open for themselves whereas the Rangers are looking at Darvish as a baseball player more than a global icon. From a baseball standpoint I also think that Darvish has a higher ceiling and, this is biased since I now know that Daisuke isn’t going to live up to the hype he came over with, is has a greater chance of reaching that potential. Darvish’s size and pedigree are going to be advantages for him during what is a major upheaval from the island of Japan to the great United States of America. In the end if the Rangers are able to sign Darvish to a 5 or 6-year deal for under $70 million dollars I think they’ve done a good job. That’s a guaranteed 5 or 6 years with 3 or 4 of those years being that of an ace at a well under market value contract. Can’t complain there if you’re the Rangers front office. Go sign Darvish, Jon Daniels and reap the benefits down the road. The Rangers are here to stay for a while. Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski