SarroSports

The Boston Bruins have taken over beantown  by storm winning over fans with their grit and surprising ability to put the puck in the back of the net.  Many so called experts had the Bruins bairly in the playoff pitcher, or completely out of the post-season all together.  Currently the Bruins stand at 10-3-4, good for first place in the Northeast division.  Bruins fans have to be very pleased with the team’s performance thus far, 24 points on the season, second in the Eastern Condference.

After dropping their last 12 games against the Canadians in the regular season, the Bruins finally got the monkey off their back with a 6-1 win last Thursday night.  Stephane Yell and Marco Sturm each scored a pair of goals, giving Manny Fernandez more than enough support for the win.  Fernandez stopped 27 of 28 shots, the lone goal comming from Canadians Captain Saku Koivu.  Yelle has been one of the best bargans for the Bruins this season, consistantly winning faceoffs and battles in the corners.  The 12 year veteran is making $700,000 dollars this season and has proven to be a great pick up for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli.

The imprioving play of Manny Fernandez, allows head coach Cloud Julian to roll out two goaltenders that can put the team in great position to win every night.  Fernandez’s counterpart Tim Thomas has been one of the best goalies in the NHL this season, posting a 1.76 GAA.  The pair has allowed 10 goals over the last 9 games.

The productive play of Yelle, Thornton, and Kobasew has allowed coach Julian to skate four lines consistantlty, easing the stress on the top three lines.  The fourth lines level of intensity has not been easy to match, often giving the team an extra boost changing momentum.   

If the goaltending continues to impress, keeping the Bruins in games long enough to outscore opponents, look for the Bruins to continue to reside at the top of the Northeast division.  With the injury to Bruins defensemen Andrew Ference, the team may make a trade add depth.  Don’t expect the “puck carrying” defensemen the Bruins have been looking for, but a veteran that can provide solid play infront of the net.  There has not been this much excitement about the Bruins in years and this seems like it will be a memorible season down on Causeway Street. 

-Sarro

10/22/08

Boston has not been the “hub of hockey” since the 1970’s when Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito were drinking from Lord Stanley’s Cup.  Besides the early 90’s when the Bruins finished first in the Eastern Conference and made a finals appearance, there has’t been much to get excited about.  Just plenty of early round playoff exits and major disappointments.  Take the 2004 playoffs for example.  The Bruins had a very potent team, who on paper looked like the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.  Eventually they were sent home in seven games by their rivals, 8th seeded Montreal Canadians.  Since then, the Bruins have been Boston’s forgotten middle child of sports, but in 2008 have suddenly been given the opportunity to sneak back into the spotlight again.

With The Red Sox recently ousted from the post-season by the new look Tampa Bay Rays, normally Boston sports fans would turn their attention to the Patriots.  Only every time I tune in to see Tom Brady and the Patriots high flying offense, I get some guy named Casell who looks like he hasn’t started a meaningful game since high school.   Since this is an actual reality with Tom Brady going down only 19 minutes into the season and having a starting quarterback who usually carries a clipbord, there has been no better time to watch Boston Bruins Hockey.

Yes that’s correct, no need to adjust your monitors I just wrote that the best sports fans in the world should come out in huge number and support the black and gold.   New England has always had deep roots in hockey.  With numerous College powerhouses and prep schools, there’s plenty of New Englanders who love lacing up the skates.  Just not many who enter the Boston Garden and pay to see the Bruins play.  This needs to change and with exciting players like Phil Kessel and Marc Savard, forgive me for sounding like Barack Obama but change is on the way.  First off, the Bruins have a “raw” Cam Neely clone in  Milan Lucic and when he drops the gloves is worth the price of admission alone.  Tallying six goals in as many games, Phil Kessell is emerging as a top goal scorer lighting the lamp in impressive fashion.  This kid has speed that can get fans on their feet and a scoring touch that can keep them from sitting down. 

After missing most of last season after a questionable hit from the Flyers Randy Jones, Patrice Bergeron has done everything but score this season.  When healthy, Bergeron is one of the best two way centers in the league and will continue to improve while shaking off rust from last season’s absence.  Add improving youngsters David Krejci, Blake Wheeler, Vladimir Sobotka, Petteri Nokelainen, and hard hitting defensemen Mark Stuart, the only direction the Bruins can go is up.  Expect a big year from captain Zdeno Chara as second year coach Claude Julian encourages the defense to become more active offensively.

So there you have it.  The Sox are playing golf, the Patriots are not as exciting to watch, and the Celtics can’t possibly be on every night.  So Bostonians, give the Bruins some love.  There has been no better time to do so.

-Sarro 

 SECOND PLAYOFF POST OF THE DAY! TO SEE RED SOX POST SCROLL DOWN.

In a about a week I may look like a fool for picking the Dodgers over the Cubs, who are undeniably the best team in the National League.  Then again, many have been burnt by picking the Cubs over anyone during their 100 year drought since their last championship.  I understand that the Cubs have the best starting pitching in the NL and boast a line-up that would scare any big league staff.  I have also noticed that their bullpen is full of pitchers who light up the radar gun and punch out batters.  Even though many say this is the Cubs year (I could swear I herd that before), I’m picking the Dodgers in 5.  Why not, they have the hottest pitcher on the planet in Derek Lowe, who scouts say is throwing his best sinker at any point in his career.  Lowe has shown he can pitch in big games, just take a look back four years ago with the Red Sox.  Lowe won every clinching game in the playoffs after suffering through a dreadful regular season.  hes 5-1 with a 0.94 ERA in his last nine starts.  Game two starter Chad Billingsley has been impressive all season and arguably the staff ace. 

Billingsley will be opposing one of my personal favorite starters Carlos Zambrano.  We all know how great Zambrano is on the mound, but lets admit this guy is completely nuts and comes from the mold of an NFL linebacker.  He gets way too amped up and often loses composure in big games.  This could be the reason for manager Lou Pinella choosing Ryan Dempster to start game 1 instead of long time staff ace Zambrano.  An unidentified cubs player agreed with this statement yesterday stating, Zambrano cant control his emotions on opening day, hows he gonna react to getting the ball in game 1 of the playoffs.

The Dodgers have a bullpen that matches up with any in baseball when healthy and will receive a boost when former closer Takashi Saito returns to form after an elbow injury.  Speaking of injuries, Rafael Furcal is starting at short and many forget this guy is hitting .357 on the season (143 AB).  Also Jeff Kent is healthy and adds to a line up that is suddenly pretty dangerous.  If all of this dosn’t convince you that the Dodgers have a chance at giving the Cubs their usual post-season fate, I havn’t mentioned the two x factors yet.

If the Cubs even think about pitching to Manny Ramirez at any point during this entire series, they deserve to lose.  Look for Ramirez to get the Barry bonds treatment by Cubs pitching, which puts a lot of pressure on young players like Andre Ethier James Loney who hit behind Manny.  Also if there is no manager in baseball today, that I would want running my team in the post-season than Joe Torre.  Four World series rings later and hungry for a fifth, Torre looks poised to take his team deep into the post-season.  Yes folks that means they’ll beat the Cubs in 5.

-Sarro

The Boston Red Sox are heading into post-season play hurting more than Michael Richards career, post that eventful night of racial slurs and profanity at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory.  Their staff ace Josh Beckett, holds a career 6-2 record in the post-season while boasting a 1.73 ERA, is bothered by an oblique injury that has pushed his start back to game three.  This a a huge blow to the Red Sox chances of getting past the Angles in the ALDS. Having Beckett pitch games 1 and 4 looks much better than pitching just one game in the series.  This also forces Daisuke Matsuzaka to make two starts in games 2 and 5, if the series goes that far.  Understandably the sox brass are saying that they have all the confidence in the world in Dice-K, whom they expect to preform well and go deep into games.  Even though hes 18-3 on the year, no way does Dice-K gives the Sox a psychological advantage that comes along when Josh Beckett starts.  The post-season dominance that sox fans have grown to expect from Beckett, can be compared with only Curt Schilling (11-2, 2.23 ERA) and John Smoltz (15-4, 2.65 ERA).  Almost unhittable at times, Beckett frustrates hitters and performs best during big games in October.  With all this said, the Sox will turn to Jon Lester to start game 1 in Anaheim.

The 2008 season was a great success for Lester, throwing a no hitter and posting a record of 16-6.  Beyond the numbers, Lester possesses everything you want in a post-season starter and the will to want the ball when the game is on the line.  He has recently been on record saying when Beckett’s time as the number one ace of the staff is over, its a spot he would love to obtain.  Lester is a tough young man who beat cancer and seems to finally fulfill the potential that scouts saw in him when drafted in the second round.  Lester has the perfect make up along the lines of Jack Morris, that can carry a team much needed of getting off to a great start in the ALDS.  Besides Mark Teixeira, the Angles have a free swinging line-up that fits perfectly into how both Lester and Dice-K pitch. 

The Sox line-up may receive a boost from JD Drew, who has been battling a herniated disk in his back.  This will provide the pop in the middle of the order that the Red Sox have been missing for the last few months.  Also Drew is very patient at the plate, which helps drives up opposing pitch counts, which is crucial in post-season play.  As for now, Mike Lowell is on the Sox post-season roster and looks to start in tonight’s game.  Lowell has been battling hip problems and has limited mobility at third base.  If Lowell cant play at any time during this series, look for Mark Kotsay to play first base and Youkilis move to third.

The Anaheim Angles have all the tools needed to make a strong post-season run and unlike years past, they can hit their way to a win if needed.  Their starting pitchers in this series all have sub 4.00 ERA’s and double digit wins.  John Lackey finally has shown he can be the number one starter that teams need to be successful in the playoffs.  Their bullpen is the best in the AL with all time single season saves leader K-Rod finishing games.  The 8th inning will be interesting in whether manager Mike Scocia turns to veteran Scott Shields or closer in waiting Jose Arredondo.  Arredondo looks very similar to K-Rod in 2002, when he took the league by storm dominating the post-season.  For the sox to steal this series from Anaheim, they must do three things.  Keep Chone Figgins off the base paths, get great starting pitching, and get to the Angles starters early.  The sox can not afford to make this series a battle of the bullpens, becuase they would have the same chance and a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.  Either way baseball fans should be happy it’s finally October.  Especially fans who woke up at 5 am to catch the season opener in Japan. Go sox!  

9/10/08 3:29pm

Everything is bigger down in Texas and that includes 6′3″ Junior quarterback Colt McCoy, who leads his Longhorns into battle Saturday against the Razerbacks of Arkansas. While Texas was beating down their first two opponents by a combined score of 94-23, McCoy was putting up great individual numbers to go along with great decision making in the pocket. Through two games McCoy has completed 44-58 passes with seven touchdowns to only one interception. As if those numbers aren’t impressive enough, McCoy also leads his team in rushing (111yds) and second in rushing touchdowns. What McCoy did against Florida Atlantic was downright impressive, completing 24-29 passes for 222 yds and 3 touchdowns. That’s not all, the best stat of the day was his 103 yds rushing reaching the end-zone once on 12 carries. If this was the first time viewers have seen Colt McCoy play, they would be certain he would become a first round draft pick of some NFL team desperate of a quarterback that can makes plays and put points up on the board. Unfortunately things haven’t all gone so smooth for the New Mexico native who is depended upon to fill the shoes of national champion QB Vince Young.

There were big expectations of Colt McCoy on his arrival to Texas and he did nothing to disappoint, throwing a freshman record 29 TD passes in 2006. That included a big win over rival Oklahoma and impressive numbers against Oklahoma St and Texas Tech. With McCoy’s success during his freshman season brought high expectations for his sophomore campaign.

Heading into the 2007 season, Texas knew they had the weapons on offense to get them on top in the Big 12. McCoy had a quarterback’s best friend in Jamal Charles, who rushed for 1,619 yds joining Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams, and Cedric Benson as the fourth running back in Longhornes history to pass 1,500 yds on the ground. McCoy had a big play receiver in Limas Sweed, until he got injured with season ending wrist surgery. With Sweed going down, so did McCoy’s numbers to a tune of 22 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Critiques started second guessing the once promising quarterback’s decision making and if he could lead the Longhornes back to a Big 12 title.

At the start of training camp, the Longhornes experimented with a two QB system that would have McCoy and sophmore John Chiles on the field at the same time. This may have been a direct shot a McCoy implying that he needed to play up to his potential. Two weeks into the 2008 season, all he has done is lead the nation in TD passes and the Longjhornes are 2-0. Skeptics may say that they beat two weaker teams, but McCoy did not perfrom well against lesser teams in 2007 often playing down to the competition. Throwing for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions against TCU to go along with a 4 interception stinker against Kansas State, shows that McCoy did not excel against bad teams like hes capable of. This season McCoy has taken care of business and is poised for a big season. Next up is Arkansas and with that another chance for McCoy to prove he belongs with the other great quarterbacks in college football.

-Sarro

9/1/08 11:13pm

Heading into the final two months of the regular season, stability at the back end of the rotation was a big concern for the Boston Red Sox. With the Rays fourth and fifth starters performing more like pitchers that should be at the front end of the rotation, (Andy Sonnanstine 13-6 and Edwin Jackson 11-8) what the Sox were sending to the mound after their big three, just wasn’t cutting it. Recently demoted starter Clay Buchholz, had posted a record of 2-9 with an ERA nearing seven. Being a journalism major who is not very gifted in math, even I can see that if the Rays fifth starter had a record of an even .500 and the Sox fifth starter posting a record of 2-9 (Buchholz), that puts the Rays seven games ahead in the American League East. The good news is, baseball uses five starters and the Sox have gained ground with both Jon Lester and Dice K having great seasons. The bad news is, the Rays fifth starter doesn’t have a .500 record, Andy Sonnanstine is 13-6 with a 4.61 ERA. For all those who are counting, thats two more wins than Sox ace Josh Beckett. With all this said, Theo Epstein went out and got veteran starter Paul Byrd and expects Bartolo Colon to be back from the disabled list sometime next week.

Byrd has been in the big leagues for 13 years while playing for seven different teams, posting a career record of 106-92. Numbers that fit the role of a pitcher at the back end of the rotation of a big league team looking to make the playoffs. After giving up four runs in seven innings during Monday nights 7-4 win over the Orioles, the Sox finally looked confident behind someone not named Beckett, Dick K, or Lester. Byrd has been nothing but consistent since his arrival in Boston, posting a record of 3-1 and lasting at least six innings in all of his four starts. There has been no secret to his success, Byrd has been pounding the strike zone and mixing up his pitches which are barely throw hard enough to break a plain of glass. The 37 year old from Louisville Kentucky, keeps finding ways to get batters out while limiting the damage on the scoreboard.

If the Red Sox hang on to their lead in the wild card and make the post-season, They have acquired a pitcher that is no stranger to the atmosphere of playoff baseball. Byrd’s post-season record stands at 3-1 while pitching for Atlanta (2004), LA Angles (2005), and last year for the Indians who got sent home by the Red Sox in the ALCS. With his throwback delivery and bulldog mentality, Byrd just might be a big reason the Red Sox will have success the rest of the way in 2008.

-Sarro

8/25/08 11:18pm

Once Julio Lugo hurt his quad muscle trying to run out a ground ball July 11th against the Orioles, Sox fans only knew their shortstop situation could go up.  As of August 25th, his replacement standing six feet tall from Salem Oregon, Jed Lowrie is hitting .299 and has gone errorless in 153 chances at short this season.  At the time of his injury, Lugo was hitting .268 with 1 hr and whopping 22 RBIs.  Not exactly Honus Wagner type numbers, Lugo made even Mike Lansing  look great at the dish.  As much as I would like to vent about Lugo’s struggles all season, I promise he wont be mentioned for the rest of this post.

Before Jed Lowrie was drafted in the first round by the Boston Red Sox, he was tearing up the Pac 10 winning player of the year honors in 2004.  At Stanford, scouts described Lowrie as an intelligent shortstop (its Stanford isn’t everyone intelligent) with great work ethic and doubles power.   He hit for average from both sides of the plate and provided above average speed on the bases.  In the field, Lowrie didn’t impress anyone with his range, but made up for it with a good glove.  All credentials worthy of a first round pick.   Three years later, everything scouts have said about that shortstop from Stanford have been very accurate.

Lowrie has had a knack for big hits since his second call up to the big leagues.  None better than his a go-ahead homer in the 11th against Toronto Sunday afternoon.   After taking an outside fastball from Toronto reliever Brandon League over the fence in right field, Lowrie didnt focus too much on what hes accomplished, but chose to speak about whats ahead for him and the Red Sox.  “Any series that we have with New York is going to be a big series, but when we come off a win like this, I feel like everyone will show up and have a little more energy and be able to feed off this game.”Lowrie even gives good quotes, mentioning how the Yankees is always a big series (even though the Yankees look as sluggish as a race between Bartolo Colon and Rich Garces) and how energy is important to any big series.  Maybe its because he went to one of the best colleges in the country, or it might be that he has veteran teammates showing him how to go about the game.  With his steady play at short, his impressive at bats, and his boring but team first quotes, 24 year old Lowrie is here to stay in 2008.  Sox fans couldn’t of expected any of this, but appreciate everything Lowrie does for the team.   In the end, anyone could better than their last shortstop.  Sorry I had to throw in one last jab.

-Sarro

8/23/08 12:26am

Red Sox outfielder JD Drew is no stranger to the disabled list and theres a chance he will be heading there again very soon.  The Doctors at Mount Sinai hospital informed drew that he has a herniated disk in his back and prescribed Drew a curse of anti-inflammatory medicine after giving him an MRI exam.  This injury does not come at a good time for the Red Sox who are 4 1/2 back in the American League East and in a virtual tie in the wild card with the Twins.  Drew has never played more than 146 games in a season and has missed his last four games with what he said was a sharp pain in his back.

Sox manager Terry Francona  announced yesterday, that Drew would be in the  lead off spot Friday night in Toronto.  After MRI results came back and the issue was a herniated disk, plans changed and Dustin Pedroia filled in for Drew once again at the top of the order.  This is a huge blow to the Sox line-up with Drew being a crucial part of their success all season.  Drew has been asked at times to hit all over the batting order, including in the third spot when Sox slugger David Ortiz missed time with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist.  In 2007 the Sox right fielder did not produce as expected after signing a five year 70 million dollar deal, but 2008 has been just the opposite.  Drew leads the team with a .408 on base percentage, often working counts and drawing walks.  The power production has been back, hitting 19 home runs which is 8 more than he had all last year.  This is due to a new approach at the plate, going with what pitchers are giving him and hitting to all fields.  Last season drew seemed to become pull happy rolling his hands over on  outside pitches, often resulting in a ground out to the second basemen.  All season, Drew has been staying on the ball longer showing the talent that every GM in baseball has been drolling over since his rookie season in 1998.

A herniated disk is not an unfamiliar issue to Red Sox right fielders and unfortunately has shown that it can shelf a player for an extended period of time.  Back in 2004, Trot Nixon was diagnosed with a herniated disk and missed almost two months of the season.  Fortunately for the Red Sox, herniated disks come in many varieties and Drew’s might not me a major issue.  With the Rays and Twins playing their best baseball of the season, Drew needs to find a way to get back in the Sox line-up before its too late.

-Sarro

8/21/08 12:26 am

Red Sox fans are a few weeks away from the one year anniversary of Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter. That magical night ended on a nasty twelve to six curveball that left Orioles hitter Nick Markakis frozen with his bat on his shoulders. Almost one year later, Buchholz would take the mound against the Orioles in the final game of a three game series that ended with much different results. The Sox rookie fell to 2-9 on the season, allowing 5 runs on three hits in only 2 1/3 innings. Buchholz struggled with his control all night, walking three batters and hitting another. When his pitches found the strike zone, they often found the center of the plate, making it a very easy night for Oriole hitters on their way to a 11-6 pounding of the Boston Red Sox.

After the game, Sox manager Terry Francona announced that Buchholz would be demoted to AA Portland to work out his pitching issues. ” I talked to Buck and we feel we need to give him a renewed start, said Francona who also indicated he thinks Buchholz will respond. Buchholz has never been able to find the command of his fastball that he had last season, this may be due to the team changing his arm angle in his delivery. The team has not announced who will take Buchholz’s place in the rotation, but AAA pitchers David Pauley and Michael Bowden seem to be the likely candidates. Pauley has major league experience and has been very impressive boasting a 13-4 record with a respectable 3.45 ERA. Bowden has been getting very little run support lately, comes in at 0-3 with a 3.21 ERA. Even though Bowden has the mental mindset of Sox reliever Justin Masterson, who pitches with toughness and intelligence, it would be a very tall task to ask of the 21 year old.

The Red Sox have watched Buchholz struggle all season, with his ERA rising to 6.75 and losing eight of his last nine games, it was definitely time for a demotion. Some may even think this move came a few starts too late, with the Rays still running on all cylinders leading the AL East by 4.5 games. In his last four starts, Buchholz has givin up 19 earned runs in his last twenty innings. For a team looking to make the post-season and possibly another world series birth, it needs more from their fifth starter. The Sox are eying September 1st when the rosters expand to add Bartolo Colon, adding depth to the back of an injured rotation.

Buchholz’s confidence has been diminishing with every start, often looking frustrated and confused on the mound. Granted Buchholz is a great talent, boasting two plus pitches in his change-up and curveball, but major league pitchers can’t rely on talent alone. Learning how to pitch to batters and attacking the strike zone, will be a key factor in how quickly fans will see Buchholz back on the mound in the major leagues. Something tells me we will have to wait till next season for that to happen.

-Sarro