David Price is Worth the Production, Terms are just Scary

As a team with the fifth worse ERA in baseball last season, a combined starter 4.39 ERA, and a rotation sporting no ace, the Red Sox needed major improvements. The team found their answer.

The Red Sox have signed pitcher David Price to a seven-year, $217 million contract. The Red Sox have solved their ace problem.

David Price is one of the best starting pitchers in the game. He has earned one CY Young award and finished second in two other races. He has a career 3.09 ERA, averages 216 strikeouts a season and 227 innings. Price won 19 games in 2010, 20 in 2012 and 18 last season between Detroit and Toronto. Price also has no injury history in his throwing arm.

Price is the surest thing the Red Sox could get of an ace, but I still have my worries and doubts.

Price is thirty years old, the traditional benchmark for decline in a baseball player. He also has 1,441 professional innings on his throwing arm, a scary amount to have on a thirty year old pitcher that the team just gave $31 million annually. Most pitchers decline rapidly in their thirties, just look at C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander and Barry Zito.

Handing out a contract of this length and money is scary. Even though Price has all the numbers, credentials and accolades of a proven ace, the terms still scare me. Price just has too many innings on his arm to feel 100% confident.

I am also worried about the clubhouse. I know everyone says that money will brush all tension under the rug, but I still think it is a problem to have David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, and David Price all in the same locker room with John Farrell as the manager. No disrespect to John Farrell’s character or anything about him to that sort, but the man does not seem like the best guy to bring together all of these egos and make them a winning bunch. There are too many egos working together and I think they will all collide at some point.

I love David Price as a pitcher, and he ranks in my top five pitchers currently in baseball. I love his success and have said in the past that I want him in Boston. But the terms of the contract just scare me to death.

The best case scenario is that he opts out after his third year and then signs elsewhere, but I highly doubt that Price would opt out of a $31 million guaranteed contract at the age of 33.

Once opening day comes around, I am sure fans, including myself, will forget all about the price tag. If Price pitches well, finds himself in CY Young contention, and brings the Red Sox back to the post-season, I bet I will find myself at rest about the contract. But for now, I can’t help but imagine all of the bad things that will happen to David Price. It just fits the Red Sox woes.

The Creation of an Epidemic: Tommy John Surgery in Baseball (Part Two of Two)

*Part two to a two part story. Read Part one here

Kids today have nothing to fear about Tommy John surgery. The surgery has become safer than ever, more and more pitchers each year come back and reclaim their elite status after the surgery. Out of all the pitchers that receive Tommy John surgery, 80% make it back to the big leagues. Just take a look at the New York Mets, the 2015 National League Champions. Five of their best and most promising starting pitchers have had Tommy John surgery, which includes Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jake DeGrom, Steven Matz and closer Bobby Parnell. Kids today see the National League Champions with a rotation full of Tommy John surgery recipients, see their success with Tommy John surgery and begin not to worry about the negatives. Even newly elected Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz had the surgery, the first ever to have Tommy John surgery and make it into the Hall of Fame.

            With so many success stories, many people think that the surgery has a 100% success rate and pitchers can come back even stronger after surgery. Without any apparent repercussions for having Tommy John surgery, pitchers rationalize that a new and fixed ligament will basically give a clean slate when it comes to wear and tear on the elbow. These players believe that they can throw harder because of it as well, which will get them to the major leagues and the big paycheck, so pitchers elect for surgery if at all possible.

            However, the stereotype is very much false. Tommy John surgery is a transplant, meaning that a doctor replaces the ligament from somewhere else on the body. The doctor takes a tendon in the wrist, cuts it out, and connects it in replace of the broken ligament. However, the new ligament is no stronger than the old ligament. The inventor of Tommy John surgery, Doctor Frank Jobe, spoke in favor of this notion, saying “The surgery doesn’t make anyone better… It restores. That’s it." Doctors have not perfected the surgery either. In 2014, 11 out of 31 surgeries performed were for revisional purposes. Players underwent Tommy John surgery for a second time because the first surgery failed. According to Stephania Bell in an article on ESPN.com, since 1999, 32 pitchers have undergone revisional Tommy John surgery and a third of those revisions happened in the past year. Bell also tracked five starting pitchers and five relief pitcher’s velocities before and after surgery. Seven out of 10 pitchers had their velocity decrease post-surgery. The three pitchers that had their velocity increase, increased by tenths of a mile per hour.

     So why do pitchers elect to receive Tommy John surgery? Because of the money that comes with making it to Major League Baseball. The average annual salary for a Major League Baseball player in 2014 was $3.82 million dollars. Pitcher Max Scherzer inked a seven year, $210 million deal from the Washington Nationals last offseason. Almost all of the top tier pitchers ink nine figure deals. With pitching in such demand in Major League Baseball, organizations willingly spend insane amounts of money on a pitcher. These teenagers want part of that. Therefore, they feel the need to do anything they can in order to succeed as a pitcher, even if that means needing Tommy John surgery. At young ages, pitchers willingly do anything to net themselves a lucrative contract in the Major Leagues. They will throw hundreds of pitches at top speeds all year round in order to impress Major League scouts. These baseball organizations even encourage it, shown when scouts pressured Brady Aiken to pitch against doctor’s orders. Major League Baseball organizations use the money against these young pitchers. They have created their own conundrum known as the epidemic of Tommy John surgery. An inflation of Tommy John surgeries in baseball without any known long-term consequences is a scary path for baseball to head down. What could happen to these pitchers 10, 20, even 50 years in the future? Let us not wait to find out by taking initiative now.

The Creation of an Epidemic: Tommy John Surgery in Baseball (Part One of Two)

                In baseball, a player with the ability to throw a ball with uncanny velocity and incredible movement has become an indispensable resource. Teams will pay millions of dollars for this kind of talent. In consequence, young players will do anything to secure that million dollar contract by pitching year round, maxing out their inning limits and forcing themselves to throw harder than ever. In actuality, these kids are throwing until their arm falls apart. Throwing a baseball at velocities upwards of 90 mph puts tremendous strain on the elbow. Putting too much strain on the elbow leads to injury and eventually to surgery. This is known as Tommy John surgery, a reconstructive surgery for the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow named after pitcher Tommy John. Within recent years, Tommy John surgery has plagued Major League Baseball. Pitchers have received the surgery at rapidly increasing rates, creating an epidemic within the game of baseball.

According to Pitch Smart, over the past three years, the number of baseball pitchers receiving Tommy John surgery has increased yearly. As of 2012, approximately 25% of Major League pitchers and 15% of Minor League pitchers have had the surgery during their career. The rate of players receiving Tommy John surgery has also increased by 50% since 1990. Overuse has caused this epidemic. According to Doctor Glenn Fleisig, the research director at the American Sports Medicine Institute and advisor to Major League Baseball, Tommy John surgery usually occurs in 15-20 year old pitchers throwing more than 80 pitches per game and pitch in eight or more months a year. Pitching beyond these constraints generally results in pitching fatigued, leading to overuse of the throwing arm. According to Fleisig, throwing 100 pitches a game every fifth day is unnatural for the arm. This excessive throwing year round causes the inflation of Tommy John surgeries in baseball.

            Nineteen year old pitcher Brady Aiken, provides a great example for arm fatigue. Drafted first overall by the Houston Astros, Aiken did not sign his professional deal because the Astros organization noticed elbow inflammation in his throwing arm, outlined within an ESPN article. In this article, the writer acknowledges Aiken’s rise as a dominant pitcher and the leading cause of his elbow problems. Up until his junior year of high school, Aiken pitched all year round. Once Aiken’s senior year came around and knowing about the rise in elbow problems in pitchers, Aiken and his coach developed a plan to reduce his innings in order to save his elbow. Aiken took the winter season off because of a doctor recommendation. They kept him on a pitch limit and avoided any pitching outside of his regular starts.

            However, a major league scout contacted the two of them and wanted Aiken to pitch at the MLB showcase for promising talent. The showcase would take place during the winter, when Aiken was not throwing. In order to pitch, Aiken would need to build up his elbow strength by throwing every day to ready himself for the showcase. At first, Aiken did not want to start throwing in order to save his perfectly healthy elbow, but the scouts pressured him into ignoring the doctor’s recommendation. The scouts told Aiken that pitching would secure his place in major league baseball, his ticket to a million dollars. Aiken decided to pitch at the showcase. The following baseball season, the same season the Houston Astros drafted Aiken first overall in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, Aiken would feel soreness in his throwing elbow. The team picked up on the inflammation in Aiken’s elbow during his physical. Houston would retract their offer to Aiken and Aiken would elect to receive Tommy John surgery.

            The sad part about this story is that it occurs regularly in the game of baseball. In today’s world, athletes must accept injury if they want to survive in the world of sports. According to Doctor Mary Lloyd, the competitive nature of sports has programmed youth players to think that they must bend the borders of injury as far as possible, which leads to the increase in elbow injuries. Lloyd warned players about the temptations to push themselves in order to pursue money and scholarships, saying “The 21^st century athlete of any age or sport must throw faster, play harder, earn the scholarship, and don’t tell anybody you’re hurt." The money causes the students to push the barriers and major league baseball takes advantage of the player’s wants. Aiken did not receive Tommy John surgery for the benefit of his health. He received the surgery because without it, Aiken would never make it to Major League Baseball. The surgery saved his career and his chance at earning millions of dollars.

            Rarely does a baseball organization hold it against a pitcher like Aiken for throwing too much. Most baseball organizations do not keep track of potential draftee’s innings nor worry about the overuse of a pitcher’s arm. According to Sam Miller, the author of the article on Aiken, most teams draft players solely based on their velocity and ball movement. So pitchers also disregard their inning limits and force themselves to pitch harder than their arm can handle. If a pitcher destroys their arm in the process, Major League Baseball bares no responsibility either. As shown in the Brady Aiken case, the team just retracts their offer and saves their money while the player forces themselves to undergo Tommy John surgery in hopes of prolonging their baseball tenure.

With First Base Open, the Time to Salvage Allen Craig is Now

With the trade of Mike Napoli to the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox now have a vacancy at first base. With the Red Sox on their way to another last place finish, the team should begin to take inventory of the players under contract and determine who can contribute in the future. Given this, it makes sense for the Red Sox to call up Allen Craig and give him the opportunity at first base.

Craig’s first two opportunities did not go so well in Boston. He batted .128 with the Red Sox in 2014 with only 12 hits and four extra base hits in 94 at-bats. In 2015, Craig showed no improvements. In 24 games, he batted .135 with seven hits in 52 at-bats before being optioned to Pawtucket.

In the minors, Craig has improved his batting average. He is currently batting .271 in 258 at-bats, a good enough sample size to gather a sense of productivity. Given that Napoli batted only .207 with the Red Sox, Craig would seem like an improvement.

However, Craig lacks the productivity that Napoli had.

Craig only has three home runs and eight doubles in Pawtucket, indicating a lack of power. Even though Napoli only batted .207, he did have 13 home runs and 32 extra base hits.

Craig isn’t the only option the Red Sox have either.

Recent call-up Travis Shaw, who has also seen playing time at third base, could replace Napoli. Since being called-up on August 1, Shaw has gone seven for 17 with two home runs and five runs scored as the only active first baseman on the Red Sox’s current roster.

Super utility-man Brock Holt has proven he can play any position as well.

Holt has struggled since the all-star break batting only .209 opposed to his .292 batting average prior to the break. Holt has also seen most of his playing time at second base while Dustin Pedroia remains out with a strained hamstring. When Pedroia returns to the lineup, Holt will return to the super utility role, but as long as first base remains open, the Red Sox’s lone all-star will forever be considered the apparent heir.

Shaw and Holt both seem like productive replacements to Napoli, but neither has any history in the major leagues, giving Craig the advantage.

As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Craig had a fair share of productive seasons as a vital member in the Cardinals’ offense. An all-star in 2013, the Cardinals rushed Craig’s return to the lineup during the 2013 World Series as a designated hitter against our very own Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals felt his production would give them the advantage against the Red Sox in the pursuit towards the World Series Banner.

In 2012, Craig hit 22 home runs. In both 2012 and 2013, Craig had more than 90 RBIs while batting .300 or better from 2011 through 2013.

This is why the Red Sox traded for Craig.

They obtained a player with a history of producing at an affordable price. Craig is currently owed $33 million through 2018, which at the time seemed like a bargain. Now not so much, but what if Craig found himself producing like he did in 2013, does the average annual salary of $11 million per year seem all that outrageous?

With the Red Sox playing for next season, they should take this time to evaluate what they acquired in trading for Allen Craig.

Is Craig a .130 hitter with no power or is he a .300 hitter in a really bad slump? The Red Sox will never know until they give Craig a chance at playing every day and with first base now open, the time to salvage Allen Craig is now.

Now Entering, for the Boston Red Sox, Closer...Joe Kelly?

Pitch Joe Kelly, receive a poor start, rinse, repeat.

It has now been six starts, 54 days and one demotion since Kelly has won a game for the Boston Red Sox. The Joe Kelly as a starter project has all but ended as the Red Sox have officially missed on their return for John Lackey, but one move could salvage the team’s failures.

Move Kelly into the bullpen, setting him up to become a possible closer.

Call me crazy, but I think it could work.

Kelly tops out at 100 mph with his fastball in practically every start, but yet still struggles in each time he takes the mound. He often shows flashes of potential in each start, throwing one or two great innings only to follow up with one disastrous inning, ruining his entire start.

Remove the mentality of having to make it through six or more quality innings for Kelly. Let him pitch for one inning, focus on only three batters. He could become a real asset in this situation. Imagine Kelly coming out of the bullpen slinging fastballs at 100 mph. Within this situation, I feel as if Kelly would improve drastically.

As a comparison, how about Tom Gordon?

Gordon came to the Red Sox as a starting pitcher. He could pitch five quality innings but would break down in the sixth inning and on. Gordon still had a good career as a starter, unlike Kelly, but he couldn’t throw 100 mph regularly for five innings or more, his arm couldn’t do it by the time the Red Sox had control over his services. So the team elected to turn Gordon into a closer and his career rejuvenated. Gordon became one of the best closers in the game, becoming an all-star for the first time in his career.

Will the same happen to Kelly? Probably not. But I truly believe Kelly has real potential as a closer, if not, definitely within the bullpen. Kelly cannot enter the closer role immediately as the Red Sox have a legitimate closer in Koji Uehara and Kelly’s struggles as a starter should still make the team apprehensive.

But in a lost season, the Red Sox have already started to take inventory. They traded right fielder Shane Victorino, granting outfielder Rusney Castillo a spot on the roster in order to see what he can contribute. Similar moves might happen in the Red Sox’s near future as well.

Starters become closer more often than one would think—Jonathan Papelbon, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, even Uehara himself just to name a few. I would take any of those pitchers on my current team.

Will Kelly turn into the league’s best closer? Probably not. Is it worth the attempt? Probably. You can’t succeed unless you try and I have full confidence that Kelly would at least make a viable option out of the bullpen.

David Ortiz is not the Player Everyone Thinks He is

On Sunday, Red Sox fans watched David Ortiz play first base as well as any other option in Boston’s arsenal. Manager John Farrell publicly stated that he has full confidence in Ortiz’s ability to play the position. Fans will watch him play the position again tonight against Miami.

But the question lingers, why haven’t the Red Sox played Ortiz at first base on a regular basis? Most writers and fans agree that the best possible team the Red Sox can put on the field  has Ortiz at first base, Hanley Ramirez at designated hitter and Alejandro De Aza in left field. How has the Red Sox organization not realize this yet?

I suspect the reason is David Ortiz himself. Ortiz’s words insinuate he does not want to play first base regularly. When asked about playing first base, in a light-hearted way, Ortiz would always bring it back to his hitting, stating that playing first base keeps his mind off of hitting, distracting him even. And why should fans expect a 39 years old DH to accept a change of role after 10 years in the business?

Farrell seems to adhere. As a manager with great respect for veterans—the man benched Jackie Bradley Jr. in 2014 for veteran Grady Sizemore and made sure veteran Shane Victorino started this year in right field—I speculate that Farrell feels no need to upset Ortiz by playing him at first base regularly, even if it makes the team better. Farrell has the tendency to start veterans over the best possible scenario.

Publicly, Farrell can do and say whatever he wants, as can Ortiz. They certainly do not have to do what the media and fans say. But they should not deceive the fans. Again, Ortiz has not played first base regularly for more than 10 years, dating back to 2004, and again, no way does it appear Ortiz wants to start playing first base again.

That speaks about David Ortiz’s character.

The Red Sox’s best option of winning resides in Ortiz at first base and Ramirez at DH. However, Ortiz still will not embrace playing first base more often. As the veteran, a guy others look towards and a presumed leader of the clubhouse, Ortiz should be willing to do anything that gives the team the best chance to win.

But Ortiz will not play first base because it hurts his knees so much that he has to spend the entire next day on the couch. That cannot and should not count for leadership.

This gets to my second point. As a long time Bostonian and an essential part to the Red Sox’s 2000-era dynasty, most assume Ortiz can and will stay in a Red Sox uniform on his own time. He will choose when he retires. However, that should not hold true. I contest that if Ortiz plans to play longer than this season, the team needs to trade him at this year’s July 31 trade deadline.

Batting .228 at the age of 39 only looks bad for Ortiz. On a team with two designated hitters—that is Ramirez and Ortiz due to Ramirez’s sheer inability to play any position—in the long term, Ramirez wins. The Red Sox have Ramirez for four years, three more after this season. The Red Sox are contractually obligated to Ortiz only until the end of this season, the team holding two options on the contract. The Red Sox have more invested in Ramirez and Ramirez will outperform Ortiz within those years, if Ortiz continues to play. The Red Sox should focus more on exploiting Ramirez’s productivity than letting the Ortiz legacy play out.

Going forward, if the Red Sox continue to play the way like the last two weeks for the rest of the season, the team will push for winning the division. Their best chance to win is by sporting a team with Ramirez at DH and Ortiz at first base, but without Ortiz putting the team first, it will never happen.

A veteran, leader, contributor, call Ortiz whatever you want, but until Ortiz chooses to put the team before anything else, my adjective of choice remains selfish.

The Boston Red Sox are Most Like the...2011 Toronto Blue Jays?

Think back to the year 2011. Boston Red Sox fans had high hopes for a team that won 89 games the previous season. Ownership felt as if they had the game’s best organization, constantly producing championship caliber teams finishing in the top half of the division.

Now picture yourself during this time as a Toronto Blue Jays fan. Having put together a young, up-and-coming team, the 2011 season was the Blue Jay’s time to finally break free. Break free from the cellar, from constantly finishing last or near last in the division. Nearly 20 years since the team last made the playoffs, the Blue Jays had their target, only to fall flat with an 81-81 record, good for fourth in the American League East.

2012 comes around and Toronto had fixed their problems. They had the best home run hitter in all of baseball in Jose Bautista. Edwin Encarnacion finally caught up to his potential, along with promise from young guys like Brett Lawrie, J.P. Arencibia and newcomers Yunel Escobar and Colby Rasmus were to effectively produce.

For Blue Jays fans, 2012 definitely was Toronto’s year. They had it all. But once again, the team fell flat, only mustering up 73 wins, finishing fourth in the American League East for the fifth year in a row.

This story sounds eerily similar to the Boston Red Sox as of late.

After a 2013 World Series win, 2014 could only get better for the organization. They would integrate their young talent with their veterans. Rookie Xander Bogaerts would receive the starting shortstop position after a phenomenal playoff performance. Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. would command center field as well. However, the two underperformed, as did the entire team, and the 2014 Boston Red Sox had a fire sale at the July 1 trading deadline and would go on to win only 71 games.

So far 2015 has been no different.

After handing out generous contracts to Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, as well as adopting the “We do not need a true ace” philosophy, Red Sox fans had high hopes for the team, only to watch them become the second worst team by record in the American League and fourth worse in baseball.

Their story does not just sound the same as the 2011-12 Toronto Blue Jays, these teams were built in similar fashion.

Both guided by manager John Farrell, along with a similar coaching staff comprising of Brian Butterfield and Torey Lovullo, the teams have general managers with similar philosophies. Toronto had a general manager in Alex Anthopoulos who emphasized player development and building from within. He would hold onto his prospects a little too long and when they underperformed, their trade value diminished exponentially, explained through prospects Kyle Drabek, Travis Snider, J.P. Arencibia and others. Anthopoulos used the “We do not need a true ace” philosophy in 2011 as well. Each year’s rotation consisted of overpaid, mediocre pitchers that displayed potential to improve, but in the meantime, the team would have to win games to the tune of eight runs scored to seven runs given up.

Sound familiar?

The Red Sox have held onto their prospects in hopes that each reaches their potential, only to miss the mark and lose their trade value. It seems as if Bradley Jr. will never see the major leagues again, while invested prospect Wil Middlebrooks was traded for pennies on the dollar. Bogaerts has improved greatly since last year, but remains a step or two away from reaching his projected potential.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has a similar rotation. Each starter had potential to rebound from a poor season. The front office and fans alike had reason to suspect improvement. However, the rotation as well as the lineup has failed and now consists of overpaid duds.

Guided by a poor front office and manager, both the Red Sox and then Blue Jays fell to the bottom of the division, gasping for any air they can get to climb out. Guided by hypothetical projections and possible potentials, neither quite hit their mark. As John Farrell managed both squads, it makes it all that much worse.

Frankly, I would laugh each year as the Blue Jays would expect to reach the playoffs, knowing that the team had no chance. Now, I sit back and realize this Red Sox team follows suit. They have become the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays. Yikes.

In Times of Needed Change, Firing Farrell is not the Answer, Fire Cherington Instead

BOSTON—So far, but yet so close. Four and a half games out of first, but yet the Red Sox sit in last place if the AL East with a 22-29 record.

These are the woes of Red Sox Nation. It has led to the firing of pitching coach Juan Nieves and now the nation seems to want manager John Farrell’s head as well.

Sitting last in the AL East with a real possibility of a third losing season in four years, fans have every right to ask for a firing. No acquisition of an “ace” can save this season, only something as drastic as a firing can.

However, Farrell is not the guy. The problem lies in general manager Ben Cherington.

Although Farrell’s decisions can impact a game, they do not decide a game. The team does not win or lose games solely on the decisions Farrell makes. The players lose the game, and guess who hires the players. Cherington.

Cherington has given Farrell a faulty roster. He signed a shortstop in Hanley Ramirez and told Farrell to stick him in left field, a position he has never played in his life. Ramirez does not have the work ethic to learn a whole new position up to par and Farrell certainly is not the guy that would make him.

A quote stuck out to me in last Sunday’s The Boston Globe’s sports section, which described that the reason Ramirez has problems in left field stem from not getting enough balls hit to him in spring training, thus he had not had enough experience to play defensively on balls in play in left field.

This is unacceptable. If Ramirez needed more experience in left field playing balls, then as the manager, Farrell should have taken him out every day and hit balls off of the wall and made him play it correctly. He did not, even though Ramirez probably has some of the blame most likely not wanting to go out there and practice, and now the team suffers from his -0.3 WAR statistic, even with his MVP caliber bat.

Cherington refused to sign Jon Lester because of his age, but then gave pitcher Rick Porcello $82.5 million before even pitching for the team. Porcello owns a 4-4 record and a 5.37 ERA. The team tried brain washing their fans by saying the team has five aces, only to distract the fans from the worst statistical starting pitching in the entire league.

He has reconstructed the roster three times by trading away Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford and then signing players such as Mike Napoli, Ryan Dempster and Shane Victorino, only to blow it up again the next year by trading away four out of the team’s five starting pitchers.

Cherington has used up all of his excuses and options. He deserves no more chances. The team sits at seven games below .500. The team is built on a flawed system and Farrell has gotten all of the blame. Not fully excused, but Farrell did not do this to the team, Cherington did.

If someone gets fired, the Red Sox need to consider Cherington before Farrell. Cherington has gotten every chance in the world to turn the organization around and has failed at every step along the way. The 2013 World Series seems more of a fluke with every passing game and something needs to happen.

Fire the general manager, not the manager. Get rid of the virus, not the wound.

A Look Back: Was Miley-De La Rosa Swap Worth it?

BOSTON—Three weeks ago, Red Sox fans felt rock bottom with Wade Miley. One day removed from firing pitching coach Juan Nieves, Miley gave up four runs on eight hits in a 7-0 loss to the Blue Jays, bringing his record to 1-4 on the season and actually lowering his ERA from 7.15 to 6.91.

“It’s always difficult to go through when you go through a stretch like this,” said Miley after the loss with Red Sox fans ready to strangle him from their homes.

Now fast forward three starts.

On Sunday, Miley pitched yet another great effort, giving up only four hits and one run in eight innings, good enough for his third win and quality start in a row. Miley’s ERA has dropped from 6.91 to 4.47 during this time as well.

Manager John Farrell spoke about Miley’s recent success to reporters after the game on Sunday.

“He’s turned things around personally this month, that’s pretty clear,” said Farrell. “He’s back to a quick pace—but a comfortable one for him—and he’s commanding his pitches.”

After a terrible start, Miley definitely has turned a corner.

But then there is Rubby De La Rosa, the guy the Red Sox traded for Miley.

De La Rosa has pitched well so far for the Diamondbacks. In nine starts, De La Rosa owns a 4-2 record in 59 innings with a 4.27 ERA. He has 55 strikeouts and has given up 51 hits in those starts.

“He locates the ball so well,” said Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale about De La Rosa. “He’s got a swing-and-miss changeup and then his breaking ball. His breaking ball, can be really good.”

Although the two pitchers have provided some success for their respective teams, can the Red Sox still justify the trade at this point?

At this point of the season, the statistics are pretty comparable. Miley has pitched 50 innings, De La Rosa 59. Both has four wins, both have similar ERAs.

However, De La Rosa has a better future ahead of him.

At 28 years old, Miley has basically hit his peak. What Red Sox fans have seen so far will most likely continue for the rest of the year and the remainder of the contract. Miley will pitch sporadically, which will most likely lead to a decent record, innings pitched, and an ERA somewhere in the 4.00 range.

De La Rosa has more upside. At 26 years old, De La Rosa has more room to improve. He still hasn’t had a full season in the major leagues and he is still developing his pitches.

This doesn’t even include the contract status of each pitcher. The Red Sox owe Miley $3.6 million this season, which spikes to $6.1 million the next year, $8.9 million the following year, and then $12 million in the final year of the contract.

De La Rosa is owed $516,000 this season while he still remains arbitration eligible. The earliest he can hit free agency is the 2019 season.

Although both Miley and De La Rosa has comparable statistics, the difference between the two is potential. While Miley has little room to improve, De La Rosa has yet to even hit stride. The Diamondbacks have more financial flexibility with De La Rosa than the Red Sox have with Miley as well.

The comparison could be apples to oranges. But I like the financial flexibility and potential that comes with De La Rosa more than Miley.

In Bruins GM Search, Neely Should Look Externally

BOSTON—Boston Bruins’ President Cam Neely made it clear that the team will look extensively for their new general manager upon the firing of Peter Chiarelli. Although Neely has not spoken publicly about candidates he has particular interest in, many assume internal candidate Don Sweeney will earn the job.

Initially, the move makes sense. As in internal candidate, Sweeney knows the Bruins organization better than any other candidate. As a former teammate of Neely, he presumably will work well as a President-general manager combo. However, if one further investigates the situation, Neely should not grant Sweeney the position.

According to csnne.com writer Joe Haggarty, Sweeney has handled contract negotiations, trades discussions and player scouting and development. These are the main reasons why Neely said he fired Chiarelli during his press conference. Neely felt as if management did not handle these three things well, leading to salary cap issues and failure to draft NHL capable talent over the last several years.

If Neely feels so strongly that management failed in these areas, he should not promote the man that Haggarty writes contributed immensely towards. The team is littered with player-friendly contracts to Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg. They have had many draft duds in Zach Hamill, Joe Colburne and Jordan Caron. If Neely wants this to change, he needs to look outside of the organization.

He needs to look at assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, Norm Maciver.

A former assistant coach to the Boston Bruins from 2003 through 2006, Maciver has spent time in each of the most crucial roles in hockey. Maciver has played in the NHL, held a coaching position and a managing position.

Maciver has also shown he has the capability to succeed. As assistant general manager of one of the best organizations this decade in the Chicago Blackhawks, Maciver has been part of most decisions. He has worked with development and personnel before. His best products include forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, two of the league’s elite players. The system he works with in Chicago fits what Neely has asked for: faster transitions that leads to many scoring opportunities.

If Neely and the Bruins organization want change, they need to look outside of the organization. They need to change the identity of the Bruins. They need to adapt to the changes within the league. No longer are the days that defense dominates the league.

Maciver provides the best option for the Bruins. Not only does he have the resume to prove his worth, he has experience in every role in the NHL. Maciver’s experience is too much for the Bruins to pass on. If they want change, this man should to lead to way for the Bruins.

Bruins Recap: BC Alumnus Johnny Gaudreau Succeeds in Return to Boston, Helps Flames Win in Shootout

Calgary 4

Boston 3

Final/SO

BOSTON—What better way for the Boston College hockey team to spend a night during spring break than watching former teammate and now Calgary Flame Johnny Gaudreau take on the home town Boston Bruins.

“It is awesome to see him here,” said one former Boston College teammate of Gaudreau. “It’s cool to see him go from BC to the NHL and now to see him play here in the Garden.”

It was even more special to watch him score a power play goal for the Flames.

In the third period, the Flames had a chance to go on the attack while on the power play when Bruins defender Matt Bartowski was called for tripping on Gaudreau himself. With the man advantage, Gaudreau was given the puck while teammate Jiri Hudler set the screen in front of the net. Gaudreau wristed a shot right into the upper right corner of the net for his 16 goal on the year and to put Calgary up 3-2 in the third period.

The Bruins would fight back however.

Fighting for the puck in front of Calgary’s net, Bruins’ forward Loui Erickson would come away with the puck, flipping the puck into the top left corner of the net on the backhand in order to time the game up at three apiece.

The game would then go into overtime tied at three.

Unable to settle it in overtime, the two teams went to the shootout where it took eight rounds before the Flames’ David Schlemko fooled Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to go one way while he went the other, easily gliding the puck into the net for the 4-3 win.

“Our biggest concern is our inability to finish,” said coach Claude Julien. “You saw it in the shootout. We can’t seem to finish well and score some goals.”

The Bruins inability to stay out of the penalty box allowed the Flames to score twice on the power play.

“Little mistakes here and there,” said Julien about the penalty kill’s ineffectiveness. “There were some good screens there and the puck found its way in the net. On the first one I saw Adam McQuaid with his back to the play falling down, if he is facing the play he probably knocks the loose puck to the corner so it was little details like that that are hurting us.”

The Bruins also served consecutive penalties three times throughout the game. In the first period, the Bruins had back-to-back-to-back penalties to end the period.

Johnny Gaudreau had a positive first experience playing at the Bruins’ TD Garden. Along with his goal, Gaudreau had three shots on net while getting 22 minutes and 17 seconds of ice time. He also had an attempt in the shootout that was saved by Rask.

He now has 16 goals and 30 assists on the year. His 46 points puts him second best amongst rookies behind Nashville’s Filip Forsberg who has 52.

“There is no doubt [Gaudreau] should be considered for the rookie of the year,” said one of Gaudreau’s former Boston College teammate.

For the Bruins, newly acquired forward Max Talbot played in his first game since being traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Bruins. Talbot played on the fourth line along with forwards Chris Kelly and Brian Ferlin.

Talbot served a boarding penalty in the first period along with three shots on net in 10:56 minutes of ice time.

The Bruins look to rebound against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, March 7. It will be the first time the two teams meet since January 10.

Bruins' Deadline Looks Nice on Paper, Now Time to Prove It

Going into yesterday’s trade deadline, the Boston Bruins found themselves facing a dilemma. In a seller’s market, they could have dealt their expendable pieces above their true value or they could have tried to fix the problems of their underachieving team.

The Bruins did both yesterday by acquiring forward Brett Connolly from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for two second round picks and 31 year old center Maxime Talbot from the Colorado Avalanche for forward Jordan Caron and a sixth round pick.

“[Connolly’s] a player that we've looked at for a while,” said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli on the team’s website. “He's a guy that we think can come in and help us right away and could have a long future for us.”

Connolly is a 22 year old, right shot winger that upgrades the Bruins’ third line immediately. Connolly maintains restricted free agent status at the end of the season as well, meaning that the Bruins can retain Connolly if they so choose to or opt for draft pick compensation if they let him go to another team in free agency.

At 22 years old and a former sixth overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, the Bruins hope Connolly still has potential to improve his game and become a top four winger.

During the 2012-2013 AHL season, Connolly had 31 goals and 32 assists. Although it has translated to only 18 NHL goals, 12 coming this year in 50 games, a change of scenery and a new system could help elevate Connolly’s play.

Max Talbot, signed through next year as well, provides a short-term fix for the Bruins. Talbot gives the Bruins’ versatility in line combinations. He can pair with practically every line. He can pair on the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, while also fitting well with Chris Kelly on the fourth line.

“I would characterize [Talbot] as a glue guy who has played in a lot of playoffs, plays all three positions, is a gritty guy, plays all-out, and we believe he's a good add to our forward group,” said Chiarelli about Talbot via espn.com.

These two players provide upgrades for the Bruins’ roster over the guys they replace. Talbot will outperform Jordan Caron and Connolly will outperform recently released forward Craig Cunningham, Brian Ferlin and anyone else from within the organization that would have gotten the ice time. Talbot also has playoff experience. Caron does not have the same experience and maturity as Talbot.

However, skepticism still arises. Connolly’s future is still unclear.

The Tampa Bay Lightning currently sit second in the eastern conference. As a team that should be trying to add pieces to fix problems, history would suggest that the Lightning would want to hold onto a 22 year old, former sixth overall pick if he really does have any more ability to improve. The trade suggests that Tampa Bay has given up on Connolly and his ability, not the best indication of any possible improvement, but not finality.

Judgment is still out though. The Bruins have a history in finding success within highly drafted prospects that prove as busts for the team that drafted them, such as Cam Neely and Benoit Pouliot.

Although still productive, Talbot’s best days are behind him. Talbot will never be the same player that played in Pittsburgh from 2005-2011.

Averaging 19.4 points per year, Talbot’s upside is in his ability to play in the boards, not his play-making abilities. His skill set does not put the Bruins ahead of the other teams that upgraded at the deadline.

Even though Connolly and Talbot are not season altering, franchise changing players, they do provide key upgrades for this year’s Bruins team without a hefty price tag. They also provide future return as well, as both have the ability to come back for next season.

Bruins’ general manager made two good moves yesterday on paper. Now they have to prove it on the ice.

As Trade Deadline Approaches, Bruins Have Choices to Make

Currently sitting at eighth in the conference, the Boston Bruins are far from perfect. They lost their top center, David Krejci, to injury. Their goalie situation has been a mess and many of their line pairings have struggled to score.

Today, the Bruins will surely make a move a couple moves in order to solidify their playoff push and their attempt to get a better seed. They have already done so by acquiring Tampa Bay right winger Brett Connelly for two second round picks late last night.

“My job is to make the team better,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli told writer Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. “I don’t have any excuses. Nobody has any excuses.”

With or without trading, the Bruins seem likely to make the playoffs. However, the problem is not next year, but the years that follow.

Riddled by salary cap problems, a coach that refuses to change his defense first type system and underperforming players, the team has to make a decision going forward. They can keep the pieces they have now, push for a playoff spot and hope that everything works out, or they can try and trade aging players and wasteful contracts at a time when teams will overpay.

The latter a much harder, timelier project but seems like a better option.

The Bruins organization have locked themselves into a system by giving out generous contracts to players such as Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, Dennis Seidenberg and others. All have a base salary of $4 million or more for at least two more years. Chara and Seidenberg are locked in for four years each.

Lucic has found success in Boston, scoring 20 or more goals in three out of seven seasons and he currently has 13 goals on the year. Lucic comes at a heavy price however, $6 million a year for two more years. For a slow guy who would probably not do as well outside of coach Claude Julien’s system, other teams probably will not take on that kind of cap hit.

Chara, who is 37 and will be 40 by his contract’s end, has dealt with a leg injury this year. Even though Chara remains one of the league’s best defenseman, he is only getting older and slower.

Seidenberg has also dealt with injuries throughout his Bruins tenure. At 33 years old with four more years at $4 million per year left on his contract, Seidenberg too seems untradeable.

But for Chiarelli and Julien, this is okay because they fit into their system, which makes it worth the salary cap inflexibility.

“I didn’t know it would just keep carrying forward,” said Chiarelli to Shinzawa about the roster. “I didn’t project that. I didn’t project the injuries. But when they happened, you have to change your projections a bit. There’s a lot of subpar performances. Sometimes that happens.”

The problem however, is not injuries, it is the system.

The NHL has moved towards fast-pace, scoring tandems. Most of the better teams display this type of play: Patrick Kane-Jonathan Toews in Chicago, Steve Stamkos-Tyler Johnson in Tampa Bay, and Sidney Crosby-Eveni Malkin in Pittsburgh too name a few.

But Julien has his system and it brought him a Stanley Cup. His system worked and the organization believes it still works, it just needs a couple patches sewn on.

“As a general manager, you have to look at everything, including larger deals,” Chiarelli told Shinzawa. “Those are hard to do.”

According to the Boston Globe, the Bruins have also made goalie Tuukka Rask, forward Brad Marchand and Chara untouchable. This adds to a list which includes defenseman Dougie Hamilton, center David Pastrnak and center Patrice Bergeron.

The Bruins keep putting themselves out of the realm of rebuilding. An eighth place finish is not good enough for this fan base, especially after winning the President’s trophy last season but losing to the rival Montreal Canadiens in the playoff’s conference semifinals.

The Bruins had a chance to rebuild and to generate more offense when they drafted Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. Seguin scored 37 goals for the Stars last year after being traded by the Bruins. He has 29 so far on the year.

But the Bruins traded him because he didn’t play defense well enough for Julien.

He gave up on the team’s best prospect in many years because of defense. Defense.

Let’s hope Julien’s stubbornness proves us wrong, that his system can last for several more years, because if not, the fans and the team could be in for a long period of unwanted mediocrity.

Decade's Most Controversial Play, Pete Carroll Delivers Super Bowl to New England

Pete Carroll. The real Super Bowl MVP.

In what was probably the most controversial call of all season, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called for a slant pass from quarterback Russell Wilson during the fourth quarter at the goal line with second and one and 66 seconds left in the game. Patriots’ undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler intercepted the one-yard pass to save the Patriot’s victory.

After the game, Carroll tried to validate his choice in an interview with the Boston Globe.

“It’s not the right matchup for us to run the football,” said Carroll about the play. “So on second down we throw the ball really to kind of waste that play. And unfortunately, with the play that we tried to execute, the guy makes a great play and jumps in front of the route and makes an incredible play. And unfortunately, that changes the whole outcome.”

Waste a play? Wow. How about a Super Bowl throw away.

Seattle has—arguably—the best running back in the game in Marshawn Lynch. Lynch had a league leading 13 touchdowns on the year and averaged 4.8 yards per attempt. Within the Super Bowl, Lynch already had 100 yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt.

It makes all the sense in the world to give the ball to Lynch, who had up to three chances to get one yard. Lynch was averaging 4.3 per attempt. He needed only one. One yard and Seattle would have been named Super Bowl XLIX champions.

However, they chose to throw the ball and Malcolm Butler deserves all of the credit in the world. Admitting after the game that he doesn’t normally play at the goal line and was unsure as to why Belichick put him in there, Butler still knew what was coming. Jumping in front of wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, he intercepted the ball to preserve the Patriots lead and win. Butler deserves every ounce of credit for that play.

However, the Patriots could not have done it without Tom Brady. After going down by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Brady settled down into comeback mode. Just like every other come from behind, fourth quarter victory Brady has taken the Patriots through, he would bring the Patriots down the field twice for two touchdowns. One was a four-yard pass to Danny Amendola, the other a 64-yard drive capped off by a 3-yard pass to Julian Edelman.

In the end, Brady went 37 for 50 in pass attempts with 328 yards and four touchdowns. He was named Super Bowl MVP. But he couldn’t have done it without his cast. He couldn’t have done it without Julian Edelman, who had nine catches for 109 yards and the game winning touchdown. He couldn’t have done it without Malcolm Butler. And he couldn’t have done it without Pete Carroll’s blunder.

Patriot fans should accept God’s gift. Carroll ultimately won the Super Bowl for the Patriots. Patriot fans should thank him, 18 years after they hired Carroll as the franchise’s 13 head coach and 15 years after Kraft fired him, Carroll finally has brought New England that Super Bowl he promised.

NFL Divisional Playoffs Analysis and Predictions

Last week’s NFL wild card playoffs had some great games and then some games that made you want to take a nap. There was the Indianapolis blowout against quarterback Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals, now 0-4 under the Dalton regime. Then there was the Baltimore win against Pittsburgh as the underdog of the game and don’t forget the Detroit-Dallas game that was “decided” by a not-so pass interference flag, later to be picked up (however, we all know quarterback Matthew Stafford played horribly in the second half, giving up the ball in every key situation, leading to the Lions’ loss). This week has four great games and I’ve done all the thinking for you, breaking down each game with in-depth analysis and predictions (I went 4 for 4 last week, so maybe I actually do know something about sports).

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots (Sat. Jan. 10 @ 4:35 p.m.)

Keys for Baltimore

Quarterback Joe Flacco had a stellar performance last week in Pittsburgh, throwing for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco seems to always play better during playoff games and he needs to do so again this week if the Ravens want any chance of beating the Patriots. Sure, Baltimore has a great defense, as shown last week against Pittsburgh when they forced two fumbles, five sacks and two interceptions, but the Patriots have just as good of a defense. The Ravens have no easy matchup when trying to get downfield against Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Jamie Collins and more. For the Ravens to win, they need to play smart, small ball. They need to have a strategic run game, well-placed passes—nothing crazy—and they cannot do anything stupid on special teams. Flacco needs to play with 100 percent precision come Saturday.

Keys for New England

The Baltimore Ravens’ defense features studs such as Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Elvis Dumervil. Their front line has a stout advantage against the Patriots sub-par run game. Their linebacking crew also poses a threat against the Patriots fast-pace, short-pass offense. So how do the Patriots defeat the Ravens? Brandon LaFell. LaFell has the quickness to beat most of Baltimore’s defense when going one-on-one against them. If Brady can sling a couple passes downfield to LaFell and in return LaFell doesn’t drop any like he usually does, the Patriots have the advantage. Wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski could very well be non-existent in this game. The Patriots need to capitalize on having wide receiver Brandon LaFell in that case.

Verdict

In a game that could come down to the last drive and special teams, the New England Patriots have been the best team in the conference since week four. The days are gone where the Ravens had Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, as well as the days where the Ravens could win playoff games against the Patriots New England 27 Baltimore 24

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks (Sat. Jan. 10 @ 8:15 p.m.)

Keys for Carolina

Last week, quarterback Cam Newton threw an interception and lost a fumble. All in all, he was not at the top of his game. If Newton plays the same way against the Seahawks, don’t expect their offense to score even once against one of the league’s best defenses, if not the best defense. The Panthers need Newton playing smarter. He can’t force passes to receiver Kelvin Benjamin, which led to 11 dropped passes on Benjamin’s end. Those dropped passes will lead to interceptions against Seattle. Newton needs to perform better for the Panthers to have any kind of existence in Saturday’s game.

Keys for Seattle

The red hot Carolina defense plays into everything Seattle’s offense is good at. They can take away the run game, especially against the outside. Seattle also does not have a legitimate threat to throw to, which makes it easier for the Carolina defense to focus on the likes of running back Marshawn Lynch and quarterback Russell Wilson. For Seattle to win, they need to deploy any secrets they have in the passing game. Wilson needs to mix in some scrambles and deep passes and create a two-way offense instead of doing the predictable hand off to Lynch and the pump fake leading to Wilson taking off with the ball.

Verdict

The Carolina Panthers’ defense is a serious threat against Seattle. If both defenses play their best, expect a long and boring game. In a game about defenses, one has a hard time betting against Seattle at home with the 12^th man on their side. Seattle 19 Carolina 9

Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers (Sun. Jan. 11 @ 1:05 p.m.)

Keys for Dallas

Dallas got lucky when Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers injured his calf. That means Rodgers will most likely not be at the top of his game. The Dallas defense must exploit this. Attack the run game and get to Rodgers when passing by forcing him to move out of the pocket and take some hard hits against that calf. Last week also showed that the defense is capable of taking away a team’s top two threats, which is applicable to Green Bay’s Nelson-Cobb combo. But Dallas cannot stop at those two. As shown against New England, Green Bay can win a game with their third and fourth options, as they beat the Patriots 26-21 with receiver Davante Adams (six catches for 121 yards) and tight end Richard Rodgers (one touchdown catch). Although it is hard to completely take out the passing game, especially against any form of Aaron Rodgers, Dallas needs to minimalize Green Bay’s passing game and force them to run the ball.

Keys for Green Bay

The keys for Green Bay fall in line with Dallas’s keys to victory. They need to force passes against Dallas’s defense to their third and fourth options. Their offensive line needs to step up and protect Rodger’s injured calf, which will allow him to focus solely on completing passes. Running back Eddie Lacy needs to step up and take on some of Rodger’s load in order to secure a victory against Dallas’s 8-0 record on the road.

Verdict

An injured Aaron Rodgers calls for an upset against a team that is 8-0 on the road. Dallas seems as if they can keep playing at a high level, but just as easy can the entire team collapse and quarterback Tony Romo could have another less than stellar performance, choking at the most important time. Still, Dallas seems as if they can beat an injured Rodgers which is probably going to be the deciding factor in the game. Dallas 34 Green Bay 31

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos (Sun. Jan. 11 @ 4:40 p.m.)

Keys for Indianapolis

Quarterback Andrew Luck needs to have the game of the year in order to beat the Denver Broncos. That isn’t saying they have no shot at winning, simply it means that their defense is horrible and between quarterback Peyton Manning and running back C.J. Anderson, Denver could put up 30 points easily. If Indianapolis wants to win this game, it starts with Andrew Luck. Luck needs to carry the team, put up 30+ points and combat the Broncos offense with his own skills.

Keys for Denver

Peyton Manning comes into the game with more sub-par games within the last four weeks than great games. Along with the bye week and possible 30 degree weather, it all makes for a surprise victory for Indianapolis. Manning still has the best shot at winning however. He is the best quarterback to probably play the game, but he does need a little help from Anderson. Denver needs to mix up the offense against a terrible Indianapolis defense, causing them to make multiple errors due to the inability to read the play.

Verdict

This is another game that has the making for an upset if Andrew Luck can play like the greats and the defense buckles down and puts a stop to Denver. However, the Broncos still seem like they can pull out a win in the cold when historically Manning plays terribly. Expect a big game from running back C.J. Anderson. Denver 31 Indianapolis 27