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.