Nothing to fear but fear itself

You'll have to excuse my prolonged absence from the blog, as a Sox fan I was very close to jumping off a bridge since the Yankees had cut the Sox lead (once 14.5 games) down to four games a few times in the last few weeks. But as fast as you can say-Devil Rays-the Sox are six up on the Yankees thanks to two straight wins in Tampa while the Yankees lost a 10 inning game to the Angels on Monday and got smoked-18-9 last night.

If you're not a moron (something that seems more and more rare these days, especially in Red Sox Nation), you had to see that starting on Monday, the Sox had three at Tampa and four at the White Sox (who had just lost eight in a row). A complete cake walk, going into those seven games, I expected the Sox to go 5-2. As for the Yanks, they had three at the always tough Angels and then four at the Tigers. To top it off, the Yanks and Sox finally meet again next Tuesday-Thursday for a three game set. Therefore, the next eight games are huge to each team. If the Sox continue to pile up wins, they'll be nearly impossible to catch. The Yankees have to turn it around quickly or they'll dig a huge hole. Thinking they'll get the Wild Card is not given either since the Mariners continue to play good baseball.

It's only natural that in Boston, we're paranoid about the Yankees. We haven't won the A.L. East since 1995. This isn't such a big deal since the advent of the Wild Card but still, enough is enough. It's time to take the division after leading almost all season. The Sox haven't changed much as the season has gone along. They have great starting pitching, very good relief (don't even ask me about Eric Gagne) and a good lineup. The lineup can certainly lay down from time to time and is questionable against left-handers but no team is perfect. With a solid week, the Sox will put themselves in prime position to have a memorable September, thus springboarding them to October-when the real baseball starts. 36 games left.

Go on you Blues!

It will go mostly unnoticed Stateside but Saturday is the beginning of the season for the most popular league worldwide. What am I talking about? The WNBA? The Arena Football League? No dice, I'm talking about the English Premier League.
Now I know that I posted about Beckham a few weeks back but even with him, MLS is pretty much irrelevent globally. Growing up a soccer player in Massachusetts and having the opportunity to "study" in London for a semester (my junior year), I was introduced to football in the UK. I even attended games at Fulham and West Ham (two of the lesser teams in the EPL). You can never make a full assessment of soccer without having lived abroad somewhere else. Soccer is the most popular sport in a majority of the world, just not the U.S.
The team I started to follow in London was Chelsea-pretty much the equivalent of the Yankees. They have a Russian oil billionaire as an owner and a Portuguese coach, who is easily the most fascinating coach in professional sports. Oh and they've brought in plenty of top notch talent. Chelsea won two premiership titles in a row before bowing to Man. U last year.
Getting Fox Soccer Channel last fall was one of the highlights of my post-college existence. Now, instead of following the games online, I can watch them live as they happen (with cockney British announcers to boot). The big four of the EPL in recent years has been Manchester United (also similar to the Yankees), Liverpool and Arsenal (the inspiration for Fever Pitch, which was an awesome book but terrible movie adapted to be about the Red Sox).
There are two things about the EPL that are unparalleled: the importance of every game and the sheer length of the daunting season. The bottom three teams are relegated which makes almost every game thrilling since they're fighting for their premiership lives. If they're relegated, they go to league one (the equivalent of Triple A baseball) where they have a chance to move back up. The other crazy thing is that the season starts on Saturday and won't wind down until late May. There's small breaks built in but think about that, the season is over 10 months long. England doesn't get the brutal winters of the Northeast but it gets the occassional snowfall and chilly weather. Soccer in snow while not fun to play is pretty cool to watch.
So in summation, I'm not trying to convert you to soccer but I'm saying that once you get a taste, the EPL is the sleek drug of choice for a soccer fan. Nothing beats an English soccer crowd and the memories of watching big games in UK pubs.

RELEVENCE

The Boston Celtics matter again.

Except for a couple year hiccup in 2001-2002, Celtic fans have not been able to say that since the early 1990's.

Yeah there are still many questions about this team. Point guard, Center, depth (we gave up half the roster for KG), playoff experience, chemistry and coaching are all potential concerns that could hurt the C's this year. However, with these 3 all-stars playing together (and together is the key word), this team could go very far in the Eastern Conference. Garnett brings toughness, intensity, defense, and oh yeah a guarenteed 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Last season was a joke. 24-58 in what may have been the worst Eastern Conference in the history of the game, and fans rooted for the team to actually lose most games down the stretch, not to mention the organization doing everything in their power to satisfy those wishes. Now no one is picking them to win the NBA title, and it still be tough to win the East; but it's been too long since the Celtics were actually contenders. And that's all we really want. Perhaps now, Sundays won't be the only good thing going in the fall and winter for the city of Boston.

Because, the Boston Celtics are now relevent.

an underwhelming homestand

The 11 game homestand to start the second half was the Red Sox longest stretch of home games in the season. To make it even more favorable, the Sox faced three very beatable teams (four against Toronto, three against the Royals and four against the White Sox). Thus far, through nine games the Red Sox have gone 4-5. Their lead in the A.L. East which reached a highwater mark of 14.5 games, fell to 7 games a few days back as the Yankees have played good baseball for the last month. It's eight games heading into Saturday.

This could have been a time when the Red Sox really distanced themselves from the Yankees but for now, they'll be happy to go 6-5 and salvage what they can. The two biggest problems the Sox have faced during this malaise has been bad starting pitching and a lack of any hitting with runners in scoring position. The pitching faltering was bound to happen at some point. With Schilling out since the beginning of July and Julian Taverez recently remembering that he was well Julian Tavarez, the Sox fearsome rotation has become much more pedestrian. Beckett has still been a rock (although Boston wasted a great Beckett start last sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays) but Dice-K has been knocked around lately. The Dice man gave up six walks the other night to the White Sox. And Wakefield? Well, you can't really count on anything from Wakefield outside of always making his starts. Sometimes those knuckleballs are pretty easy for hitters to pick up. Kason Gabbard has been a bright spot as the young left-hander has put together some good starts. At this point, most fans would want to see him stick in the rotation when Schilling comes back and send Tavarez back to his rightful mop-up position.

The other positives during this frustrating stretch have been Manny Delcarmen, Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp. That wasn't a misprint. All three of those guys have played some of their best baseball in a Red Sox uniform over the last two weeks. Manny has been a force coming out of the bullpen and not allowing inherited runners to score while also blowing batters away with his mid-90's fastball and plus curveball. Lugo is riding a ten game hit streak which for him equals fifty games after the terrible first half he had. He's been consistently getting on base, stealing bases and scoring runs from the eight or nine spot. Lugo provided the exclamation point last night with a grand slam off Jose Contreras as the Red Sox won 10-3. Crisp had a bases-loaded three-run triple last night. He's also been getting on base and actually hitting the ball with some authority. Can't forget to mention that Manny Ramirez has been crushing the ball too, just like any knowledgeable fan knew he would.

The easiest thing to do is panic. When the Sox don't play well and lose, it's a natural reaction for Red Sox fans (not to mention the insufferable local media) to start freaking out about the Yankees. I'm not afraid though, you know why? These aren't the Yankees of the late 90's. They have so many pitching problems (that have been highlighted before) and holes in their lineup that it doesn't even really matter that Clemens came back or if A-Rod hits 70 home runs. The Red Sox lucked out in the sense that they don't have the Indians, Twins or even Mariners in their division. You'd like the A.L. East to be more competitive but with so many veterans on the Sox this year, it's hard to imagine them completely losing their focus and coasting into the playoffs. Every team has hiccups in baseball so hopefully the Red Sox can wake up from this one and take the last two from Chicago before heading out to Cleveland to meet a very underrated Indians team.

There's only one David Beckham!

MLS is mostly irrelevant in America but this topic was too big to ignore considering my love of soccer and the fact that I studied in London for a semester in college. David Beckham-the biggest name in sports worldwide-had a press conference in LA today as he gets set to join the Galaxy. The hype machine has been getting fired up for months so prepare yourself for weeks, nay months of the same drivel from eerily similar small-minded sportswriters from across this great land of ours.
David Beckham played for Manchester United (England) and most recently Real Madrid (Spain)-two of the most famous and successful club teams in the world. He was also the captain of England for three World Cups. He's an outside midfielder, most famous for his crosses and pinpoint free-kicks. He could never take over a game but he's great at what he specializes in. He's 32 and his contract with the Galaxy runs through 2012. Not sure if he'll still be running around the US by that point but that's something to worry about for another day.
Beckham is a 21st century creation-a product of the Internet and YouTube. He's bigger than Michael Jordan at his prime, its not even close. The main reason being that soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Actually, its probably the most popular sport in just about every country outside the US and Canada. Americans like to think we have the greatest country in every regard (politics, sports, money, music, etc.) but for whatever reason soccer has never really gained popularity nationwide past the youth level.
Will Beckham change that? Who knows. The variety of sports in America is a good thing. We have so many options, there's a sport out there for everybody that's interested. It's silly to think that the NHL, NBA, MLB or NFL are perfect. Hockey is quickly becoming the forgotten sport stateside while there's plenty of problems with the other three major sports. Beckham coming to LA can't hurt. His combination of ability (Real won its league title thanks to him a month ago), star power (married to a Spice Girl with a boob job, hello) and good looks/quirky English charm have taken the world by storm for the past decade.
I don't know why so many American sportswriters, talking heads and older generations seem almost scared to admit that MLS could succeed. It's bizarre. They don't like soccer, OK great we get it. All the interest Becks will bring can only help a league that is in dire need of better ratings, more quality players and bigger crowds. Its a spectacle, who doesn't like that? The American sporting world won't change overnight. Football and baseball with basketball running close by will still rule the day but there's no reason that soccer can't slide into the number four spot. And don't get me started on NASCAR, that doesn't count hillbilly. So let me be the first from this blog to welcome David, Victoria, Cruz, Brooklyn and Romeo (their three boys) to the States. Go on Beckham! Come on lad!

Let the second half begin

Baseball is a funny sport. Its regular season (162 games) is way too long and yet when every team takes three days off in the middle of the season, it feels like the world is about to end. This might have something to do with the fact that nothing else is going on. The NBA and NHL playoffs are long gone and NFL preseason is just a glimmer in a few months.
The consistency of baseball season is one of its most alluring features. On any given summer night (unless you're a Cubs fan), you can catch your team on the tv/radio/internet. For as great as the NFL is, its one downfall is that one game a week doesn't cut it for most add afflicted American sports fan. We need games all the time.
The All-Star game actually falls a little bit past the halfway mark of the season but for all intents and purposes, its a solid marker. The Red Sox headed into the break at 53-34, 10 games ahead of Toronto and New York. As the last weekend showed, the Sox can't simply cruise to the playoffs. The Tigers swept them in three games at Comerica Park, showing why they're the team to beat now that Kenny Rogers is back. A rotation of Bonderman, Verlander and Rogers with a lineup of Sheffield, Ordonez, Guillen, Pudge, etc. is very scary indeed. Their bullpen may be awful but that doesn't seem to be a big deal.
Most people don't want to start crowning the Sox AL East champs yet but I think that's silly. Sure, they'll win the division. Anything can happen, its a long season, blah blah. That's a forgone conclusion. The bigger and more important question is will they make it through the AL playoffs which are shaping up to be one of the toughest in recent memories. Assuming the Tigers, Red Sox and Angels win their divisions with the Wild Card being most likely the Indians and possibly the Mariners, dang.
I'm getting ahead of myself though. I should take a second to look back on the first half and examine what we learned through three months.

1) Dustin Pedroia is a solid major leaguer. If you had told me that two months ago, I would have laughed in your face. He didn't take long to completely prove me wrong and I couldn't be more happy.

2) Josh Beckett has continued to improve as he gets more experience in the American League. He should be a solid starter for years.

3) Jonathan Papelbon is one of the most talented pitchers in the game. You could sense this last season but this season has only proven that more. I would take him over any other closer in baseball. I don't know if that's because I'm a homer but his talent is unquestionable.

4) The two Japanese imports have been great: we all knew Dice-K would be good and while it took him a little while to get used to MLB, he's adjusted just fine. As for Hideki Okajima? Nobody expected anything of this guy and he was an All-Star in his first season. Pretty amazing. He's taken over the set-up role at an important time as Timlin is unreliable anymore.

5) Ortiz and Manny were not who we thought they were. Ortiz (.314 avg, 14 HRs, 52 RBIs) and Manny (.284 avg, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs) had subpar first half by their ridiculous standards. Until proven otherwise, I would say these guys will both have better second halfs. Ortiz's power numbers will go up while everything with Manny should go up. Ortiz has a bad right leg and Manny is 35 but I still can't picture them not picking it up. Time will catch up with them eventually but not this season.

6) Mike Lowell was a complete steal in the Beckett trade. Sure, he might not be here next year. Forgetting that, we've gotten some real value out of Lowell this past year and a half. He should have won a gold glove last year and he was an All-Star this season. What more do you want?

7)Lugo and Drew as expected are busts. Its not like people even had high hopes for these two but so far one has been a disaster (Lugo, batting .197) while the other has been simply average (.258 avg, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs). If they had decent first halfs, the Sox would be up like 13-15 games.

8) Wily Mo will never do anything for the Sox. Baring an injury or trade, his role won't change and predictably neither will his production. The Red Sox version of Pedro Cerrano can't hit the curve ball or anything off-speed and he's an absolute nightmare in the field. Yikes. At least Arroyo is struggling this year with the Reds.

9) Coco Crisp won't be the player Theo and the minions expected when they signed him but he at least has found a role. He's playing a gold glove center field (but he'll never win as long as Torii Hunter is breathing) and getting on base consistently. What a concept. He's not a leadoff hitter which is too bad but i'm slowly starting to like him.

10) Schilling is the key to the Sox second half. If he isn't healthy or can't be effective, the Sox' margian for error is smaller. You need three quality starting pitchers to go far in the playoffs. Beckett, Dice-K, Schilling sounds right. Substituting Wakefield or Tavarez makes the Sox much less imposing. Schill lives for the big moment and if he can compete, you never want to bet against him.

It's that time of year again

The NBA Draft is tonight and I must say that after months of trade rumors, speculation and enough mock drafts to make even Chad Ford puke, its time to do the deed. The draft comes to us from MSG, the center of the sporting universe. I prefer the NBA draft over the NFL version since its only two rounds and there's a much higher percentage of guys I know from following them in college. The NFL one is great no doubt but after you've seen 26 offensive lineman taken, you're about ready to punch Mel Kiper in the face. Plus, so many of those guys will never sniff action in the NFL. There's still plenty of busts in the NBA but the two rounds makes it seem much more important to be drafted. Plus as people have always said, basketball players are much more marketable than football players since they're not covered up by tons of pads.
I'm not going to do a straight mock draft or just who the Celtics should get (its already been done very well). Rather, I'd like to put down my thoughts on a bunch of the players that'll be drafted so I can look back and see how my prognostications stand up after years of NBA action for these guys. Everyone knows Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will be great NBA players, that's about as safe a bet as saying Lindsay Lohan will probably relapse again after her latest rehab stint. Using nbadraft.net as a resource, I'll look at some of the other picks they think will be made in the two rounds.
I can say with some certainty that based on a couple factors (being out of college myself and thus having way more free time, no straight from high school draftees and thanks to the internet-hello YouTube) I have a broader knowledge of this draft class than ever before. This makes me no expert by any means but at least I can speak with some experience of having seen these guys play in games.

The Florida guys-Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taureen Green.
All four should be in the NBA for years with the first three having pretty good shots at being starters for years to come. I feel like Horford (based on his solid offensive game) and Brewer (sheer versatility) are the most sure-fire bets from this group and from the class as a whole. Noah as everyone knows is an energy guy, solid defender and rebounder but I really doubt that he'll be able to score much in the NBA.

Mike Conley Jr.-I was bummed he came out after his freshman year. Anyone who closely watched Ohio State during the tournament knows that he carried the team in March Madness, not Oden. If Conley can ever develop an outside shot, which you have to feel he will since he's only 19, he could be an all-star for years to come. His ability to drive to the hoop and distribute were nearly unstoppable on the college level. It'll be different in the NBA. He'll have to work on his shot or else he could become a poor man's Jason Kidd that can do everything except consistently knock down shots. You can't blame him for leaving after his buddy Oden left too. It would be awesome if the Blazers could get both of these studs.

Jeff Green-many people's biggest memory of his college career will be how bad he shit the bad vs. Ohio State in the final four and that's too bad. Green is a great all-around player, the Big East player of the year. He can do a little bit of everything and he is very polished for a three year college player. He'll have a solid pro career.

Julian Wright, Brandon Wright-both guys are pretty intriguing because of their skills. Julian is more well-rounded with the passing and dribbling ability, almost unheard of for a big guy like that. Brandon is flashy as well but his game has some serious holes. He's really skinny (200 lbs.) and has no shot whatsoever outside of 5 feet. Julian with some more bulk could be great on a run and gun team. Brandon seems like he will be Stromile Swift, a dunking sportscenter stable that can't do anything other than that. Brandon should have stayed at Carolina another year.

Al Thornton-reminds me of Ryan Gomes, with even more talent. He's a four year player from a crappy team (Florida State) that had to do everything. He's very versatile and looks like he'll be fine in the NBA where he'll have some talent around him.

Acie Law IV-either he or Conley is the top point guard. people seem to forget how clutch Law is, something you can't teach. an underrated defender and passer, he can play. should be a nice NBA player, a Chauncey Billups type.

Josh McRoberts-honestly, why did you come out? so Duke was awful last season, you didn't do anything to improve your stock last year. this was a strange move. the guy has nice skills but he is way too raw for the NBA. he'll be buried on a bench and wonder why he didn't stay at Duke for at least another year.

Jared Dudley and Sean Williams-two Boston College players that could go late in the first round. Dudley is the classic college overachiever while Williams is also a familiar archetype-the talented fuck up. Dudley stayed at BC for four years and played second fiddle to Craig Smith until his senior year when he led a pretty bad BC team to a respectable season. Williams got kicked off the team twice for smoking weed. not the worst thing in the world but I wouldn't want to invest millions in a guy, who has repeatedly messed up already. he's got amazing shot blocking abilities though so he'll have a spot somewhere.

Aaron Brooks-nobody has talked about him before the draft. he'll go in the second round but he should make a team. he's an unreal scorer, who would be a perfect backup to someone like Steve Nash or Tony Parker.

Aaron Gray-just since I went to Providence College and saw them get dominated by Pitt. the last few seasons, I had to diss this schmoe. used to be a first-round talent but that was before the scouts actually watched him in games. he sucks. he's a big goof, who lucked out by being 7 feet tall. ah genetics. he won't do anything in the NBA, you can count on that.

Herb Hill-Providence College's unknown star, who came out of nowhere his last two years at PC to become a really nice player. I actually had a class with him my freshman year so I'm pretty happy just to see him drafted. he's an excellent post-scorer, rebounder and able defender. he'd be perfect on the Suns or Warriors. I just hope he gets a chance because like Gomes two years ago, he can play, he just needs a chance.

Demetris Nichols-sharpshooter from Syracuse can play, remember I said that. As Daniel Gibson showed in the playoffs, every team needs a guy, who can consistently come off the bench and score (particularly threes). Nichols can fill it up, he was bogged down with underachieving teams at 'Cuse.

"Big Baby" Glen Davis-admit it, you hated this fat slob after LSU made the final four two years ago. he was on tv about as much as Paris Hilton when she went to jail. still, he's a great character and no joke, he can ball. he's obviously built for the NBA, whoever drafts him (which could be anywhere from mid-first round to mid-second round) will get a good player. just make sure to hide the sweets from him.

D.J. Strawberry-Daryl's son isn't a great offensive player but he will make millions on his defense. he is one of the best defenders in the nation and that ability could make him the new Bruce Bowen for years to come.