The End of an Era

We’ve seen championship after championship since the Patriots were the first team to bring a trophy back to New England since the '86 Celtics.

There have been so many iconic wins; so many games that will go down in Boston sports history. We saw the rise of Tom Brady and the “Homeland Defense.” We watched Curt Schilling pitch with the bloody sock. We found out that anything was possible with the Big Three and our hearts raced through three game sevens on the path to the cup.

Within each and every one of these championship seasons, there lived endless story lines that brought a passionate fan base even closer to their teams.  These events will forever live on in the rafters and in the tales told to future generations.

However, it is time for us to accept the fact that the end is in sight, if not already upon us. Boston’s reign as “Title Town” is inevitably coming to an end.

It has become very clear over their most recent seasons, that the Red Sox and Celtics have headed back to, and have already arrived at, the drawing board.  It would be hard for even the most optimistic of fans to picture either of these teams winning a championship, or even being serious title contenders, in the next few years.

Now, while it would be totally unfair to put the Patriots and the Bruins in the same category as their fellow Boston teams, it’s hard to deny they too are trending in the wrong direction.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying the Patriots have no chance this year because with Belichick and Brady, anything is possible.  But who knows what will happen to the Patriots in the post-Brady era.  Let’s be honest, the chances of Jimmy Garoppolo becoming the next Tom Brady are very slim, which is by no means a knock on Garoppolo.

The Bruins seem to be in the best shape of Boston’s big four sports teams but even they aren’t the dominant team they were four years ago.  Their biggest problem is not the aging Zedeno Chara but the lack of top six talent. The fate of the Bruins depends on how quickly their talented young guys can come out of Providence and contribute in Boston.

So here we are, on the back nine of sporting supremacy, left to wonder if there will ever exist a greater time to be a Boston sports fan.  While it’s likely there will not be, it is important to approach the current situation with the right mindset.  Do not be sad that Boston’s reign of sporting dominance is coming to a close, but rejoice, for we have experienced something most fans will never be so fortunate to experience.

In thirteen years, we saw our beloved Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins win a combined EIGHT championships.  That’s eight more championship parades than some fans will ever get a chance see in their lifetime. So while it’s true that no one team can be at the top of the league forever, the cycle will continue.  I’m confident that it won’t be long before Boston plays host to another championship season, and yet the question remains...  

Will Boston ever again witness an era as dominant as this? 

Finding a Way to Win

Injuries happen in sports. That's the nature of athletic competition. The questions isn't, is someone going to get hurt? But rather, when is someone going to get hurt? Who will it be? And how long are we going to be without them?

The injury bug can shatter a team's chance at success. The Chicago Bulls, a team that seemed to be on the cusp of asserting themselves as the best team in the NBA Eastern Conference, have been decimated by the losses of Derek Rose and Luol Deng over the past two seasons and seem poised to remain sequestered in irrelevance.

The Green Bay Packers, who have made it to the playoffs each of the last 4 years, stand on the outside of the NFL playoff picture looking in after the loss of All-Pro Quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Somewhere Matt Hasselbeck rejoices.

We're gonna take the ball and we're gonna... throw a game ending interception.

The Boston Bruins are currently missing Chris Kelly, Dougie Hamilton, Loui Eriksson, and Adam McQuaid for substantial periods of time and consequently...

Oh wait... the Bruins are currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a three game lead over the Montreal Canadians with a game in hand... Okay so maybe that was a bad example, but they're the exception right?

I mean, let's take a minute to look at the Boston Red Sox. The Sox were missing their best hitter, David Ortiz for the first month of the season. Star outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury missed about 30 games. And arguably their best pitcher for the first half of the season, Clay Buchholz, didn't pitch from June until September. Clearly this level of injury should... come again... what's that? They... they won the World Series? Well... this is awkward...

Injuries don't phase you when your hair also sweats

Okay we can talk about the Boston Celtics. They're essentially a collegiate team, right? They brought in Brad Stevens from Butler to coach a team comprised of seven players who have three years or less of NBA experience. The fact that All-Star Rajon Rondo, undoubtedly the best player on the team, hasn't played all season means that... means that they are sitting at 10-13 yes, but are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference and have went 6-3 over their last nine games...

Well at least we can talk about the New England Patriots, right? Danny Amendola has been unable to shake the injury bug that has plagued him his entire career. After missing the first 6 weeks of the season Rob Gronkowski saw his season ended on a low hit by Browns' safety T.J. Ward. The defense is reeling after the loss of nose tackles Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, and defensive captain/inside linebacker Jerod Mayo. The Pats can't hope to... what? Go 10-3 with a perfect 7-0 record at home through 13 weeks? Sit in 1st in the AFC East with a strong bid for a first round bye?

Somehow Boston's sports teams have been able to overcome injuries which would have decimated the majority of franchises in their respective sports. The loss of superstars, team leaders and playmakers has done little to slow down any Boston squad.

You can look to a variety of factors for answers: excellent coaching adjustments that take advantage of available personnel, deep farm systems and practice squads that emphasize the same play styles and responsibilities as their professional sides, key acquisitions by management to fill holes in the roster.

When it comes down to it there is no easy answer to the amazing way in which Boston's franchises have overcome injuries. They've used different methods, relied on different players and tried different strategies, but, put bluntly, they've simply found a way.

That simple phrase seems to embody what Boston is all about. When times get tough, when the chips are down, when tragedy strikes, this remarkable city bands together and finds a way. This year it seems like the organizations that represent Boston have taken that lesson to heart.

All of this of course begs one major questions. What the hell is really in that dirty water?

One part nitrogen, two parts used syringes, one part sweet sweet victory

Big Egos Require Big Contracts

To me, the most disturbing thing about the Jacoby Ellsbury trade is not the fact that he’s leaving the Red Sox after their textbook Cinderella World Series run, nor is it that he went to the New York Yankees, of all teams.  The most disturbing thing is the sheer size of his new contract and a trend that is starting to spiral completely out of control in professional sports.

Star athletes need to be validated by their contracts.  Athletes have come to view their contract size as the ultimate mark of success in their sport.  It’s not the number of championships they win or awards they receive.  It’s not even their individual statistics or records.  In the end, all they really care about is how much they get paid doing it.

I lose a lot of respect for an athlete who holds out for a bigger contract.  When an athlete holds out, he shows both his teammates and the fans that money trumps all.  It is made quite clear that money is more important than the success of his team and the support of his fans.

What’s worse than holding out on your team for more money, is abandoning them for more money; and worse than that is heading over to a rival team in pursuit of your big pay day.

The issue is that these athletes aren’t looking for these bigger contracts to help them feed their kids or to help them pay their bills.  They don’t need that extra $10 million, on top of what’s already a multi-million dollar deal, to provide for their families.  These bigger contracts are all about their ego.

When one of these superstar athletes retires, nobody remembers the size of their contracts. No fan ever looks back on a player’s record-breaking career and recites their pay rate.  When being considered for the Hall of Fame, the amount of money made during their time in the league holds no weight.

Therefore, when star athletes are getting seven-year contracts worth $153 million (like Ellsbury's), I guess the real purpose of such exorbitance is just to make them feel better about themselves.

Rooting for Other Teams

Thursday is a big day for me. Not because of Thanksgiving food, not because I get to spend my day surrounded by my awesome family but because the Edmonton Oilers have a game against the Nashville Predators. Yes, I acknowledge that the Oilers suck, and no, I don't care.

I know that Max is going to go off on me for this, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm a Boston Bruins fan through and through and if the Oilers and Bruins played each other in any situation I'd be cheering for the B's. That said when these two teams aren't playing one another I see no reason why I shouldn't get fired up when Taylor Hall buries one from the slot? Why shouldn't I cheer when Devan Dubnyk makes a sprawling save (rare as that may be)? And for that matter why shouldn't I get fired up when Drew Brees fires a strike to Jimmy Graham when he finds a seam?

I cheer for these teams because as much as I love the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and Bruins, I love sports even more. Cheering for the Oilers, the New Orleans Saints or even the Pittsburgh Pirates doesn't make me less of a Boston Sports fan, it makes me more of a sports fan.

When I cheer for Edmonton, I'm cheering for a team that plays an entirely different style than the Bruins. It's entertaining to watch a team that doesn't have the defensive discipline or physical presence of the B's. I'm watching a team that is entirely reliant on their offensive skill and talent which is staggering, to say the least. Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky; the list goes on and on.

When I cheer for the Saints, I'm cheering for a team that rallied a city around it in the face of overwhelming tragedy, much like the Red Sox did this past year for the City of Boston. Brees is one of the classiest athletes in all of sports and does more for charity than just about any athlete. You can say all you want about Bountygate but the whole thing got blown out of proportion and the team paid the price.

When it comes down to it, sports are entertaining no matter who is playing them. If you're a fan of a sport, you have an interest in the game. For many reasons - some personal, some trifling, some foolish - people get vested in sports. This doesn't mean that people don't have preferences or priorities, but rather that they can't help but be a fan.

I'm going to sit down tomorrow night with a stomach full of turkey, stuffing and general goodness to watch the Oilers take down the Preds in grand fashion... or lose by five goals. Regardless, I'll be watching, because I like the Oilers. Because they aren't playing the Bruins.  And because no matter who is playing, it's hockey.

Embrace the Hate!

Fans of New England area sports teams are touted as being some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans out there but there’s one thing we aren't very good at and that’s embracing the hate from other fans/fan bases.

There have been a few controversial calls against Boston sports teams as of late, most recently the non-call on the final play of this past Monday Night Football game against the Panthers.  There was also the call against the Patriots field goal defense team in Week 7 against the Jets costing them the game in OT.  And who could forget the obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks on what came to be the winning run in Game 3 of this year's World Series?

As the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have amassed their various championships, starting with the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory in 2001, these big four teams have attracted far more bandwagon haters than bandwagon fans.
   
As a result, when controversial calls like these occur, bars, living rooms and social media sites erupt with various arguments from both sides.  The two main sides of these types of arguments become the Boston Fan vs. the Anti-Boston Fan.

Here is where us Boston fans need to learn to take a step back and embrace the hate.  Don’t waste your time trying to reason against such antiquated arguments as “its payback for the tuck rule and Spygate!”  Don’t even bother responding to accusations that the Bruins are so dirty and only get away with it because Greg Campbell’s dad used to be Director of Player Safety.  Oh, and most certainly do not even entertain the most bitter anti-Boston fan’s disturbing conclusions that the Red Sox World Series win was given to them as a result of the tragic events of April 15^th (disgusting, I know).

Trust me when I tell you, it is so much more satisfying to sit back and listen to these baseless arguments and unsupported character assassinations and smile.  Smile because you know that no one is as dedicated to trashing the Jaguars and Astros as they are to trashing successful teams like ours. Smile because you know players like Tom Brady and Milan Lucic would be just as popular if they played in any of these “hate Boston” markets.

If you really want other fan bases to stop hating your teams and players, it’s simple, lose.  If you want other fans to acknowledge that maybe your team did in fact get screwed on that call, stop beating their teams so much.

But if you want to see the wins and the championships continue to pile up, learn to let everyone else hate on your team knowing that the hate they live to express is just a product of the intense jealousy they try so hard to suppress.

Good Match-ups Key to Sox Early Success

This years Boston Red Sox have been a huge surprise. Currently sitting a half game back in what most people would consider the toughest division baseball, the Sox have succeeded despite shipping superstar players like Nick Punto (Oh, and Adrian Gonzales, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett). On paper this year's Sox are not nearly as talented as last year's team was and yet their performance leaves no question, the 2013 Sox are a better team. The question is then, how are they doing it?

The answer is actually a very simple one. General manager Ben Cherington has acquired players who fit a particular role and manager John Farrell is putting those players in positions where they can succeed. A huge component of this practice has been placing hitters in match-ups they can consistently win.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a prime example of this approach. Salty is a switch hitter but traditionally has hit better from the left side of the dish than the right (this year he's hitting .160 from the right and .289 from the left). While last year the Sox utilized Salty as an everyday player, this year he has started primarily in games against right-handed pitchers and his batting average is a healthy .260 as a result. And it's not just Salty, either. Daniel Nava has faced primarily righties, is hitting almost .300 and is third on the team in both home runs and RBIs. Even Mike Carp is hitting over .300! Mike Carp!

While there are certainly a number of other reasons for the Sox success including a remarkable starting rotation, an unprecedented level of team chemistry and Koji Uehara's emergence as arguably the most likeable player on the team, the utilization of players in situations where they can succeed has allowed the Sox to excel.

There are those who may argue that this isn't Sox baseball or that moneyball doesn't work but this team is reminiscent of the '04 team that had Dave Roberts stealing bases and Doug Mientkiewicz stealing baseballs. It's a long season, but if the Sox can stay healthy and continue to utilize players intelligently this team is a legitimate contender and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Sox Win 6-5, Send Alfredo Aceves Down to Triple-A

The Red Sox got a big win on the field Wednesday, beating the Oakland A's 6-5.  But it was Sox fans who got the bigger win when they heard the news of Alfredo Aceves' departure from Boston to Triple-A Pawtucket.

The Red Sox bats lifted Jon Lester to a 6-5 win, matching the A's three-run fourth inning and following it up with a three-run fifth.  The other two runs for Oakland were split between Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara.  To wrap the game up, Andrew Bailey struck out the side in the ninth giving the Sox their 14th victory on the season.

Lester has already earned his fourth win in 2013.  It took until June 16 of last season for him to notch four.

As for another Red Sox starter, Aceves will not be given a chance to earn a win anytime soon for Boston as he was sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket following Wednesday's game.  The team has given him a 72-hour window to report to the minor league affiliate, but some signs are pointing towards a potential deal in the works.

Aceves got smacked around by the A's on Tuesday night, giving up seven earned runs in 3.1 innings -- the shortest of his career -- and placed the blame on the weather conditions and a hole dug in the mound by opposing starter Bartolo Colon.

"It's hard to figure out what you're going to get out of Alfredo on a given day," manager John Farrell said following the rough outing.  The Red Sox will call up Ryan Lavarnway to fill the roster spot until John Lackey returns from the strained bicep his pitching arm;

Red Sox Pitching Staff Leading the Charge

The Boston Red Sox have won five games in a row, to push their record to 10-4 and put themselves as one of the four teams in the majors with 10 wins this season.

The last time they won five in a row? June 16-21, 2012.  But even though last year's team showed strings of greatness, they are nothing like the 2013 Red Sox.  We can actually like this team.

At this stage in the season, having only seen 14 games out of these guys, it is tough to know if the Red Sox are for real or if they are playoff contenders just yet.  But one thing fans can take solace in is that at the end of the day, win or lose, they are watching a great group of players who show up to the ballpark ready to play for their city and have some fun.  At a time like this, nothing could matter more.

One department of the team that is benefiting from this "fresh start" in 2013 is the pitching staff.  Eight out of the 13 pitchers who have taken the mound are boasting a sub-2.70 ERA, with a workload ranging from three to 22 innings pitched.  Two standouts have been starter Clay Buchholz and relief master Koji Uehara.

Buchholz has won all three of his starts, giving up 11 hits, 10 walks and one run, while striking out 23 and holding batters to a .149 average over 22 innings, a team high.  Uehara has gotten through 6.1 innings while giving up just a single hit, striking out seven and holding opponents to just .050.  Oh, and he's only thrown 69 pitches in those seven appearances.

Of course, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows.  The new "closer" Joel Hanrahan has been placed in the 15-day disabled list, citing a hamstring injury.  He has given up six earned runs in 4.2 innings for a 11.57 ERA.  Alfredo Aceves, a reliever-turned-starter when John Lackey was forced on the DL following a strained bicep in his pitching arm, has picked up a win in two starts, but has given up 18 hits -- five of them home runs -- and 10 runs in 14.1 innings for a 6.28 ERA.

Much has been said about John Farrell coming back to a familiar pitching staff and how these pitchers have needed a stronger leader than they have had since his departure, and it appears to be paying dividends.  The starting rotation holds a 7-2 record, striking out 98 batters in the 14 games through Wednesday night.

So Who is Jackie Bradley Jr.?

Fort Myers has been buzzing this spring, and for the first time in a calendar year, most of the news is positive.

The Boston Red Sox have a new manager and a lot of new faces around the clubhouse.  As with any Boston sports season, there are going to be pessimists -- 'why are we keeping David Ortiz around,' and 'well, we won't be able to beat the Blue Jays anyway!' -- who keep reliving the same 69-93 season of yesteryear.  But what about the optimists, what are they focusing on?  Is it the sub-2.50 ERA the starting rotation has combined for this season?  Is it that the team has a strong leader like John Farrell to get Boston back in the playoffs?

Or is it "uber-prospect" Jackie Bradley, Jr.?

In 19 games this spring, Bradley has posted a .439 average with a 1.110 OPS.  He is a versatile 22-year-old outfielder who was drafted 40th overall by the Sox in 2011 out of the University of South Carolina.  In 2010, he was named the College Baseball World Series Most Outstanding Player while averaging nearly an RBI per game during the regular season and going 10-for-29 in the postseason.

Last season, while splitting time between Single-A Salem and Triple-A Pawtucket, Bradley hit .315 with 55 extra-base hits, 87 walks, and 63 RBIs in 128 games.  He was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Red Sox organization, and currently ranked number 32 of MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects.

So why has his name come up so much recently?  Well, aside from him tearing up the Grapefruit League, Bradley's call-up situation is tricky.  As it stands, he is not on the 40-man roster for Boston, and if he were to play this season in Boston, it would affect his arbitration eligibility and free agency status down the road.  I don't want to just invite myself to the pessimist party, but I feel like people are counting this chicken before it hatches.

The idea has been kicked around that with Ortiz on the disabled list, the team could move Jonny Gomes to the DH position and call up Bradley to play left field in Boston.  Bradley is a young player who has shown a streak of brilliance, so why not ride the wave now and see if he can add a bang to this team and the fan base to start the season?

There is no doubt that Bradley is a great player, and seems to have a great attitude, so the safest bet would be to call him up now, let him learn from guys like Ellsbury, Gomes and Shane Victorino (not to mention Farrell), and if he plays too well to afford to send him down, well, that's a problem the Red Sox would love to have.

Productive Offseason for Boston? Well, Not Exactly

 The Boston Red Sox suffered through a 69-93 campaign, their first losing record since 1997.  Heck, even the pink hats suffered through this one; the entire city was miserable.  Most of the blame was tossed onto the back of then-manager Bobby Valentine, who has since been canned to make way for John Farrell, last seen in a Sox uniform in 2010.  Since the trade deadline of this past season, the Sox have been hard at work to right the ship, and now at the brink of 2013, they still have their fair share of work ahead.

The blockbuster trade of the decade came in July.  The Sox sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers, while LA sent back James Loney, Rubby de la Rosa, Ivan Dejesus, Jerry Sands and Allan Webster.  While the deal seemed to shake the Boston cityscape, there were very few in opposition to the trade.  It freed up the money the Sox had sunk into Gonzalez and Crawford for the next 5 years, and left them in a position for a big offseason.

With great money, comes great responsibility, if I may alter the phrase a bit.  So far, the Sox have been movers and shakers, but it looks like they are marching to the beat of their own drum here, snatching up players that were not very high on anyone's wish list anyway.

Jonny Gomes was signed on for two years, $10 million.  He joins a laundry list of characters to come over from the Rays including Crawford, Julio Lugo and Rocco Baldelli, all names that have continued to kill the Sox even wearing the home whites at Fenway.  His most significant moment in Rays history probably came when he took some cheap shots on Coco Crisp during a 2008 brawl between the two teams, so his most valuable asset may be on display in the clubhouse.

Another two year deal went to aging free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster.  He is another owner of a ridiculous starting pitching contract, worth $25 million, the going rate these days.  Dempster had an ERA over 5.00 in the American League pitching for the Rangers, and its unknown how many quality innings he'll log towards the back end of the rotation.

One of the better deals so far has been signing Shane Victorino to a three year, $39 million deal.  Victorino is a veteran outfielder, and although slowed somewhat by age, can still fly around the outfield and be a solid contact hitter to put at the top of the bottom of the batting order.  He figures to be a fan favorite in Boston, seeing as how he's already making significantly less than the two previous veteran outfielders signed (JD Drew and Crawford).

Catcher David Ross was signed to a two year, $6.2 million deal.  The 36-year-old is supposedly one of the best backups in baseball, but we all know the best backup already came and went through Boston: Doug Mirabelli.  If he can do anything similar to Mirabelli, he'll be a great addition.  He's known for his knowledge of the game, much like Jason Varitek, so hopefully he can settle the Sox starters down and really get them going.

But so far, the biggest deal has been made out of the team getting Mike Napoli for three years, $39 million.  A deal similar to Victorino's except for one small difference: he has not actually signed yet.  This article comes three weeks after Napoli agreed to sign in Boston, and still, his signature remains absent from the dotted line.  No one is sure what the deal is, but there are rumors about the deal now being for two years or that Napoli's physical did not go so well.  Either way, reports are surfacing now on Thursday that first basemen Adam Laroche is now back in the Red Sox' sights.  Just a mess, really.

With all this going on, general manager Ben Cherington has still found time to trade for a new closer, Joel Hanrahan, from the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Not sure where his priorities lie on the Napoli deal, but either way, Hanrahan is coming over with a prospect in exchange for Mark Melancon, Sands, Dejesus and Stolmy Pimentel.  For $4.1 million this year, the deal seems pretty sound, but eligible for arbitration for next season, Hanrahan may cost the team upwards of $7 million to keep around next year.

So moves have been made with hopefully a few more on the way, but right now Boston sits in a better position than they did last season, which isn't saying much yet.  With the extra money, it seems the front office has just thrown it at whoever they want, most of the time completely overpaying, but new blood in the system is a welcome sight.  They still need a premier starting pitcher, which they did not get in Dempster, a solid first baseman/utility man, which they did not get in Napoli, and an everyday right fielder which they did not get in Victorino or Gomes (although the two will work well out there platooning.)  There is still room for improvement, and as long as the Sox stay proactive, 2013 could be off to a promising start.