Red Sox Season Review: The Road to Recovery

The start of the 2012/13 season is going to be a rough one for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox are coming off one of their worst collapses in a while. With new management, issues in the club house and key players being hurt, the remaining core players of the Sox are going to have to step up in order to start this season strong.

Theme

Bobby Valentine's fun and outgoing personality towards the

press should help take some of the attention and stress off

  the players.

It’s not going to be easy for the Sox to get into the swing of things this season. Pun Intended. Many feel Valentine’s micromanagement isn’t necessarily the way to coach this veteran team like he coached in Japan. Former manager Terry Francona worked because he didn’t worry about the little things, yet the little things are all that new manager Bobby Valentine worries about. However, after the way last season ended, perhaps any change is good. If the players are willing to work their hardest to win games then that is what is going to happen and the core players are certainly going to have to do that. With Crawford, Lackey, Matsuzaka, Jenks, Bailey and Beckett all hurt, the team is beat up, more specifically the starting rotation. Core players such as Gonzalez, Pedroia and Ellsbury are really going to have to step up.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses. Let’s get these out of the way first, even though I’d much rather talk about why my team should do well rather than poorly. But weaknesses are part of the game and part of each ball club, but how you handle the weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths is what’s going to help a team win games. The biggest concern with the team is the starting rotation. It’s never good to have pitching issues right away, but if Bucholz and Bard can do well and Lester stays healthy there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Another weakness the Sox face is the shortstop position. Aviles won the spot for short over Iglesias but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the latter. Defensively Iglesias is a great player, but when the decision comes to pick a starter, the better bat is usually going to win. "At this time, we decided it was best for him and this organization that he gets some real regular at-bats and works a little more on the consistency of his swing and play," Valentine told Mlb.com on the issue of Iglesias. "He's working on things. About two weeks he had a mechanic that looked like it was real functional, and I think an 0-for-3 took him out of it. That's one of the things that he has to develop: confidence in his program." Luckily the team doesn’t revolve around one player and the Sox are arguably sporting one of the best hitting lineups in the league.

Strengths

This brings us to strengths. Boston’s core is one of the best out there. Gonzo, Pedroia and Ellsbury are all tops at their positions. All are veterans and hold gold gloves, a solid composition of players to have on a team. The season is going to rely strongly on their ability to perform well and act as leaders for the team. It’s also worth noting that the Sox have strong veterans in Ortiz, Youkilis (if he stays healthy) and Beckett. “From our room - the coaches’ and manager’s room - I think we’re very satisfied that every facet of the game of baseball has been prepared, and I think prepared properly,” Valentine said to ESPN. If he’s confident, so am I. Bring on the season.”

Prediction

 Barring injuries, the Sox should be competitive within their division but are coming off as more of a wild card team. The American League has some great teams in the division so nothing is guaranteed for the recovering Red Sox. Overall the season is going to come down to how well the starting pitching rotation can handle itself. If pitching can stay solid there’s no doubt that the core players can come through both offensively and defensively. Good fielders behind you and good insurance runs to support the pitchers is essential to any team. Time to step up, Sox.

The Truth Shall Set You Free

Ryan Braun had his 50 game suspension overturned yesterday after testing positive for PED's this past October.

Braun, the NL MVP, said shortly after the drug test that, "The test results are B.S." according to USA Today back in December. The positive result, according to ESPN was triggered by elevated levels of Testosterone in Braun's system that was not natural.

So you're telling me this guy got pinned for PED's because he's more of a man than anyone else in the game right now? Yeah sounds like a crime to me. But the MLB has a set of rules and standards and they have to treat everyone the same, fine I can accept that.

Anyway, fast forward to yesterday, four months or so later, and the suspension was overturned.

"I truly believe in my heart, and I would bet my life, that this substance never entered my body at any point," Braun said during his official statement yesterday. He goes on to explain how he basically had to sit back and watch as his name, and everything he has ever worked for has been dragged through the mud. For legal reasons he couldn't speak up about it and had said in that matter, he put what was best for MLB ahead of himself.

What a classy dude, really. All the commotion with performance enhancing drugs these days, especially baseball has really gotten out of hand. To see an MVP player such as Braun get hit with this is a pretty big deal, but I think he handled it all very well. I do believe he is telling the truth and apparently the MLB now does too.

"We won because the truth was on my side, the truth was relevant and the truth prevailed" Braun said.

Baseball Season

It's almost here. 

The days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer. Football has come to an end and I am just about growing sick of basketball, although I can't help but admit I have been enjoying the Linsanity craze. 

Anyway, baseball season. 

The problem is as much as I love the sport I can't say I have an MLB team I am rooting for. I grew up a Yankees fan but recently renounced my fandom to the team last season because I just can't bring myself to cheer for a team with Alex Rodriguez. I don't like him.

Despite growing up cheering for Jeter, Rivera, Posada and later on Granderson, Swisher and Cano...I found myself cringing when I saw A-Rod due anything of productiveness and in fact rooting against him. I told my friends I was done with the Yankees so long as A-Rod was on the team.

But where does that leave me? How can I truly enjoy an MLB season with no hopes or aspirations for any of the teams? Yet, it'd be too hypocritical of me to realize my error and return to rooting for the team I spent my whole life rooting for. Why let the jerseys in my closet go to waste?

I'm not sure where this all leaves me for the 2012 season. All of this being said, I am still ecstatic for the upcoming season simply because I love the game.

Go Mets?

I am so happy

I want to write about how happy I am, but I am at a loss for words to describe this euphoric state.

The game was stressful, real stressful, as are most Giants games. I didn't even want to drink my beer during the game, I just sat there, watching, waiting, hoping.

The safety at the start was amazing, (especially because I had the Giants with 5 in my pool and that opened up a world of possibilities) but more importantly because it gave us real strong momentum off the bat. But that momentum was lost soon enough, despite moving the ball effectively we couldn't see to pull off a touchdown. 

The nerves were setting in.

I'd say the biggest turn around was Manning to Manningham in the fourth. Everything about that was incredible. Eli had a great game. His ability to pass with 2-3 defenders right there, while under pressure is just amazing. 

It was kind of rough for me, watching the game with my friends at school included a Titans fan, a Bengals fan, a Dallas fan, a Vikings fan, a Jets fan....and a kid who only cared about winning the pool he was in. Jumping up screaming like a mad man after a big play and having no one to high five was almost depressing. 

Regardless, my friends congratulated me after the game, as if I had any part to do with the win. I appreciate the sportsmanship.

Here's to the Giants. See you at the parade.

Media Day 2012

Today was Media Day, in case you missed it.

With the Super Bowl less than a week away the hype is building quickly. Media Day is a chance to round all the players up before the big game, throw them each at their own table, and have them bombarded with questions from reporters of all kinds.

But how can you stand out as a reporter on such a hectic day? Why ask the questions you know every other reporter and their mother is going to be asking when you can just go home and Google most of the information anyway? An article here, on the Boston Globe’s website mentions some of the stranger questions asked that were asked today.

Such as trying to get Wes Welker to spell Bill Belichick or asking Umenyiora if he knows of any Eli’s other than Manning. Rob Gronkowski was asked what his favorite Madonna song is.

I think that’s great. Why not have some fun with the opportunity to talk players and coaches and try and put some of the players on the spot with out of the norm questions. I bet Eli was asked about his brother Peyton by at least 50 different reporters. Where’s the fun in that?

I’m not sure what I would’ve asked him myself to be honest. But I can guarantee if I was wandering around Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Eli would have remembered reporter Nick Hodgins.

Go Giants!

The Super Bowl Party

“What are you doing for the Super Bowl?”

If you haven’t been asked this question at least once in the past week or so you either live under or a rock or need to make some friends. The Super Bowl is obviously a huge deal, whether you are sports fan or not. The commercials alone are worth setting aside a few hours to watch the game and get together with your friends and throw a party.

This leads to the question, is Super Bowl Sunday about watching the game or about partying?

I noticed an article on Yahoo’s home page the other day about great super bowl party games and I thought to myself, this is the last thing I would want to be doing during the game. I don’t want to be distracted at all. I’m not debating the idea of getting together with friends, but I want to WATCH the game. I want to pay attention to every single moment of the game, I don’t want to be distracted by anything.

Maybe I’m biased because my team is in the game this year. Last year, while caring about the game, I probably was more concerned with what level hotness of wings we were getting rather than the actual game itself. This year, I just want to make sure I have a good television with a crisp picture to watch the Giants beat the crap out of the Patriots.

Granted, games are more fun to watch with friends, but I don’t want a party going on in the background while I watch the game. The point of Super Bowl Sunday is the game, and nothing is going to distract me from that.

The Goat

Anyone who has ever played sports has been there at one point in their life. That moment where you know you messed up and worst of all let your teammates down.

I was reading an article during the week on Kyle Williams the kick returner for the 49’ers in response to the ten points, and arguably the win as well, he cost his team. Granted I am a huge Giants fan and I couldn’t have been happier. But from an athlete stand point I couldn’t help but feel bad for Kyle Williams, he obviously didn’t intend to screw up that bad.

The article, posted here on ESPN, was explaining how he has been receiving threats via Twitter/Facebook from 49’ers fans. It may not seem like a huge deal because it’s over the internet, but that’s exactly the problem. People think just because they are hidden behind a computer screen it gives them the right to say whatever they want. It doesn’t.

"Some people cross that line and don't think twice about it ... don't think that there's somebody on the other side of that line that may feel that or that may have to respond to that or may have to deal with that," Williams said in the article.

Williams then goes on to explain how the true fans have come to his support and his teammates have been nothing but good to him since the game. Maybe there is some hope for humanity after all.

I mean, he did screw up really badly. But threatening someone you don’t even personally know? That’s a little much.  Facebook, Twitter and social media in general are certainly changing the way sports and pretty much everything in general works. Does that make it okay to abuse our first amendment while hiding behind a monitor?