Letters to Theo 2009 Edition
Dear your sir highness Theo Epstein,
The last time we corresponded, I believe I expounded the importance of a catcher to a baseball team. You took my advice last time and signed Jason Varitek, and then you continued to improve the catching situation by trading for Victor Martinez during the season. Both Varitek and Martinez will continue their tenure with the club this coming season.
Thus, please know that I do not believe you must still acquire a catcher. From my understanding, an upcoming deal between the Red Sox and Rangers is in the works. You plan to send my love, soul and cherished third baseman, Michael “Mr. Double” Lowell to Texas in exchange for some minor league catcher named Max Ramirez. Additionally, you plan to eat much of Lowell’s $12 million contract in order to do this.
I am fully aware that our good friend Mikey’s hip is not the most . . . stable joint around, but I still do not think this warrants a trade for a minor leaguer whom we will effectively be paying millions of dollars for. Perhaps you are confusing the name “Max” with the name “Manny.” This fellow from Texas is not, indeed, Manny Ramirez, and thus I don’t see why he is worth all of this money. Sure, he performed well in single-A and double-A ball, but this kid has only played in 17 major league games (where he went 8-46) and hit .243 at the triple-A level. Is he worth almost $12 million as well as a clubhouse leader? I fail to see your logic here, although I am sure, as you seem to be a prodigal general manager, that there must be some logical explanation.
While there are whispers about Adrian Beltre, who would definitely be a more longtime improvement over Lowell at third, the focus this off-season should be on our good servant, Jason “J-BayBay” Bay. Why waste money on getting a catcher (when the team already has two) or a third baseman (when the team already has one) instead of acquiring a highly touted outfielder (which the team lacks)?
You answered my queries last time we spoke with appropriate action, and I hope you can do the same with this humble request: stop the Lowell trade, or do something that will redeem you of what looks to be a huge judgement error.
Yankees suck forever and always,
Subject A
Gryba the Goliath
This is something I wrote for my school newspaper. I can extend this for a journalism class I’m taking, so anybody have any suggestions of what they would want to see more of or improve in this piece?
Gryba the Goliath
by Arielle Aronson
On Friday night at Agganis Arena, 21-year-old men’s hockey senior Eric Gryba scored his third collegiate goal.
A little more than four minutes into the second period, sophomore
forward Corey Trivino led a rush up the right side and into the zone
before passing to sophomore forward Vinny Saponari at the left faceoff
dot. Gryba, eschewing his normal place on the blue line, crept
unnoticed to the right doorstep of the goal. Saponari saw Gryba and
fired a pass toward the defenseman, who tipped the puck in for Boston
University’s first goal of the game, en route to a 3-3 tie against the
University of Vermont.
The goal was Gryba’s first on the season. As a defensive defenseman,
Gryba is a force on the ice, albeit not an offensive one. Gryba’s
checks often leave opponents crumpled at his feet like a heap of dirty
laundry. At 6-feet-4-inches and 220 pounds, Gryba is seven inches
taller and 50 pounds heavier than his defensive partner, sophomore
David Warsofsky.
“He definitely makes himself present out there,” Warsofsky said.
Gryba’s brutish play has earned him a spot in Dog Pound lore as a
caveman-like figure. When he scored, shouts of “Gryba score!” and
“Gryba goal!” resounded through section 118.
Despite the persona created for Gryba by the Dog Pound, the defenseman
is more than just a bear-like defenseman. Off the ice, he acts just
like any other BU student, speaking with an ease reflective of his
affable yet strong-willed personality. This strong will served him well
in his youth.
Gryba grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the oldest of three children.
He began skating at three years old and was playing hockey by the time
he was five. At age 15, Gryba began playing triple-A midget hockey for
his local team, the Saskatoon Contacts.
In 2005, Gryba won his first national championship with the Contacts.
Gryba’s 40 points in 32 games that season, as well as his physical
play, attracted attention from colleges as well as Canada’s Western
Hockey League, a major junior hockey league. Playing in the WHL,
however, would have made Gryba ineligible for NCAA participation.
Gryba initially attempted to play in the British Columbia Hockey
League, even temporarily transferring guardianship to an aunt who lived
there, yet new rules prohibiting interprovincial transfers left Gryba
unable to play in the BCHL. At 17, Gryba had to make a tough decision
between playing major junior hockey and foregoing a collegiate career,
or playing in lower-level juniors in order to be able to go to college.
“Either way, I was going to get my education, whether I got it now or
later on.” Gryba said. “I thought I could play a year of juniors, which
is a little bit lower than playing in the WHL, but after that play at a
much higher level and get my education at the same time.”
“He wanted to go to university and he was pretty stubborn about it,” BU
coach Jack Parker said. “It was, ‘Are you people kidding me? You aren’t
going to go let me play in the BCHL? Kids have done that for 50 years,
and you’ve come up with this new rule to keep me from playing college
hockey?’ So he left.”
BU discovered Gryba while he was playing for the Green Bay Gamblers of
the United States Hockey League, a league from which the Terriers
recruit heavily. BU asked Gryba to commit for the next fall. Because of
the sports-centered nature of Boston, his comfort on campus and the
level of the facilities at BU, Gryba turned down offers from many elite
programs in order to play under the tutelage of Parker.
Entering his freshman year, Gryba was far from the defensive stalwart
he would become at BU. Gryba was laying down big hits for BU, but he
was also spending a lot of time in the sin bin.
“He got a lot of stupid penalties,” Parker said. “He was being
physical, doing what we wanted, but he was playing over the edge. I
think it took him a while to figure out just where that edge was.”
Gryba also had to accept his role on a team where he was expected to be
more of a stay-at-home defenseman than an offensive presence. The days
of 40 points in 32 games were over.
“That’s a big part — accepting the role and running with it,” Gryba
said. “When I was in midgets, I wasn’t a stay-at-home defenseman. I was
a good defenseman, I was physical, but I played a lot more of the
offensive game, too. Starting in juniors and then here, the offensive
game became less and less and I started focusing more on the defensive
part of the game.”
By his junior year at BU, Gryba had made clear progress in taking
smarter penalties and playing a more solid defensive game. Gryba
finished 2008-09 with a plus-21 rating, the highest of his career.
Although he tallied no goals for the Terriers, Gryba registered six
assists and played in every game during the Terriers’ national
championship run.
BU’s victory over Miami in overtime to win the title ranks as Gryba’s favorite hockey memory.
“Winning the national championship is up there,” Gryba said. “The
parade was awesome, and that actually happened to fall on the day of my
birthday, so that was pretty cool. And then throwing out the first
pitch of the Red Sox game, that was a lot of fun.”
With departed co-captain Brian Strait headed for the Pittsburgh
Penguins organization, Gryba learned shortly before leaving for the
summer that Parker was making him and junior Nick Bonino assistant
captains.
“Once Shattenkirk was just the captain, I knew I was going to appoint
two assistants,” Parker said. “It was pretty easy to pick Gryba because
of his intensity and his enthusiasm. He’s a vocal guy that can offset
Shattenkirk, who’s kind of a John McCarthy-like captain — a quiet type
of guy who’s not going to be getting into guys’ faces in the locker
room. Gryba will do that for you.”
This season, in addition to his captain duties, the senior continues to
lead BU in big hits. Unfortunately for the Terriers, Gryba’s 2009
victims include teammates David Warsofsky, who was collateral in a
Gryba hit laid on an opponent, and freshman forward Alex Chiasson, whom
Gryba injured in practice.
“I had a little string there of bad luck,” Gryba said of injuring his
teammates. “Obviously, I’m not out trying to hurt guys on the team, but
it comes with my game. Sometimes, things happen like that, and you just
pray it doesn’t happen again.”
Warsofsky does not blame his injury on Gryba, but he did acknowledge
that playing on the ice with Gryba can occasionally get dangerous.
“It’s pretty scary at times, not knowing what he’s going to do out
there,” Warsofsky said. “You have to be aware of where he is and then,
hopefully, when you do see him coming in for the big hits, you have to
get out of the way.”
Players sometimes try to stay away from Gryba in the locker room as
well. Before games, Gryba means business, but any other locker room
time is open season. Freshman defenseman Sean Escobedo learned that
lesson quickly when he threw soap on a freshly showered Gryba.
“He thinks he’s a real funny guy, throwing soap on me after I got out
of the shower,” Gryba said. “So I took a pair of his brand new shoes
and hid them in the ceiling. He’s looking around for it for a while,
and finally I said I’d give them back to him. I went up there and they
were gone.”
After a few days, Escobedo found the shoes, but Gryba was not yet finished with him.
“[Last Tuesday], he put a chocolate shake in Scooby’s shoes,” senior forward Luke Popko said.
At last check, Escobedo’s shoes were in the laundry.
When not stealing people’s shoes, Gryba is focusing on turning the struggling Terriers’ season around.
“We just keep preaching to the guys, keep working hard, keep doing the
right thing, keep having that effort game-in and game-out,” Gryba said.
“Things will start to click and we’ll start winning six or seven games
in a row. That, I feel, will happen for us.”
Until that point, however, it’s probably best that the Terriers keep
their bodies out of Gryba’s way on the ice and their shoes out of his
sight off it.
Welcome to December
Thanksgiving is over and we are now in the throes of one of my favorite times of year: Christmas season! I’m Jewish, but there’s nothing like some good Christmas music, the giving spirit, and hopefully some snow to put a girl in a good mood.
Unfortunately, December means the hot stove is heating up as well. Yes, I said unfortunately. I love the idea of getting new guys, but I hate seeing guys go, and I hate the rumors that accompany the hot stove. I am very, very attached to my boys. It’s always a bad day for me when someone leaves the Red Sox.
This year, JBayBay (it is imperative to call him that) is a free agent, and though the Red Sox did offer him arbitration, there is a very real possibility he could walk away from this team. It will take a lot of money and a good amount of years to sign JBayBay, and Theo isn’t well known for those types of contracts. Theo has, however, made it clear that JBayBay is his top priority.
See, despite the fact that he’s a Canuck, JBayBay is just a phenomenal human being who has earned a special place in my heart. First of all, his name can be skewed to sound like that Hurricane Chris song A Bay Bay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4tnlRQGyH0). Additionally, he loves hockey, especially the Bruins. Third, he’s a great team player, quiet and productive. Fourth, he’s JBayBay. He can’t leave me. It’s not allowed.
I’m incredibly busy right now with the final two weeks of my fall semester. My mother has made it clear that anything below an A- will be unacceptable. If I had been conscientious enough throughout the semester, this should not have been a problem, but I’m unfortunately a slacker, so I’m racing to catch up in these last seven days of classes. I’m hoping that if I ace my finals, I’ll be able to get As in every one of my classes, but I have to worry about acing them in the first place so it’s going to be great.
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and is doing well. Enjoy the season and people of Boston, cross your fingers for snow!
Bad Weekend in Sports
You would think that because the Red Sox season is over, I would be done attempting to defenestrate myself for the next six months. After this weekend, this is not the case. We’ll discuss the horrors team by team here, since, you know, it’s no fun only rooting for one team or one sport.
BU Hockey
Oh the hangovers from national championships! BU hockey has been, well, fallible this year. Most games they’ve been playing just short of wins. They’re really into doing this thing where they shoot the puck a billion times into the goalie’s chest, which obviously does not really lead to too many goals. BU also is a big fan of not playing defense, and not playing in the second period. Because of this, the team is now 3-6. They are in 9th place (out of 10) in Hockey East and completely tumbled out of all national rankings. 
Despite this, I made the decision to travel up to Merrimack on Friday to watch the Terriers take on the Warriors. 2007-2008 was Merrimack’s only double-digit win season since 2003-2004. Needless to say, they’re a powerhouse.
BU struggled mightily with the Warriors. Or, well, BU actually didn’t struggle, as they did not show up for the game after the first period. In the words of BU coach Jack Parker, “We stopped competing.” Great, right? The score is deceiving. Merrimack won 6-3, but the final score may have well been 9-0. Additionally, my least favorite player on the team, Colby Cohen, fought two guys. Fighting is illegal in college hockey. He was ejected. This was great, because Colby is a defenseman and at one point, BU had 4 defensemen in the penalty box at once.
BU had six minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage. They didn’t score. Nobody fails to score with six minutes of a two man advantage. Defending national champions do not play the way BU did on Friday night. There was no effort, no spark, no leadership. It was disgusting. I was actually nauseated. After the “game,” the three other people I traveled up there with and myself went to Friendly’s for some comfort food. It was that bad.
Saturday night, BU took a 4-0 advantage in the first period. After that, BU felt that the game was over and it was time for them to partake in Saturday evening festivities. They ended up winning 6-4, but it was more of a “they didn’t lose” than a “they won the game” situation. The good news from Saturday is that two of our injured players returned, including the star and assistant captain, Nick Bonino. Also, BU scored six goals, so perhaps they finally figured out that you need to score goals in order to win games. We’ll see how they rebound this weekend against UNH.
The Bruins
Last week, I went to the Bruins game against the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins at the Garden in Boston. The Bs played terrific, shutting out Sidney Crosby and friends 3-0. On Saturday night, the Bruins traveled to Pittsburgh for a rematch. This one didn’t go so well.
The game was hard fought, and the Bruins never gave up. They came back from multiple deficits, most remarkably in the third period when they were trailing Pittsburgh 4-3. With 5:47 left in regulation and the Bruins holding a two man advantage (listen to this one, BU), David Krejci swept in on a Zdeno Chara shot and roofed the rebound towards the goal, where Marco Sturm tipped the puck in to tie the game, 4-4. Three minutes later, with 2:29 left in regulation, Zdeno Chara showed off his hardest shot skills, firing a slapshot from just above the left circle past Pittsburgh back-up netminder Brent Johnson. The Bruins were on their way to another victory.
Not so fast. With 4/10 of a second remaining, ex-Bruin Bill Guerin slipped a wristshot from the top of the right faceoff circle past Tim Thomas to send the game to overtime. The Bruins were exhausted, and a little over a minute into overtime, Pascal Dupuis netted the game-winner for the Pens.
After a good, hard effort like Saturday’s, you would think the Bruins would come out confident and strong against the Islanders last night.
Nope.
Six minutes into the game, Matt Moulson capitalized on a turnover in the Bruins offensive zone and some poor defense at the hands of Dennis Widemann and Patrice Bergeron to give the Islanders an early 1-0 lead. The Bruins had a chance towards the end of the first to tie the game with a 5-on-3, but like BU, the Bs did not feel the need to take advantage of their opportunity and squandered the chance. Moulson ended up just shy of a hat trick, scoring two goals and briefly getting credit for a John Tavares goal to start the third. The Bruins lost 4-1, and Patrice Bergeron, who has been one of the best players on the ice this season for the Bs, finished the game with a -4 rating.
Claude Julien admitted after the game that the Islanders “wanted it more than we did.” Is there anything more frustrating in sports than when your team does not put forth their best effort? Come on.
The Patriots
Speaking of best efforts . . . I’m not sure if I should title this section The Patriots or Bill Belichick. By now, most people know the story. The Pats were leading the undefeated Colts by a solid 13 point margin coming into the fourth quarter. With a little more than two minutes left, the lead was whittled down to 6. A touchdown could win the game.
On 4th and 2 with 2:08 left in the game, Bill Belichick inexplicably decided to send his offense back out and go for it. Belichick had no challenges left in case he would need them (which he did). Brady threw a short pass to Kevin Faulk who was standing right on the 30-yard line, which is where the Pats needed to get to for the first down. The Patriots got a poor spot, as the referees decided the Patriots were about a yard short of a first down. This gave Peyton Manning two minutes to go 29 yards for the game-winning touchdown. That’s a series he will execute every time.
People are saying that the move says Belichick did not have the confidence in his defense to keep the Colts from covering 70-yards in 2 minutes. However, I believe Belichick has to have enough confidence in his defense to be able to hold the Colts from 29-yards out if the Pats do not convert on fourth down. Belichick is a defensive-minded coach. He most likely has faith every game in his defense, because ultimately, it is the defense Belichick himself creates. Any failure on the defense’s part is a reflection of Belichick himself. 
Additionally, why were the Patriots throwing the ball so short? Why are they throwing for exactly two yards? Why not give themselves the insurance of a few more yards and throw a five-yard pass? Converting there is crucial, and they never should have given the referees the opportunity to decide whether or not the play was long enough for a first down. It’s the offense’s job to earn the first down, not the referees job to give it to them.
And why
did Belichick waste a timeout at the beginning of a drive? He ended up needing that timeout if he had wanted to challenge the spot of the ball, because when the Patriots did not convert on third down, confusion about whether to punt or not forced the Patriots to use their final timeout to prevent a delay of game penalty.
The bottom line here, though, is that Bill Belichick made the completely wrong decision. With Peyton Manning leading an offense, you must punt the ball on 4th and 2 with 2:08 when holding onto a six point lead. Had it even been a seven point lead, this may have been slightly more understandable because the Colts would have to decide between a two point conversion to win or kicking the extra point to head into overtime. Going for it in this situation, however, gift-wrapped the game for the Colts, a game the Patriots players worked hard to win. A game that was negated because of poor coaching from one of the best coaches in NFL history.
Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, both former players, criticized their coach. For them to say things like “this was the worst coaching decision I have ever seen Belichick make” (Harrison) and “the decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil” (Bruschi) means that they had to 150% believe both in what they were saying and in Belichick’s complete and total error.
In my mind, Bill Belichick is still one of the best coaches in football history, but this gaffe definitely mars his reputation. Before Sunday night’s game, Belichick was infallible. He was inhuman. He may have lost important games, big games, playoff games, but never because of such a momentous decision on his part. You cannot let one decision decide a career, yet at the same time, you cannot overlook this one decision in judgement of Belichick, because this one decision takes him down that notch from infallibility to simply extraordinary.
It will be hard to get over this game because it most likely cost the Pats home field advantage in the playoffs, but at the same time, the season goes on. This is not Grady Little. This is not going to cost Belichick his job. This is the regular season. Yet at the same time, it is November, the Colts did, by virtue of their win, tie the Patriots for second in consecutive wins (18), the Colts are a rival. This is a game that I will never forget.
Quotes and Patriots picture from boston.com. The other two pictures are mine.
Start of the off-season.
First off, how do you spell off-season? Off season? Off-season? For that matter, what about power play? Is it power play, power-play or powerplay?
Anyways, ADD moment of the day behind us, the World Series ended six days ago and the Red Sox have started making player/personnel moves. About a month ago, after the Red Sox gracefully left the playoffs (play-offs? play offs? playoffs?), I highlighted some key free agents/player moves for the Red Sox. Here’s what I said, and here’s what has happened so far:
Alex Gonzalez: The Red Sox can pick up Gonzalez’s $6 million
option for next year, try to re-sign him for less money or pursue a
different option at shortstop either internally (Lowrie, Green) or
externally.
I think it was a mistake to let Gonzalez leave
Boston in the first place. Gonzalez is not anything great at the plate,
but his defense more than makes up for his offensive deficiencies.
Gonzalez is a sure-handed shortstop and performed well. Theo Epstein
does not have a great history with shortstops, so with any new
shortstop, there will be a lot of question marks entering the season.
The Red Sox should attempt to sign Gonzalez for less money if at all
possible, but should not get hung up on that avenue. Pick up his option
if he refuses to take less money for more years.
The Red Sox did not pick up Gonzo’s option, but they are trying to sign him for less money. Theo tried and failed to pick up J.J. Hardy from the Brewers, and I’m not sure Hardy would have been great in Boston anyways. He batted .229 last year, but the real interest in him comes from his performance the year before when he .283. He has potential as a 20+ home run hitter, but in a market like Boston where there is always pressure to win now, I’m not sure he would have thrived. I think the Red Sox should attempt to bring Gonzalez back on a $3-4 million per year, 2 or 3 year deal. It’s cheap, provides some years, and brings back a player who has shown that he can perform well enough in Boston.
Tim Wakefield: Wakefield is scheduled to have back surgery this postseason. The Red
Sox have infinite one-year options for him. Wakefield could also retire
or join a different team.
I think the Red Sox need to wait
it out on Wake. Unless his back problems completely disappear for at
least a few months, they should not re-sign Wakefield. There are a few
starting pitchers in the minor leagues (work on Bowden) and some
quality pitchers the Red Sox could pursue trades for that are more
dependable and less injury prone than Wakefield.
I think the Red Sox just made a mistake on Wakefield. They just signed him on for two more years. He will make $3.5 million this coming season, and $1.5 million next season, and he has incentives based on number of starts and innings pitched. Granted, with the knuckleball, it seems like Wakefield can pitch forever. However, he is turning 44 next season and there is no solid proof that his back will be able to handle another two seasons of baseball post-surgery. Perhaps if they had signed this deal in February or March after he had really worked out and gotten himself into season shape, I would not be so doubtful, but I just do not believe that Wakefield can endure the stress of the season at his age.
Jason Varitek: The Red Sox can pick up his $5 million team option, welcome him back under his $3 million player option, watch him go elsewhere or invite him back as a coach.
I
love Jason Varitek and he has been my favorite player for years now.
That said, he is in the midst of a steady decline. Catchers have
shorter careers, and at 38 years old by the start of next season, there
is no reason to believe that Varitek will improve or even maintain his
status quo. He has been abysmal at throwing runners out at second and
cannot hit consistently well anymore. Varitek is, however, fantastic
with pitching staffs and fellow catchers. Victor Martinez has done
nothing but talk about how helpful Varitek has been for him. The Red
Sox should encourage him to retire and return to the Red Sox as either
a pitching or catching coach for next season.
The Red Sox made a huge move yesterday regarding Varitek. They declined Varitek’s player option and announced Victor Martinez will be the starting catcher in 2010. Varitek can still come back to the team on a $3 million player option, which, if he wants to play for the maximum amount of money, he should probably do. Varitek will not find that type of money anywhere else. The bottom line is that Varitek is an aging catcher who is not starting to decline, but rather is deep in the throes of the end-of-career drop-off. If Varitek wants a starting catching job, he will go elsewhere, but I don’t know what team would pick him up as a starting catcher. It would be best for Varitek to just call it a career and come back as a coach. This is painful to watch, and though I love Varitek, he cannot throw out runners, hit, or catch the way he used to. It’s time for him to say thanks for the memories and gracefully bow out.
Today should be an interesting day in Red Sox Nation. If Varitek does not make a decision today, he will make one in the next few days, so expect an announcement on him soon. The GM meetings are in full force, and Cashman is already making statements about how the Yankees are the “team of the decade” purely because they won in 2009. I guess the failures of 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and the missed playoffs in 2002 and 2008 mean nothing when you win the last World Series of the decade. Cashman also mentioned that history means nothing, it’s all about the here and now, so I guess we won’t be hearing anything about 27 World Series championships from the Yankees. Good to know.
Have a great week, all!
The Role of the Fan
It should be well known here that once the off season comes around, all the energy I devote to my beloved Red Sox transfers to the Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey team. We won the NCAA Division I Championship last year, along with 6 other championships we played for over the course of a 35-6-4 run. Along the way, we picked up quite a few bandwagon fans. Some of these people actually learned about the game of hockey and now enjoy the sport. Some, well, they’ll just remain bandwagon-ers.
The Terriers have been mediocre this season. They are now 2-4, which is actually a decent record considering some of the teams they have played against (Notre Dame, Michigan, UMass Lowell). Already, many students are jumping ship, giving up on the season, making plans to travel abroad in the spring because they feel they will not be missing anything.
Meanwhile, there is a solid core of fans who are sticking by this team through their struggles and growing pains. Last night, Boston University traveled to Northeastern for their sixth game of the season. BU was without stars like Nick Bonino and David Warsofsky. The lines were strange and the power-play had lost two if its key leaders. Despite this, about 100-150 students gathered in the lower bowl of Matthew’s Arena, clad in jerseys and standing for 60 minutes to support the players who were able to take the ice.
Northeastern fans were vicious. Before the game even started, they were throwing water bottles at BU fans’ heads. A policeman had to stand guard by the BU section, and he had to take down names of BU victims for police reports against Northeastern fans. During the national anthem, the Northeastern fans started screaming and talking about halfway through. They made sure to frequently chant “F* BU.” They encouraged people in the bathroom to use BU fans as urinals.
Through it all, though, the BU fans ignored the Northeastern behavior. They focused instead on the players on the ice, screaming Let’s Go Terriers, Go BU, Rough ‘em up, rough em up, go BU!
Towards the end of the game, when BU was down 1-0 with 40 shots on goal, a Northeastern viciously slammed a BU player, Alex Chiasson, head-first into the boards. That type of hit can easily break a player’s neck. It’s not only illegal, it’s unsportsmanlike. The player was ejected from the game, and Northeastern fans were livid. They felt it was a bulls*t call. The resulting 5-minute penalty put BU on a 6 on 4 for the remainder of the game.
The BU section was well-located right where BU shot twice, so for the third period, BU fans were right next to the BU players. All 100-150 fans there were shouting as loudly as they could: “You can do this, boys. You got this. Play your game. You are doing so well. You got this!” Except for the last three minutes of the national championship game when BU was down 3-1, I had never seen such encouragement from BU fans, such positivity. Until the game was over, nobody mentioned the shot inefficiencies. These fans were truly there to root the Terriers on. They could care less about what Northeastern fans were saying, what the score was, how BU was playing. They just wanted the best out of the players. It was phenomenal.
I would love to say that’s how BU fans are for every game. Certainly, the Dog Pound brings an unmatched, continuous intensity to every college hockey game they watch. Throughout this, though, there are a lot of “Why does this player suck?” or “What does he think he’s doing out there?” or “Why did this player ever think it would be a good idea for him to play hockey?” When BU loses or plays poorly at Agganis, fans scream at the players as if they are failures or do not know anything about what they are doing.
It’s terrible. I personally have never, ever booed a player on the team I cheer for. I hated David Wells, but when he played for the Red Sox, I always made sure to encourage him, coax him into a strikeout, say anything supportive. Similarly, I hate one of BU’s players, Colby Cohen. I say a lot of bad things about him when BU is not playing. During game-time, however, I would never say anything against him. It doesn’t help, especially in college hockey venues where players can actually hear what the crowd is saying and know when their fans are criticizing them. It is never a fan’s place to boo their own player. There is a reason fans are in the stands and players are on the ice or fields. Though fans are not always 100% supportive at Agganis, the negativity did not travel to Matthew’s last night, and that was great to see.
Rivalries are great for sports. They bring a higher competitive edge to games, and a lot of Northeastern fans last night were fun to combat in cheers in comments. One fan asked the BU fans which hat they were wearing last night, the National Championship hat or the Beanpot hat. It was a play on how highly BU fans esteem the Beanpot tournament, and if BU had lost the Beanpot last year, it would be interesting what people would say when they won the NCAA championship (most likely, it would have been “Well, a national championship is nice, but it’s no Beanpot). Northeastern was a big fan of the “Sucks to BU” chant, which, while not very original, is still nothing unsportsmanlike. It’s not like we don’t say “BC sucks” at every hockey game, regardless of whether we are actually playing BC or not.
However, there were a large group of students there who did not even seem to realize Northeastern was playing. They were so occupied with telling BU fans how they were ******* and ******* and ***** that I’m not sure they saw much of the game. Quite a few were kicked out before the game started, and more were kicked out during the game. I cannot consider them actual fans of Northeastern. Sure, real fans will make fun of us, but they will also watch the game and remember to cheer for their team. There were a good amount of those fans there last night, but they were unfortunately overshadowed by the poor sportsmanship of some of their comrades.
Last night’s game was very well played by BU. They turned out their best powerplay performance of the season despite the significant injuries that kept a good group of guys from playing. They owned puck possession, improved their face-offs, played their best defense of the season, shut down Northeastern for the most part offensively, and did not get overly physical when Northeastern started playing dirty. Northeastern also played decently. Their offense was not anything special, but their goaltending was fantastic and their defensive dedication paid off. In terms of opportunities, Northeastern certainly stole the win, but at the same time they were not undeserving of a W.
While it’s unfortunate that a select group of Northeastern students clouded the experience for BU fans, I am so impressed by the BU fans’ reactions and diligence. The BU fans were there for the team. They did not engage the Northeastern students the way the could have and represented the university very well last night. I really hope this behavior will carry over and continue at Agganis and the remaining road games, and I am very proud of BU for displaying what a true fan should be.
Go Terriers!
Reactions from Boston on the Yankees’ 27th World Series Victory
Apparently, the Yankees won their 27th World Series title last night. Me? I could really care less.
So what if the Yankees won? It isn’t as if it did not took huge sums of money for them to get where they needed to be in order to add to their ring totals. It’s not as if they beat the Red Sox in the postseason. It’s not as if they had the Red Sox’s number this year. Yes, I hate the Yankees, and because of that, I really don’t care that they won.
I believe this World Series was not a reflection on the organization as a whole (as it was for the 2003 Marlins, the 2005 Cardinals) and that the Yankees really didn’t have a huge effect on the Red Sox this season. This doesn’t say anything about the Yankees other than they have the ability to buy the players necessary (Matsui, Texieira, Sabathia, A-Rod) to win championships. That, to me, illustrates everything that is wrong about baseball right now.
Now, the Red Sox are not wholly innocent of baseball as a business. They pay big money for Ortiz, for Beckett, for J.D., for Daisuke. At the very core of the team, however, the Red Sox have home-grown talent. There would have been no 2007 title without Pedroia, Youkilis, Papelbon and Lester.
The Yankees have Jeter.
He is by far the best player of this generation of players, and he may well be one of the greatest of all times. Other than him, however, the Yankees do not have a core of home-grown talent that leads their team. Cabrera, Cano, Chamberlain, Gardner . . . they are all decent players, but they do not lead the team. They are not the difference between a championship-caliber team and a playoff-caliber team.
To be honest, I did not watch a whole lot of this World Series. It had no appeal to me. I knew the Yankees would win, and even if they didn’t, I did not care for the Phillies to repeat. How great would it have been for the sport if the Twins were playing the Rockies, or even the Dodgers to improve a low-key Series’ TV ratings?
I mean, Minnesota’s entire pay-roll would be consumed solely by A-Rod, Jeter and Matsui. What if 25 guys could play for that same amount of money on baseball’s biggest stage? How great would that be for the sport?
In the end, I guess it’s congratulations to the Yankees. On to another off season where both the Yankees AND the Red Sox will spend ridiculous sums of money on people who play a child’s game. On to the debate over Jason Bay, Varitek, Tim Wakefield and friends.
And guess what? In 365 days, it will be the Red Sox holding that trophy.
Have a good off-season everybody!
Boston Sports Update
I’ve been trying to find the Red Sox games on TV recently and they do not appear in the schedule. I realize that postseason baseball is still going on, so I will investigate this matter further, but I figured in the meantime, I’d update everybody who does not read boston.com every 5 minutes on the latest happenings.
Patriots wallop Titans before jetting off to London
It snowed all day on Sunday in Boston. Today it is 70 degrees. I feel the Titans, who had the unfortunate task of playing football at Gillette on Sunday, would have much preferred to play the Patriots today.
The Patriots absolutely obliterated the Titans. By half time, Tom Brady had five touchdown passes and the Pats were leading 45-0. Two of those five touchdowns came in the 13th minute of the quarter. If the Titans did not come out after the half, the Patriots would not have noticed the difference. The Pats ended up winning 59-0.
This week, the Patriots play Tampa Bay in foreign territory. Really foreign territory. American football arrives in London tonight, as the Patriots will leave for England this afternoon. I really do not think this trip will create too much more of a British following, as they are pretty happy with their form of football, but it does make for a fun trip for both the Pats and the Bucs.
I would not expect another 59-0 game. It was fun to watch, but the Titans were a struggling team who happened to run into the Pats when they were clicking for the first time this season. Granted, Tampa Bay is also winless on the season, but maybe jet lag will prevent the Patriots from being so explosive.
Savvy, Looch on IR and Kobasew traded
The Bruins have been really struggling this season with consistency. They have yet to have a losing streak on the season, but they have also yet to have a winning streak. They win big one night and lose big the next night.
This week, the Bruins seriously shook up their roster. Two of their top players, first-line center Marc Savard and enforcer Milan Lucic, are out for at least a month with a broken foot and
finger, respectively. On Sunday, the Bs traded Chuck Kobasew for the rights to a college player, a perennial AHLer, and a second round 2011 draft pick. On Tuesday, the Bs turned around and acquired Daniel Paille who will presumably take Kobasew’s place.
Last night, the Bs improved to a .500 record when they beat the Nashville Predators 3-2. I was at the game to cheer on BU’s Colin Wilson who left for the NHL after two years of collegehockey. Colin scored his first (albeit messy/weak) career goal last night. It was great to see him in person succeeding at the NHL level, and it was also great for him to be able to score in front of many of his teammates from the past two years the day after his 20th birthday. My friend and I stood to applaud Colin’s goal even though he was supposed to be the enemy last night. All was absolved, however, when the Bruins managed to pull off the W.
BU Hockey forgets that they actually need to play a full game of hockey to win a game
BU hockey occupies most of my time during baseball’s offseason. The team won the national championship last year. They were loaded with talent, such as the aforementioned Colin Wilson, New York Rangers’ defenseman Matt Gilroy, Jason Lawrence, Columbus’s Chris Higgins, San Jose’s John McCarthy and Pittsburgh’s Brian Strait (just to mention a few). BU could turn on the jets last year and dominate games. They scored 3 goals in 44 seconds against BC to advance to the Hockey East final. They came back from a 3-1 deficit with 59.5 seconds remaining in the national title game to win the game 4-3.
This year, the only team BU has beaten was a group of 17-year-olds. For players, I’m sure it’s annoying when fans scream “why aren’t you doing this?” or “why does your powerplay suck?” Fans are not on the ice or the field. Fans are not able to pull off any of the plays that these elite athletes can. I try to consider this when criticizing teams and players for their play.
BU, however, has just been lazy this season. I’ve been very critical of them because they are ABLE to play better. They may not have the same talent as they did last year, but they do have
enough to win a game if they play the full 60 minutes. This has yet to happen this season. BU is 0-2. In their two preseason games and their two regular season games, BU has outshot their opponents 170-76. They’ve been outscored 10-7. On Tuesday, BU took 31 shots and not one of them found its way into the goal. The freshman are playing extremely well. The only two goals BU has on the season were scored by a freshman. It is the veterans, the captains even, who are making lazy mistakes that lead to turn-overs and then goals for the other team. One of BU’s assistant captains even scored a goal on himself. He’s a senior.
I realize that this is not the same team as last year’s team. I know that they have no chance to be as good as last year’s team – last year was a truly special group of players, the likes of which have never been seen at Boston University before. This year’s team, however, is definitely better than they are playing. On Tuesday night, the OPPOSING team’s coach called BU out for their lack of effort. That’s bad. There is no excuse for that.
BU’s next game is on Saturday night against Michigan, and they better come out ready to play a full 60 minutes of hockey.
Bruins and Patriots pictures from boston.com. BU picture my own.
Start of the Off-season
Now that I have pulled myself away from the edge of the Zakim Bridge, it is time to begin off-season fodder.
I knew the Red Sox would not win the series against the Angels. I was optimistic in thinking that they would at least make it to a Game Five, but the truth is this team was as good as done once they went 8-13 in their first 21 games post-All Star Game. The issues against the Angels (a spotty bullpen, no hitting, shaky starting rotation) were all problems that every Red Sox fan saw throughout the season. The Angels were a better team and had more drive last week. The Red Sox looked dead.
Boston.com, in an attempt to get Bostonians past Papelbon’s blown save, posted a survey about hot issues for Red Sox management in the off season. I voted on them there and I’ll explain them here.
picture from mysportsrumors.com
Jason Bay: The Red Sox can either re-sign Bay or pursue a different free agent.
The Red Sox’s top priority this season should be finding a way to re-sign Bay. Though not often reflected in statistics, Bay was a catalyst for the Sox this year. When he was hitting well, the Red Sox were hitting well. He has a great arm and is adapting to the Monster very well. The Red Sox would also be hard-pressed to find a teammate of his caliber elsewhere. Bay is relatively quiet, never causing controversy and never having problems with teammates. He strikes out pretty frequently, but I would much rather take a player who strikes out all the time than a player who grounds into double plays. If the Red Sox do not re-sign Bay, they will miss out on a great chance to get a quality, well-rounded player who will definitely help the team make the postseason next year.
picture from sonsofsamhorn.net
Alex Gonzalez: The Red Sox can pick up Gonzalez’s $6 million option for next year, try to re-sign him for less money or pursue a different option at shortstop either internally (Lowrie, Green) or externally.
I think it was a mistake to let Gonzalez leave Boston in the first place. Gonzalez is not anything great at the plate, but his defense more than makes up for his offensive deficiencies. Gonzalez is a sure-handed shortstop and performed well. Theo Epstein does not have a great history with shortstops, so with any new shortstop, there will be a lot of question marks entering the season. The Red Sox should attempt to sign Gonzalez for less money if at all possible, but should not get hung up on that avenue. Pick up his option if he refuses to take less money for more years.
picture from stonephoto.com
Tim Wakefield: Wakefield is schedules to have back surgery this postseason. The Red Sox have infinite one-year options for him. Wakefield could also retire or join a different team.
I think the Red Sox need to wait it out on Wake. Unless his back problems completely disappear for at least a few months, they should not re-sign Wakefield. There are a few starting pitchers in the minor leagues (work on Bowden) and some quality pitchers the Red Sox could pursue trades for that are more dependable and less injury prone than Wakefield.
Jason Varitek: The Red Sox can pick up his $5 million team option, welcome him back under his $3 million player option, watch him go elsewhere or invite him back as a coach.
I love Jason Varitek and he has been my favorite player for years now. That said, he is in the midst of a steady decline. Catchers have shorter careers, and at 38 years old by the start of next season, there is no reason to believe that Varitek will improve or even maintain his status quo. He has been abysmal at throwing runners out at second and cannot hit consistently well anymore. Varitek is, however, fantastic with pitching staffs and fellow catchers. Victor Martinez has done nothing but talk about how helpful Varitek has been for him. The Red Sox should encourage him to retire and return to the Red Sox as either a pitching or catching coach for next season.
picture from boston.com
Rocco Baldelli: The Red Sox can either sign him to a one-year deal, multi-year deal or let him walk as a free agent.
Baldelli is a great story, but not a great baseball player. His mitochondrial disease forces him to take a lot of time of to recover from strenuous activity. The Red Sox need a more durable fourth outfielder who can maybe spend some time platooning with J.D. Drew and adds more speed on the bases.
picture from trueslant.com
David Ortiz: Ortiz has $12.5 million left on his contract. The Sox can either keep him as the DH, platoon him with a first or third baseman, or release/trade him.
The Red Sox should keep Ortiz as is. The fact that he was able to reach 28 home runs and 99 RBIs is incredible after his horrific first three months of the season. Ortiz is not the same hitter as he was in 2004/2005, but he is still a difference maker for this team. There is no reason to change anything when the team has more pressing issues to deal with.
picture from armchairgm.com
Mike Lowell: Lowell’s contract is not up after the season, but his declining health and numbers make him a palatable release or trade bait.
The Red Sox should maintain the status quo with Lowell as well. His range is not as good as it has been, but he is still capable of making Sports Center worthy
plays and is a double machine. Lowell can get on base and drive in runs for the Red Sox, a glaring failure for the team in the ALDS. The Red Sox need to focus on pitching, not players like Lowell who are still very effective.
picture from projo.com
Billy Wagner: The Red Sox could theoretically pick up an $8 million option for next year for Wagner, but they promised the reliever they would not do so before trading for him. They could re-sign him in a different contract or send him on his way.
This is not even a question. Wagner is gone. He was not overly impressive, he is getting old, and he even admitted that he would probably retire. I hope he enjoys retirement and I wish him well.
Issue not addressed by Boston.com
picture from boston.com
Jonathan Papelbon: After Papelbon blew a save to end the Red Sox’s postseason, many people in Red Sox Nation suggested that perhaps it was time for him to become a Yankee and for Daniel Bard to step into the closer’s role. The Red Sox own Papelbon’s rights through the 2011 season. They could sign him to either a one-year or multi-year deal or go to arbitration.
Unfortunately, one of Papelbon’s worst outings the season ended the season. Papelbon had a very good year, par for the course for him. He made 38 saves in 41 opportunities, improving over last season’s 41 saves in 46 opportunities. He ended the season with a 1.85 ERA. The Red Sox would be making a huge mistake by letting him get away. Papelbon is one of the elite closers of his generation and is still in his prime. Daniel Bard is still inexperienced and could use another year of study under Papelbon in order to become even close to a Papelbon-caliber pitcher. There is nobody in the Red Sox bullpen I would rather give the ball to, and I would have given Papelbon the ball every time in a Game 3 elimination save. Pitchers lose. Unfortunately, Papelbon lost at the wrong time. That, however, is no justification for trading him. It is important to look at the whole picture, not just one outing.
If I were Theo Epstein, I would keep Bay, Gonzalez, Ortiz, Lowell and Papelbon. I would say goodbye to Varitek, Wakefield, Wagner, Baldelli and half of the bullpen. I would be willing to trade Michael Bowden, but definitely would not trade Daniel Bard. I would also see that Daisuke shows up ready to pitch or else I would release him in Spring Training. The Red Sox really need to focus on pitching this off season, and it would be great if they could add one more solid bat to the lineup.
When umpires go wrong
The Red Sox lost last night through no fault of the umpires. They failed to score runs, they failed to kill momentum, they failed to execute on big pitches. It is not my place to blame the umpires for last night’s loss, because truthfully, the Red Sox had many chances to break out in last night’s game. That said, I am extremely frustrated with Major League Baseball’s choice of umpiring crew last night.
CB Bucknor missed three calls at first base; one that went against the Angels and two that went against the Red Sox. He was in perfect position all three times; no players blocked his view of the plays. Nevertheless, Bucknor failed to notice Youk blatantly tagging Howie Kendrick out on the hip before Kendrick reached first. Later in the game, Bucknor missed his second call at first when Youk, fielding a high throw from Mike Lowell, landed on first base with the ball in his glove way before Kendrick reached first.
picture from boston.com
Bucknor struck again, this time against the Angels, when Dustin Pedroia and Chone Figgins tagged first at what appeared to be the same time. Bucknor ruled Figgins out. Angels fans promptly booed Bucknor, who may as well have been wearing an Angels hat last night. I always learned that tie either goes to the runner or the umpires choice. Perhaps Bucknor was trying to atone for his earlier calls, but nonetheless he lost fans at Angel Stadium last night.
None of these calls led to runs, so there is no reason to downplay the Angels’ victory. However, for MLB to actually allow Bucknor to umpire a postseason game is a travesty. In 2003 and 2006 Sports Illustrated polls, Bucknor was voted by players as the worst umpire in Major League Baseball. That’s twice in four seasons.
How does the WORST umpire in Major League Baseball get a postseason game? Really, MLB? There are no other umpires that could have taken his place? Worse still, Bucknor takes his spot behind the plate tonight. Josh Beckett, who already has a short temper, will surely draw issue with Bucknor’s calls. Do not be surprised if he gets himself ejected.
This is the postseason. Every call matters, yet for some reason, the Sox and the Angels will suffer the consequences of having the worst umpire in Major League Baseball making those calls. Once a single one of the calls costs either team anything, I would not hesitate to send a slew of letters Bud Selig’s way.
iluvctek
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