Well going into week 8 the Queens are 3-4, but could easily be 6-1. The primary reason for the struggles early this season have been coaching mistakes and special teams blunders. The most obvious coaching mistake was starting T-Jack without having an open Quarterback competition. Childress cost the team wins over Green Bay and Indy before wising up and starting Gus who won his first start over Carolina. Since then Gus has lead the team to wins over New Orleans and Detroit, and his only at fault loss was to the 7-0 Titans. The game against the Bears was just despicable and Childress should have gotten the axe immediately following the game.
Mid Season Grades:
QB: Gus- B+, room for improvement but has been able to move the ball efficiently. Look for Zygi to try and get a Mark Sanchez or Matthew Stafford in the 2009 Draft.
RB: AP and Chestor- A-, have been great as always but not spectacular. This is due primarily to Childress not using them very much in the passing game, particualry not using any screen plays which lets D-Ends take free shots on Gus all day long.
WR: Berrian, Rice, Wade, Allison- B-, Bernard has been great and worth every penny. I am yet to see him drop a ball. Sidney hasn't been healthy yet at any point in his career, but when he plays he is almost impossible to cover. Bobby Wade is slow, short and has average hands, cut him. Allison has been a pleasent suprise with some good YAC plays.\
TE: Shiancoe and Garret Mills: D+, Although they have been better as of late, Shiancoe is a worthless pile who drops touchdowns like their going out of style.
OL: C+, for the all the money we've spent it would be nice to get a right side of the line. Not to mention Mount McKinnie is a crimminal who hasn't been a dominant pass blocker since he was at Crimminal "U". Draft a new LT and RT and RG.
DL: A-, Fat Pat and K-Will are the best tandem of Tackles in the league, and Jared "I love to chew and eat posinous snakes" Allen is a beast at end. No changes needed here, although Pat and Kevin failed drug tests.
LB: F, worst part of our defense and yet every Sunday I'm forced to hear the Fox guys talk about the linebackers as a strength of the D. With EJ Henderson out not one linebacker on our roster save Erin Henderson can light anybody up. Ben Leber should be playing in the Arena Football League, and Chad Greenway should move to safety. Definitely a position that needs to be addressed in the draft.
DB- B, despite what people will tell you the Vikings have a solid secondary. Cedric Griffen and Antoine Winfield are perfect Cover 2 Corners, but Darren Sharper needs to go. Sure he's good for some picks, but he's slow in and out of coverage and never steps up to make a big hit. Tyrell Johsnon and Madieu Williams need to start and play every down on D.
Overall Team Grade- C, we are an average team right now but if our D steps up and dominates like it should we will win the NFC North.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
2009 Red Sox Preview
It's never too early to look forward to next season!
Great season, but any that doesn't end in a WS win for me is disappointing. So now lets take a look for next season, which should be right on par with this year; meaning a chance to win it all again!
Pitching Staff:
1. Josh Beckett- Get healthy this off-season Josh, you're still an ace and a top 5 guy when you're right. Look for a bounce back year from Beckett, 17-20 wins.
2. Jon Lester- One of the best young lefties in the game today, proved he's going to be a stud for years to come. Should continue to ascend with the game's elite pitchers. 15-18 wins.
3. Dice K- A great guy to have as the number 3 starter. Gives me tantrums when I watch him walk 4 guys a game but you can't complain with a sub 3 ERA and almost winning 20 games. 15-18 wins.
4. Clay Buchholz- The wild card guy here, because I see Masterson staying in the bullpen. I like him as the set up guy long term because of his ability to throw 95MPH and use his sinker effectively. Buchholz still has loads of potential, and this year I believe helps him in the long run. I always want to see a young guy fail at some point so he has something to work on for the future. 12-15 wins.
5. Michael Bowden/Wake/Peavy/Burnett- First off Michael Bowden is future 2-4 type of pitcher. Pretty solid stuff but a great demeanor but he might be another year away from being an every 5th day major leaguer. Wake is always a guy that can be counted on to eat innings and get guys out. I think he's better served to be the 6th guy to make spot starts and pitch the mop up games. Now Jake Peavy has been dangled lately, and a few sources have listed the Red Sox as possible suitors. Personally I am not very high on Peavy with injury problems and some decline in velocity, but nonetheless he wins ball games and I would love to have him in Boston. AJ Burnett is a free agent to be and I have always been high on him. Guy just loves to throw cheese and have a big snuff in his mouth. Some injury problems but if they take a run at him and sign him he could give this team a potential 4th ace on the staff. 12-16 wins here depending on who they go with.
Bullpen: Timlin is gone, loved him his whole career but he's lost the ability to get guys out. Okajima is fine showing he can step up when needed, and Javier Lopez is still fairly effective. Manny Delcarman is inconsistent but can bring the heat and gets guys out. Justin Masterson is a great set up guy in the making, one of the guys I look for to be a member of the nation for life. Papelbon will be the closer for 15 years as long as the Red Sox remain a franchise, the guy is simply the best when it matters. The only new addition I see coming from within the organization is fireballer Daniel Bard. This guy is a Joel Zumaya waiting to happen. Fast ball 97-100 with a good curveball and a heavy slider. Next year should be his coming out party. It would be nice to add quality middle innings guy, or possibly go after Brian Fuentes from Colorado.
Lineup: I truly believe some changes needed to be made in Boston at some very key positions.
Catcher: Jason Varitek is one of the greatest Red Sox players ever... but no stat could ever tell you that. He is the ultimate leader and game caller, and has always been one of my favorite players in the league. However, his skills have declined to a point where he is now an automatic out in the lineup. His catching ability has also declined somewhat over the past few years, and was evident in the ALCS not only failing to throw guys out, but his pitch calling was very suspect in games 2-7. It's time to move on for Boston, unless Tek would be content on being the backup. So where to go from here? Kevin Cash is an ok option, George Kotteras showed some decent skills in AAA, but I really think they need to look outside of Boston for their next back stop. Some options are: Pudge, Kenji Johjima, Bengie Molina. I realize these aren't every attractive options, but Pudge and Bengie would provide a stable bat and throw out a high % of base stealers. Age with those guys is also a factor, but at least it would give Boston another year or 2 to find the long term answer.
1st Base: Kevin Youkilis is great on D and great with the bat, no change here is necessary. Sean Casey as a fine player for a season, but really makes no sense to keep him here another year. Mark Kotsay is a fun player to watch, and might be worth keeping him as a pinch hitter and situational starter every now and then. Lars Anderson is a future impact player for the Sox and I look for him to get a shot next season as well. Now lets talk Big Papi. He isn't even a below average fielder, because that would give below average fielders a bad name. He sucks plain and simple. His hitting skills have also started to decline for a few reasons. Number one is the injury bug keeps biting him, and when's not right he looks lost at the plate. Not having Manny behind him also had a huge effect on the type of pitches he was seeing. Don't get me wrong, Youk is a great hitter but does not provide the same protection Manny did. So what do you do with Papi? Keep him for now, but if somebody is willing to make a deal for him I don't see it being out of the realm of possibility to trade David Ortiz.
2nd Base: Dustin Pedroia, MVP, enough said.
SS: Jed Lowrie is a fine young player. Good in the field and reliable with the stick, no no need to mess around here. Alex Cora is a serviceable backup, and I'm not sure there is anyone knocking at the door as far as middle infielders are concerned.
3B: I'm a big Mike Lowell fan, and I think they can get another productive season out of him.... but I don't see it as impossible that the Red Sox brass might use Youk at third and let Lars Anderson get a shot at 1st base. If Anderson hits that lineup goes from being good to being great with solid hitters 1-9.
LF: Jason Bay is a good player, not great but steady and is fine and relatively cheap option there.
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury had a great regular season, but faltered in the post season. I still love his speed and future power potential, and I see no reason why he wouldn't be the opening day starter. Having Coco Crisp as an insurance policy is nice to have, he's a gold glove defensive player and ok with the stick.
RF: JD Drew is awesome, just a pure baseball player that I want Boston to keep forever.
So there you have it, Boston's 2009 World Series winning team is:
Ellsbury- CF
Pedroia- 2B
Drew- RF
Youkilis- 1B
Ortiz- DH
Bay- LF
Lowell- 3B
Lowrie- SS
Pudge/Cash- C
Beckett- P
Great season, but any that doesn't end in a WS win for me is disappointing. So now lets take a look for next season, which should be right on par with this year; meaning a chance to win it all again!
Pitching Staff:
1. Josh Beckett- Get healthy this off-season Josh, you're still an ace and a top 5 guy when you're right. Look for a bounce back year from Beckett, 17-20 wins.
2. Jon Lester- One of the best young lefties in the game today, proved he's going to be a stud for years to come. Should continue to ascend with the game's elite pitchers. 15-18 wins.
3. Dice K- A great guy to have as the number 3 starter. Gives me tantrums when I watch him walk 4 guys a game but you can't complain with a sub 3 ERA and almost winning 20 games. 15-18 wins.
4. Clay Buchholz- The wild card guy here, because I see Masterson staying in the bullpen. I like him as the set up guy long term because of his ability to throw 95MPH and use his sinker effectively. Buchholz still has loads of potential, and this year I believe helps him in the long run. I always want to see a young guy fail at some point so he has something to work on for the future. 12-15 wins.
5. Michael Bowden/Wake/Peavy/Burnett- First off Michael Bowden is future 2-4 type of pitcher. Pretty solid stuff but a great demeanor but he might be another year away from being an every 5th day major leaguer. Wake is always a guy that can be counted on to eat innings and get guys out. I think he's better served to be the 6th guy to make spot starts and pitch the mop up games. Now Jake Peavy has been dangled lately, and a few sources have listed the Red Sox as possible suitors. Personally I am not very high on Peavy with injury problems and some decline in velocity, but nonetheless he wins ball games and I would love to have him in Boston. AJ Burnett is a free agent to be and I have always been high on him. Guy just loves to throw cheese and have a big snuff in his mouth. Some injury problems but if they take a run at him and sign him he could give this team a potential 4th ace on the staff. 12-16 wins here depending on who they go with.
Bullpen: Timlin is gone, loved him his whole career but he's lost the ability to get guys out. Okajima is fine showing he can step up when needed, and Javier Lopez is still fairly effective. Manny Delcarman is inconsistent but can bring the heat and gets guys out. Justin Masterson is a great set up guy in the making, one of the guys I look for to be a member of the nation for life. Papelbon will be the closer for 15 years as long as the Red Sox remain a franchise, the guy is simply the best when it matters. The only new addition I see coming from within the organization is fireballer Daniel Bard. This guy is a Joel Zumaya waiting to happen. Fast ball 97-100 with a good curveball and a heavy slider. Next year should be his coming out party. It would be nice to add quality middle innings guy, or possibly go after Brian Fuentes from Colorado.
Lineup: I truly believe some changes needed to be made in Boston at some very key positions.
Catcher: Jason Varitek is one of the greatest Red Sox players ever... but no stat could ever tell you that. He is the ultimate leader and game caller, and has always been one of my favorite players in the league. However, his skills have declined to a point where he is now an automatic out in the lineup. His catching ability has also declined somewhat over the past few years, and was evident in the ALCS not only failing to throw guys out, but his pitch calling was very suspect in games 2-7. It's time to move on for Boston, unless Tek would be content on being the backup. So where to go from here? Kevin Cash is an ok option, George Kotteras showed some decent skills in AAA, but I really think they need to look outside of Boston for their next back stop. Some options are: Pudge, Kenji Johjima, Bengie Molina. I realize these aren't every attractive options, but Pudge and Bengie would provide a stable bat and throw out a high % of base stealers. Age with those guys is also a factor, but at least it would give Boston another year or 2 to find the long term answer.
1st Base: Kevin Youkilis is great on D and great with the bat, no change here is necessary. Sean Casey as a fine player for a season, but really makes no sense to keep him here another year. Mark Kotsay is a fun player to watch, and might be worth keeping him as a pinch hitter and situational starter every now and then. Lars Anderson is a future impact player for the Sox and I look for him to get a shot next season as well. Now lets talk Big Papi. He isn't even a below average fielder, because that would give below average fielders a bad name. He sucks plain and simple. His hitting skills have also started to decline for a few reasons. Number one is the injury bug keeps biting him, and when's not right he looks lost at the plate. Not having Manny behind him also had a huge effect on the type of pitches he was seeing. Don't get me wrong, Youk is a great hitter but does not provide the same protection Manny did. So what do you do with Papi? Keep him for now, but if somebody is willing to make a deal for him I don't see it being out of the realm of possibility to trade David Ortiz.
2nd Base: Dustin Pedroia, MVP, enough said.
SS: Jed Lowrie is a fine young player. Good in the field and reliable with the stick, no no need to mess around here. Alex Cora is a serviceable backup, and I'm not sure there is anyone knocking at the door as far as middle infielders are concerned.
3B: I'm a big Mike Lowell fan, and I think they can get another productive season out of him.... but I don't see it as impossible that the Red Sox brass might use Youk at third and let Lars Anderson get a shot at 1st base. If Anderson hits that lineup goes from being good to being great with solid hitters 1-9.
LF: Jason Bay is a good player, not great but steady and is fine and relatively cheap option there.
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury had a great regular season, but faltered in the post season. I still love his speed and future power potential, and I see no reason why he wouldn't be the opening day starter. Having Coco Crisp as an insurance policy is nice to have, he's a gold glove defensive player and ok with the stick.
RF: JD Drew is awesome, just a pure baseball player that I want Boston to keep forever.
So there you have it, Boston's 2009 World Series winning team is:
Ellsbury- CF
Pedroia- 2B
Drew- RF
Youkilis- 1B
Ortiz- DH
Bay- LF
Lowell- 3B
Lowrie- SS
Pudge/Cash- C
Beckett- P
2008 World Series
Rays over Phillies in 6.... but Phillies might win games 1 and 2 because Garza will be held back to game 3.
I'm not gonna lie, I wanted Sox and Dodgers, that was the dream WS for me and the media and America. So now I'm forced to watch 2 pretty solid teams with no big name players outside of Utley and Howard. Young guys like Longoria, Upton, Hamels and Price will be fun to watch, but their is no excitement for me without Boston in the series.
I'm not gonna lie, I wanted Sox and Dodgers, that was the dream WS for me and the media and America. So now I'm forced to watch 2 pretty solid teams with no big name players outside of Utley and Howard. Young guys like Longoria, Upton, Hamels and Price will be fun to watch, but their is no excitement for me without Boston in the series.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Playoff Update
Well I have been somewhat correct in my predictions(minus the Brew Crew) due to an injury to Ben Sheets and overworking CC, but all in all its been pretty exciting no matter who you have been rooting for. Jon Lester looks like the Josh Beckett of last year's playoffs, and Manny Ramirez looks like the Manny Ramirez of..... well his entire post season career. As of right now the Dodgers trail the Phillies 2 games to 1, but square off tonight in what should be a nice bean ball fest after last night's debacle. The Red Sox and Rays are tied at 1 game a piece. Now this series is the most hotly contested and followed since the 04 Sox Yanks historic series. And for good reason as were seeing the best story of the this season against the defending world champs. Mind you that these 2 teams also hate each other, and each roster is full of bright young talent that should keep these two teams meeting in the playoffs year after year.
My updated predictions:
Red Sox win game 3, lost 4 and 5, Win 6 with Beckett returning to form, and winning game 7 to get to the series.
The Phillies get it done in 5, love the Dodgers but Manny can't hit .500 forever(or can he?).
Red Sox over the Phillies in 6.
My updated predictions:
Red Sox win game 3, lost 4 and 5, Win 6 with Beckett returning to form, and winning game 7 to get to the series.
The Phillies get it done in 5, love the Dodgers but Manny can't hit .500 forever(or can he?).
Red Sox over the Phillies in 6.
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