Tag Archives: Jonathan Papelbon

Sep 30 2011

Rubin: Red Sox Pitching Was The Achilles’ Heel

Would you say, the Red Sox failed to win games because of their pitching?

By Dan Rubin 

It’s easy to point the finger at the 2011 Boston Red Sox by blaming the front office, the manager and his staff, or any one of the free agent busts they’ve signed over the past two years.

Detractors will be extremely quick to tell Red Sox fans they lost the season because of a clubhouse filled with overpriced babies, whining brats, and players who couldn’t get along. They’ll use that as fodder to lob at Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, and they’ll do it by saying, the Red Sox essentially became the New York Yankees.

Although, the real reason the Red Sox failed wasn’t because of a lack of output, yet instead – pitching.

Championships aren’t won without a lockdown bullpen and a good starting rotation. As Sox fans in the ‘90’s remember, it was easy to have a terrible season when you had one great starter and four mediocre arms.

The ‘02 Red Sox failed to qualify for the postseason even though they had two 20-game winners in Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe and the American League batting champion, Manny Ramirez. Boston failed to qualify for the playoffs that year because of their third, fourth and fifth starters, along with their bullpen that couldn’t close the door on any opponent.

The ‘04 Red Sox had multiple front-end starters, headlined by the aces of Martinez and Curt Schilling. Behind them, every starter won 10-games and pitched over 175 innings, while the bullpen shut the door at key times thanks to Mike Timlin and Alan Embree.  Only one Boston starter that year had a WHIP over 1.5 (Lowe). Also, Lowe, Tim Wakefield, and Bronson Arroyo gave the Sox a chance to win games too.

The ‘07 edition was even better, as their rotation included Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka, (making his cameo appearance for being great by pitching a team-high 204 innings). Behind them, Wakefield and Schilling, as well as Julian Tavarez and Jon Lester. With the exception of Tavarez, no pitcher had a WHIP of 1.50 or higher on the ’07 squad. Also, the bullpen that year had a well-balanced attack of relievers, as every single pitcher practically finished with – 50+ innings pitched, 3.00-4.00 ERA, 2-3 wins, and a WHIP of 0.90-1.50.

The Red Sox of ’11 featured four starters down the stretch with WHIPs over 1.5 – John Lackey, Andrew Miller, Erik Bedard, and Kyle Weiland. Their bullpen had three relievers combine for more than 50 innings, while Alfredo Aceves recorded more innings pitched than both Miller and Bedard combined.  Jonathan Papelbon was forced to finish 54 games, appear in 63, and save only 31 – and he blew three saves. Also, at the end of the season, he became used too often because Dan Wheeler, Scott Atchison, and Felix Doubront couldn’t do what the team did in ’04 and ’07, which was win games.

So, now we hit the offseason. Francona appears all but gone, and the front office is left with a number of different questions. They’ll probably go out and sign some splashy free agent, which should make everyone feel great coming into spring training next year, but until they get those workhorse guys in their clubhouse, the current roster and new additions will most likely be looking up at Tampa Bay and New York again next September.

Sep 29 2011

Daily Noontime – September 29, 2011

Well... that wasn't supposed to happen, right?

Happy Thursday to everyone and welcome into another wonderful edition of the Daily Noontime! Here’s some headlines and news to kick-start your day! 

Headlines: 

* It’s hard to believe, but the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox blew their Wild Card leads on Wednesday and allowed the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals the opportunity to snag the final playoff spots in the American and National League.

* According to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn - the Red Sox should blame themselves for their epic collapse, not anyone else.

* After losing to the Baltimore Orioles, Jonathan Papelbon told the Boston media that he doesn’t have any excuses for blowing his final save of the season.

* The Rays enjoyed an exciting Wednesday evening, as they rallied to score eight runs against the New York Yankees.

* According to reports, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick participated in a practice on Wednesday and certainly hopes to be on the field Sunday.

* The Dallas Cowboys have won their last two games and certainly hope to make it three in a row, yet their biggest challenge on Sunday will be defending Detroit’s Calvin Johnson.

Games to Watch: 

* #16 South Florida at Pittsburgh (NCAA Football) – 8:00pm eastern 

* Houston at UTEP (NCAA Football) – 8:00pm eastern 

Video of the Day: 

In case you missed this music video after the Red Sox game on Wednesday – here it is … again! 

Aug 14 2011

Red Sox Weekly Review

By Matt Noonan 

The Boston Red Sox enter a brand new week with a two-game losing skid, thanks, Seattle, I’m sure the local nine appreciates it!

However, despite their west coast struggles from this past weekend, which usually seem to occur in the month of August, yet again, Tim Wakefield watched another start end without his 200th career victory. Indeed, it’s heartbreaking news, however, will Wakefield eventually win and celebrate that special milestone? Of course, but obviously it won’t be against the Mariners, as the Sox wrapped up their season series with a 5-3 loss on Sunday.

Kevin Youkillis ended Sunday’s contest with his 17th home run, as well as his 78th RBI of the season, however, it wasn’t enough to spark the Sox offense.

Yet, despite the Sox struggles on Saturday and Sunday, they managed to win two-of-three games against the Minnesota Twins. Alfredo Aceves and Matt Albers each recorded wins on Monday and Tuesday, while Jonathan Papelbon collected two additional saves. Although on Wednesday, Jon Lester struggled and so did the offense, as Minnesota’s bats came alive to win the series finale, 5-2.

WEEK OUTLOOK: The Sox will return to Fenway Park on Tuesday for a day-night double header against the Tampa Bay Rays. They’ll wrap up the two-day series on Wednesday and then travel to Kansas City and Texas for an eight game road trip.

DIVISION UPDATE: The New York Yankees-Rays contest was postponed due to rain on Sunday, but, since the Red Sox ended their weekend series with two back-to-back losses, the Bronx Bombers currently remain a half a game behind Boston in the American League East division. Also, New York has a comfortable 8.5 game lead over Tampa Bay and Los Angles for the Wild Card, yet, despite the winner of the AL East, it’s pretty certain that both the Red Sox and Yankees will be playing baseball in October.

Jun 6 2011

Lindberg: Thoughts on the Sox

By Andy Lindberg 

The Sox seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday, June 4 with a ninth inning debacle that saw the Oakland Athletics score four runs to tie the game.  The A’s took the lead in the 11th only to see Boston claw back with two outs in the bottom of the frame when Jacoby Ellsbury doubled in Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the tying run.

In the 14th inning came J.D. Drew, whose previous four at-bats saw him swing for the Golden Sombrero. Drew hit an 0-1 pitch sharply into right-center to score Carl Crawford from second and the game was won.

Saturday’s game was pretty much the week from Boston. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and in other games were forced to claw out of a hole in an effort to put up a W in the AL East standings.

Boston went [3-3] for the week, first getting swept by the White Sox, and then sweeping the Athletics. The offense looked terrific overall, but the pitching was suspect, especially from the bullpen. If it’s not a save situation, I would seriously reconsider putting Jonathan Papelbon on the mound. While he thrives in tight game scenarios, non-save situations actually seem to give him trouble.

This week saw the Red Sox lose Daisuke Matsuzaka and Rich Hill, both until late next year. In Matsuzaka’s case, maybe never again. One would be safe in assuming Matsuzaka never pitches in a Boston uniform again given the rehab he will go through. Not to mention by July of next season, the Red Sox will have a set rotation because they have to compete. Don’t be shocked if Boston makes a few moves for a capable #3-4-type starting pitcher in the near future.

This week also saw preliminary All-Star votes come out. Don’t even get me started on how stupid fans are because they should NOT be allowed to vote for All-Stars, plain and simple. There’s no reason Mark Teixeira should be leading over Adrian Gonzalez. There’s no reason Russell Martin should be leading over Alex Avila and there’s no reason Alex Rodriguez should be leading over Alberto Callaspo or even Adrian Beltre.

If you even TRY and tell me Derek Jeter should be leading over Asdrubal Cabrera at this point, I will mentally smack you in the face. The only Yankee who should be leading at his position is Robinson Cano, because the AL second base field isn’t as great as it has been in prior years. Cano to this point is the most well rounded second baseman statistically.

Now, I do not vote for All-Stars until voting is nearing its end to give the players time to accumulate more stats. However the stats right now once again show dozens of players getting the shaft. But I digress. Expect a podcast on this subject later this week.

Coming up Tuesday night, the Red Sox for once play against the Yankees during the week. History has shown Boston own the Yankees in the first seven to eight games played against them, so look for the Yankees to throw down now.

On Friday the Sox stay on the road against Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays, who have played the Sox tough in Toronto this season, but overall, it’s going to be a hard week for the local nine.

May 16 2011

Lindberg: Thoughts on the Sox

By Andy Lindberg 

It took them until May 15, but the Boston Red Sox are now sitting pretty at .500. A sweep of the hated rival New York Yankee ballclub over the weekend finally solidified a non-losing record for the boys from Beantown.

After squeaking out a 2-1 win over the Twins on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the Sox fell in horrific fashion to the Toronto Blue Jays over a quick, two-game series.

John Lackey fared extremely poorly in Wednesday’s 9-3 drubbing, giving up all nine runs while showing frustration not only at himself, but at his teammates as well. Lackey’s next start will see him debut new mechanics.  Instead of raising the ball over his head in the glove, he will keep it low to try for a more balanced, accurate delivery. For those who have not paid attention, the Sox did the same thing with Josh Beckett after his first year with Boston. Even since then, Beckett has found more success with the new delivery than he did with the old.  Hopefully the same will be said with Lackey.

Speaking of Josh Beckett, he’s kind of a freak so far. Beckett allowed no runs in six innings against the Twins on Monday and threw six more shutout innings against the Yankees on Saturday night, a game in which he outdueled CC Sabathia yet again and picked up his second win against New York this year. Beckett has yet to relinquish a run to the Bronx Bombers. Beckett is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA this season.

Adrian Gonzalez hit five home runs this week and leads the American League in RBI with 34. Giving up Rizzo and Kelly seems well worth it to this point in the season.

Personally, I and many other Boston fans were frustrated after the two losses to Toronto. The sweep of the Yankees in New York was delivered in spectacular fashion, especially in the third game of the series.  Trailing 4-1 after the Yankees tagged Sox starter Jon Lester around, Kevin Youkilis clubbed a three-run home run to deep left field to knot the score at four apiece. After a David Ortiz solo shot to take the lead, Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez decided to try out a new fielding strategy. Apparently he thought letting the ball skitter between his legs and allowing a run to score was a good life choice. It was not and in the eighth, Jarrod Saltalamacchia finally broke out and pulled a hard line drive home run over the wall in right.  Jonathan Papelbon shut it down for the save and the Sox walked out of the Bronx with a nice new set of brooms.

Lester earned his 5th win of the season on Sunday.  It took Lester until May 25th of last season to notch his 5th. I mention that solely because I desperately want to see him hit 20 wins.  David Ortiz to this point in the season is hitting .295 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. He also sports a .504 slugging percentage and a .881 OPS.  (Side note, OPS–or on base percentage + slugging– is just that.  It’s a batters slugging percentage plus his on base percentage). On May 16 of last year, Ortiz was hitting .232 with a .484 slugging and a .779 OPS.  Ortiz’s overall hitting has skyrocketed.  He’s catching up with the fastball that took him two months to get to last year.  He’s consistently putting the ball in play. This spring, Ortiz requested more spring training games to get his timing to where it should be in mid-season form. It worked.

This week the Sox yet again play every day with last Thursday, May 12, being the one and only day the Red Sox have off in May. The Sox play every game at Fenway this week, beginning with the Orioles for two, then Detroit for two, and finishing the week by hosting the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubs have not been to Fenway since the World Series in 1918. These are three clubs Boston should beat, and pounding Baltimore a little further down in the standings only helps Boston’s cause. If the Red Sox win tonight, they will have a winning record for the first time all year.

May 9 2011

Lindberg: Thoughts on the Sox

By Andy Lindberg 

It seemed as though in the middle of this past week, that Boston reaching .500 was a pipe dream. There was little consistency in the Red Sox efforts this week, even though with a Mother’s Day win, they secured a winning [4-3] record for the week.

The week started out nicely with Boston continuing its recent dominance over the Angels, winning the first two games 9-5 and 7-3, respectively. But then came three consecutive losses, the last two of which were an 11-0 drubbing by the Halos and a 9-2 spanking by the Minnesota Twins. But Boston came back Saturday and Sunday with wins in which the offense looked like it got back on track.

Adrian Gonzalez has been tearing the cover off the ball for the past week and has seemed to notice the large green wall in left field is very easy for him to hit the ball into or over.

Jacoby Ellsbury has a 17-game hitting streak and Carl Crawford is now batting over .200, his average sitting at .211 after Sunday’s contest.

The pitching had it rough with a brutal rain delay in the Angles series, but a few bright lights in the ‘pen are still Matt Albers (1.42 ERA), Daniel Bard (2.55 ERA), and shockingly enough, Jonathan Papelbon (2.70 ERA, 5 saves). The starters were decent for this week minus another horrific effort by John Lackey, who gave up eight earned runs in four innings against the Angles on Thursday.

Right now there is too much inconsistency on the part of the Red Sox and they have yet to put together a string of complete baseball games where the pitching and hitting both shine.

Sunday began the Jose Iglesias era at Fenway, far earlier than most projected it would. In the ninth inning, Iglesias came in as a defensive replacement at shortstop and made the final assist of the game, throwing 5-3 for the final out, which prompted an ear-to-ear grin from the rookie.

Personally, I was extremely stoked to see Iglesias because I love watching defensive monsters at shortstop. I was begging each Twin batter to hit the ball to short in hopes of Iglesias making a diving stop, performing a back flip and throwing the ball behind his back all in one grand effort to get the runner out at first. Now, that didn’t (and won’t) happen, but Fenway got its first glimpse of the possible future at shortstop. With Marco Scutaro now on the 15-day DL, Iglesias’ first at-bat or start is probably not too far off, and might be something to look forward to this coming week.

Ahead, the Red Sox wrap up the Minnesota series on Monday with Josh Beckett taking on Nick Blackburn before Boston heads to Toronto on Tuesday. Jon Lester opens the Toronto series, followed by John Lackey on Wednesday to round out a short, two-game series. On Friday the real test of the week begins with three games at the Hurt Locker in the Bronx.

I feel like Iglesias will rob Derek Jeter of a base hit with a diving snag and fire one toward third base to catch a napping Francisco Cervelli to end one of the games.

Hey, It could happen, right?

Apr 25 2011

Lindberg: Thoughts on the Sox

By Andy Lindberg 

Sunday was “Sweepday” in Boston.  The C’s threw down on the Knicks, (although it was far from pretty) and the Red Sox took it to the Angels (a very pretty series).  With a game every day this past week, the Red Sox went [6-1] in grand fashion.  The starting pitching was spectacular, especially from Daisuke Matsuzaka, who allowed no runs on one hit in seven innings to the Blue Jays on Monday and no runs on one hit in eight innings against the Angles on Saturday.

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s not one run allowed on two hits in 15 innings pitched by Matsuzaka this past week.  He was effective, kept his breaking ball low in the zone and threw several of his pitches with confidence, allowing him to spot his fastball more often and throw a wider array of pitches deeper into the count.  The lone blemish of the week was the first game at Oakland, but John Lackey pitched very well, only giving up one run in six innings.  Lackey pitched even better against his old team today in Anaheim, going eight innings without allowing a run.

Carl Crawford has picked it up this week as well, knocking his first home run of the season today.  The pitching and the hitting are both coming together at the same time, and in the most obvious and obnoxious statement of all time, the rest of the league should be on notice.

There’s not much more detail I can get into about the wins this week, as the Red Sox played well-rounded baseball in nearly every game, not to mention Jonathan Papelbon was outstanding, pitching in three consecutive games and earning a save in each.  Kevin Youkilis has encouraged me as well, going to the opposite field for power for two of his home runs on the season, including Saturday at Anaheim.

What does still irk me, however, is the catching situation.  I do not think it is any coincidence that Jason Varitek being behind the plate for Josh Beckett and Matsuzaka has seen both hurlers off to a run of extraordinary pitching.  The staff is quite comfortable with the captain catching.  Since both catchers on Boston’s roster aren’t hitting at all, there’s no controversy over who gets playing time.  At this point, anything they provide at the dish is a bonus.  But a team cannot win with a vacant hole in the lineup and Varitek in all likelihood cannot remain in tip-top condition starting consistently.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia has to show he can perform and be disciplined at the plate.  To this point in the season Saltalamacchia has struck out 13 times while walking only three times.  This is from a player whose plate discipline was highly touted.

In 2007 Terry Francona stuck with Dustin Pedroia, who was hitting below .200 at the time and the faith paid off.  Boston can only hope history repeats itself with Saltalamacchia, as catching depth across the league is minimal.

Feb 27 2011

Lindberg: The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Team

By Andy Lindberg

Spring training is upon us and many writers and self-titles “experts” are dubbing the 2011 Red Sox to be one of the finest hardball squads ever assembled.  On paper, it is hard to argue with.  However if we could go back in time, and pick out the best individual players with their best individual seasons, how would that look in terms of a Red Sox super-squad?  Well, I have assembled such a squad; a Justice League of the best ballplayers with their best seasons to take the hallowed grounds of Fenway against any team you wish to stack against them.  For those of you who are pink-hatters, you may have to ask your pappys or grandpappys about some of these guys.

Boston Red Sox All-Time Team

LF:  1949 Ted Williams.  43 HR, 159 RBI, .343 BA, .490 OBP

Williams led the league in HR, RBI, Games played, runs scored (150), and walks (162).  He only struck out 48 times.

CF:  1912 Tris Speaker.  53 doubles, 10 HR, 90 RBI, .383 BA, .464 OBP, 52 SB

The Grey Eagle led the league in doubles, homers and RBI on his way to the only MVP award in his Hall of Fame career.

RF:  1982 Dwight Evans.  32 HR, 98 RBI, .292 BA, .402 OBP

Dewey played every game in 1982 and racked up his 5th Gold Glove award to cap a brilliant well-rounded season.

1B:  1938 Jimmy Foxx.  50 HR, 175 RBI, .349 BA, .704 SLG, 119 BB

Double-X had an absurd season for his third and final MVP award, and first with Boston.  Foxx lead the league in RBI, slugging percentage, batting average, and walks.  Surprisingly, he did not lead the league in home runs.  That honor went to Detroit’s Hank Greenberg, who popped 58.

2B:  1950 Bobby Doerr.  27 HR, 120 RBI, .294 BA.

Doerr led the league with 11 triples in arguably his best statistical season in his Hall of Fame career with the Red Sox.

SS:  1998 Nomar Garciaparra.  35 HR, 122 RBI, 323 BA.

Even though Garciaparra batted .357 and .372 in 1999 and 2000, respectively, he brought on more consistent run production in 1998 than any other season he played in the majors.  From 1997-2000, there was no question that Garciaparra was the single best shortstop in baseball.  Had he been able to stay healthy throughout the majority of his career afterward, he would be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

3B:  1987 Wade Boggs.  24 HR, 89 RBI, .363 BA, 200 hits.

Ok, if you had told my late grandfather that in 1996 Boggs would celebrate a World Series win by riding a horse around Yankee Stadium while wearing pinstripes, he would have punched you in the face…repeatedly.  But Boggs’ treachery aside, he’s in the Hall of Fame with a “B” on his cap.  In 1987 Boggs lead the league in batting average; something he did five times in a Boston uniform.  There is little question his 11 years in a Boston uniform showcased his talent as the best third baseman to don the Boston logo.

C:  1977 Carlton Fisk.  26 HR, 102 RBI, .315 BA

Was there any doubt it would be Fisk?  While his statistics were never overly gaudy in the grand scheme of the game, they were given his position.  As a catcher, Fisk put up production in 1977 usually reserved for a first baseman.  He was also named to his 5th All Star game.  He was named to 11 in his career.

Starting Pitcher:  1999 Pedro Martinez.  23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 K’s, 0.923 WHIP

Forget Clemens in ’86 or ’90, from 1997-2000, Martinez was arguable the greatest pitcher in the history of the game, and that’s a massive statement.  In 1999 Martinez lead the league in strikeouts, WHIP, wins and ERA.  In the 1999 All Star Game, Martinez fanned 5 of six batters faced.  Just some guys named Walker, Sosa and McGwire.  His dominance came from an array of pitches.  Clemens had heat, Pedro had heat, and a curveball that would snap your knees and the single best circle changeup I have ever seen, even to this day.  His control was impeccable as he only walked 37 batters in ’99.

Closing pitcher:  2008 Jonathan Papelbon.  5-4, 2.34 ERA, 41 SV, 67 games pitched.

Not really many options here for the Red Sox, as Papelbon is clearly the best and most capable closer they’ve ever had.  In 2008, the numbers weren’t as eye popping as his ERA was in 2007 and 2009.  However Papelbon was durable and walked only 8 batters in 69.1 innings pitched.

Now, in my view, the DH is un-American and doesn’t reflect well upon the game.  Don’t get me wrong, I love David Ortiz borderline man-crush style after the 2004 ALCS, but having the pitcher bat is PURE baseball.  Plus, with this lineup, you wouldn’t need a DH anyway.

How would the lineup look?

  1. Garciaparra (6)
  2. Boggs (5)
  3. Williams (7)
  4. Foxx (3)
  5. Fisk (2)
  6. Doerr (4)
  7. Evans (9)
  8. Speaker (8)
  9. Martinez (1)

Come one, come all, bring me your All-Time teams.  And if you make a Yankee All-Time team, and 1961 Whitey Ford is NOT your starting pitcher, then you’re clearly not a Yankee or a baseball fan and you must relinquish your fan-ship post-haste, followed by a ritual burning of your man-card.  He was named the Chairman of the Board for a reason, and there was no other pitcher in Yankee history that relished the big game as much as Ford did.

Just sayin’, the Sox All-Timers would still bat around on him, though.

Dec 24 2009

Happy Holiday’s Boston Sports!

With very little time remaining before Christmas tomorrow, I thought I would share with you a few thoughts and some inside knowledge that I acquired from Santa Clause regarding who has been naughty or nice this past year in the Hub. Boston witnessed some great games, became amused by various front-page headlines, as well as watched our idols performances fluctuate, but fortunately, I have already done my shopping for the following people, so take a look at my naughty and nice list for Christmas 2009!

Tom Brady: For the most part, myself and other avid Patriots fans would express Tom Brady has been good this year. He returned to the gridiron following the doctor’s orders, has led the Patriots to a current 9-5 record and welcomed his second son, Benjamin Brady to the world not to long ago. Besides receiving negative feelings at times this fall from the media, Tom Brady has been nice this year.

Theo Epstein: I have gone back and forth deciding if Theo has been good or bad. For the most part, how can one argue and say that Theo has been bad? Ever since he became the General Manager of the Sox back in 2002, he has always put forth his best efforts in putting together a championship caliber squad on paper.

In 2009, the Sox were up and down, up and down, and up and down, but after being eliminated in the first round of the American League Divisional Series to Los Angles, Theo’s moves have been like the past season, up and down. The signing of John Lackey for $85 million was a true stunner, but unless Theo can resign outfielder Jason Bay or find another powerful infielder or outfielder that has great plate presence, I would say he is borderline nice this year.

Bill Belichick: Some analysts and sports writers believe this has been Coach Belichick’s best season with the New England Patriots, but I strongly disagree. 2008 in my mind was Coach Belichick’s best season, especially with all the injuries and losing the best quarterback in the game currently, Tom Brady. What Belichick has had to deal with this fall included loads of media scrutiny since the pre-season, answering to allegations of signing Michael Vick, 4th and 2 in Indianapolis, a trouncing defeat in the Bayou, as well as an inexperienced defense that seems to change every week. In my mind Belichick for the most part is somewhat of a good man this year, which is why he is on my nice list.

Peter Chiarelli: Boston Bruins hockey is slowly coming back and revamping itself in the Hub, which is all owed to general manager, Peter Chiarelli. This past April and May, I watched more Bruins hockey than probably ESPN’s PTI (Pardon The Interruption) or various FOX dramas. The NHL playoffs were so exciting, especially because the Bruins were the number one seed in the East, as well as just a point behind the best squad, the San Jose Sharks in the West.

After sweeping rival Montreal in round one, Boston and its fans believed they were a sure lock for a run at their sixth Stanley Cup, but sadly the B’s fell apart against the Carolina Hurricanes and forward Scott Walker joined the hated “Massachusetts Athletic Club,” which includes Bucky “Bleeping” Dent and Aaron Boone.

Bringing hockey back is a great thing for this once hockey town, but until you lead your team to victory, as well as beat the Carolina Hurricanes too in the second season, I am saying Peter, you have been somewhat nice this year.

Jonathan Papelbon: I don’t have too much to say about Mr. Papelbon. Clearly, I blame him, not certain members of the Red Sox organization or front office, but simply Papelbon for losing the 2009 American League Divisional Series and ending the Sox chances of acquiring another World Series banner. With a chance to secure at least one win in the series at Fenway Park of all places, Papelbon blew it and allowed the go-ahead runs to help the Angels sweep away the Sox. Papelbon is on my naughty list this year.

David Ortiz: Similar to Jonathan Papelbon, I too agree that Ortiz was naughty this entire 2009. First for slumping and then for admitting use to steroids, which did come as a shocker. Lets just keep our fingers crossed and hope that the Ortiz of 2006 could possibly emerge next spring.

Randy Moss:You want me to say he has been not nice this year, but I say no, he has been a good guy.

Moss has received tremendous amounts of taunting, negativity, as well as blame from the media or other players in the league. Moss may not be producing the numbers that we saw throughout the historic 2007 regular season, which included 23 touchdown receptions, 98 catches and 1,493 yards receiving yards, but clearly what he has done is allowed Tom Brady to find other open receivers.

Brady has been my starting quarterback in fantasy football this season and as much as I would love to see some deep “Hail Mary” passes to Moss, which I attempt all the time in Madden’s video game, I have come to realize that this man is a competitor, has adapted to the Patriots hard working/blue collar ways and will do whatever he can to help his team win. Randy, you have been nice this year, happy holidays!

Adalius Thomas: Mr. Thomas clearly is not on my nice list because he certainly has been naughty every day this fall. First it was the Houston Oilers, excuse me, Tennessee Titans game where he was a last minute scratch. Then after Thanksgiving, he insulted one of my favorite cartoons when he acknowledged that even George Jetson would probably have difficulty making an 8AM meeting on a snowy Wednesday in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Thomas has received a lot of heated comments from everyone in New England about his words toward being late, but also illustrated to his young fans that one should not be afraid to call out your boss through the newspapers. Adalius is on my naughty list!

Well there you have it, my complete naught and nice list for Christmas 2009, Happy Holiday’s everyone!

Dec 24 2009

Happy Holiday's Boston Sports!

With very little time remaining before Christmas tomorrow, I thought I would share with you a few thoughts and some inside knowledge that I acquired from Santa Clause regarding who has been naughty or nice this past year in the Hub. Boston witnessed some great games, became amused by various front-page headlines, as well as watched our idols performances fluctuate, but fortunately, I have already done my shopping for the following people, so take a look at my naughty and nice list for Christmas 2009!

Tom Brady: For the most part, myself and other avid Patriots fans would express Tom Brady has been good this year. He returned to the gridiron following the doctor’s orders, has led the Patriots to a current 9-5 record and welcomed his second son, Benjamin Brady to the world not to long ago. Besides receiving negative feelings at times this fall from the media, Tom Brady has been nice this year.

Theo Epstein: I have gone back and forth deciding if Theo has been good or bad. For the most part, how can one argue and say that Theo has been bad? Ever since he became the General Manager of the Sox back in 2002, he has always put forth his best efforts in putting together a championship caliber squad on paper.

In 2009, the Sox were up and down, up and down, and up and down, but after being eliminated in the first round of the American League Divisional Series to Los Angles, Theo’s moves have been like the past season, up and down. The signing of John Lackey for $85 million was a true stunner, but unless Theo can resign outfielder Jason Bay or find another powerful infielder or outfielder that has great plate presence, I would say he is borderline nice this year.

Bill Belichick: Some analysts and sports writers believe this has been Coach Belichick’s best season with the New England Patriots, but I strongly disagree. 2008 in my mind was Coach Belichick’s best season, especially with all the injuries and losing the best quarterback in the game currently, Tom Brady. What Belichick has had to deal with this fall included loads of media scrutiny since the pre-season, answering to allegations of signing Michael Vick, 4th and 2 in Indianapolis, a trouncing defeat in the Bayou, as well as an inexperienced defense that seems to change every week. In my mind Belichick for the most part is somewhat of a good man this year, which is why he is on my nice list.

Peter Chiarelli: Boston Bruins hockey is slowly coming back and revamping itself in the Hub, which is all owed to general manager, Peter Chiarelli. This past April and May, I watched more Bruins hockey than probably ESPN’s PTI (Pardon The Interruption) or various FOX dramas. The NHL playoffs were so exciting, especially because the Bruins were the number one seed in the East, as well as just a point behind the best squad, the San Jose Sharks in the West.

After sweeping rival Montreal in round one, Boston and its fans believed they were a sure lock for a run at their sixth Stanley Cup, but sadly the B’s fell apart against the Carolina Hurricanes and forward Scott Walker joined the hated “Massachusetts Athletic Club,” which includes Bucky “Bleeping” Dent and Aaron Boone.

Bringing hockey back is a great thing for this once hockey town, but until you lead your team to victory, as well as beat the Carolina Hurricanes too in the second season, I am saying Peter, you have been somewhat nice this year.

Jonathan Papelbon: I don’t have too much to say about Mr. Papelbon. Clearly, I blame him, not certain members of the Red Sox organization or front office, but simply Papelbon for losing the 2009 American League Divisional Series and ending the Sox chances of acquiring another World Series banner. With a chance to secure at least one win in the series at Fenway Park of all places, Papelbon blew it and allowed the go-ahead runs to help the Angels sweep away the Sox. Papelbon is on my naughty list this year.

David Ortiz: Similar to Jonathan Papelbon, I too agree that Ortiz was naughty this entire 2009. First for slumping and then for admitting use to steroids, which did come as a shocker. Lets just keep our fingers crossed and hope that the Ortiz of 2006 could possibly emerge next spring.

Randy Moss:You want me to say he has been not nice this year, but I say no, he has been a good guy.

Moss has received tremendous amounts of taunting, negativity, as well as blame from the media or other players in the league. Moss may not be producing the numbers that we saw throughout the historic 2007 regular season, which included 23 touchdown receptions, 98 catches and 1,493 yards receiving yards, but clearly what he has done is allowed Tom Brady to find other open receivers.

Brady has been my starting quarterback in fantasy football this season and as much as I would love to see some deep “Hail Mary” passes to Moss, which I attempt all the time in Madden’s video game, I have come to realize that this man is a competitor, has adapted to the Patriots hard working/blue collar ways and will do whatever he can to help his team win. Randy, you have been nice this year, happy holidays!

Adalius Thomas: Mr. Thomas clearly is not on my nice list because he certainly has been naughty every day this fall. First it was the Houston Oilers, excuse me, Tennessee Titans game where he was a last minute scratch. Then after Thanksgiving, he insulted one of my favorite cartoons when he acknowledged that even George Jetson would probably have difficulty making an 8AM meeting on a snowy Wednesday in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Thomas has received a lot of heated comments from everyone in New England about his words toward being late, but also illustrated to his young fans that one should not be afraid to call out your boss through the newspapers. Adalius is on my naughty list!

Well there you have it, my complete naught and nice list for Christmas 2009, Happy Holiday’s everyone!