Sox' hopes rest on the rotation

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Piitching still wins championships. So where does that leave the Boston Red Sox?

The Red Sox should be thanking the baseball gods they are in the position they are in as far as the standings are concerned, especially with the dismal efforts put forth by the starting pitching this season.

As a unit, Red Sox starters - Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson and Daisuke Matsuzaka have a combined 5.34 ERA in their starts. Tim Wakefield holds the best ERA among the starters despite last night's blow up at 4.55 (Yes, Masterson has a 4.22 ERA, but as a starter, he's at 4.58)

Remarkably, despite those numbers, the Sox starters still hold a 57 percent winning percentage (21-16) and the team's 28 wins are tied for second in the American League and its .571 winning percentage is third in the AL behind the Yankees (.583) and the Rangers (.604).

A large part of the thanks needs to go to the offense, which, despite the atrocious batting of David Ortiz, is in the AL's top 5 in batting average (3rd), on base percentage (2nd), slugging (3rd), runs (5th), home runs (5th) and RBIs (5th). Jason Bay has been enormous this year and is currently on pace to best any season Manny Ramirez put together in Boston in terms of run production. Is he going to maintain that pace? No. He's already showing signs of slowing down, but will still finish with the best numbers of his career. Even with a stint on the DL, Kevin Youkilis has been able to pick up right where he left off last season and Dustin Pedroia is being that sparkplug in the No. 2 slot. Even Mike Lowell, who was a big enough liability over the offseason that the team made a strong push for Mark Teixiera, and Jason Varitek, who got zero bites on the free agent martket, are producing.

And there can be no complaints about the bullpen, which has been one of, if not THE stongest in baseball.

There is no reason why the starting rotation can't turn it around. Josh Beckett has already shown signs of improvement. In his last five starts, the Red Sox ace has a 3-0 record and the team is 4-1, the only loss being a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Mets. In those starts, he's allowed nine earned runs in 34 innings (a 2.38 ERA), going at least seven innings in his last three outings. Brad Penny will be no savior, but ever since blowing up for seven runs in 2.2 innings, he has pitched well enough to win, and has. He's 3-1 in the month of May with a 4.41 ERA. It's not earth-shattering, but what more could any team expect from the fourth starter? Tim Wakefield is being what he has always been and at points this season, he has saved the bullpen from implosion from over work while other starters struggled to get through five innings.

The X factors remain Lester and Matsuzaka. The former has shown good stuff, but seems to have hit that mental block he had when he first came up - when things go bad, he can't prevent them from going REALLY bad. The latter, however, is hard to figure out. He's just a mess. If the Red Sox hope to keep pace with the surging Yankees, these two have to get it together. John Smoltz is not going to come back and light the world on fire and while he's throwing near-no-no's against AAA batters, Clay Bucholtz is not a lock, either. Two seasons ago Beckett, Lester and Dice-K led the Red Sox to the promised land. It's going to take all three of them to get them back there.

Redemption Time for the Penguins

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Once the Bruins were knocked out of the playoffs, which seems like months ago, I knew there would be a Stanley Cup Finals rematch from a year ago. The Eastern Conference Champion Penguins, after a hard fought seven game battle with Washington, swept the Hurricanes with ease, propelling themselves back to the finals. The Wings, in my opinion, have had the tougher road getting to the finals. Detroit squeaked past the Ducks in the second round with a 4-3 win in game seven and had three overtime games against the Blackhawks which ended in five.

The biggest factor in this series has to be age. The Penguins are led by the 2 best offensive players in hockey, Sidney Crosby (age 21) and Evgeni Malkin (22). Pittsburgh also has a great young goalie in Marc-Andre Fluery (24). Detroit has pretty much the same team as last year's Cup winning team. They are a team comprised of old veterans that know how to win playoff hockey games. The major problem the Wings are dealing with is that their age is catching up with them and they are starting to break down physically.

Detroit, who won in six games last year against Pittsburgh, is looking to become the first NHL team with back-to-back championships since the Red Wings did in 1997 and 1998 with several of the same players. The Wings, who have won four titles in the last 11 seasons, are built on a foundation experienced (or old) players such as captain Nicklas Lidstrom (39), Tomas Holmstrom (36), Kris Draper (38), and Kirk Maltby (36). But Detroit does have some "younger" players in Pavel Datsyuk (30) and Henrik Zetterberg (28), the two led the team in scoring in the regular season. Not to mention the raised from the dead goaltender Chris Osgood (36 years young) who has come back from obscurity to have a good playoffs.

The banged-up Red Wings expect to have Lidstrom back on the blue line Saturday night after he was forced to sit out the last two games against Chicago because of an undisclosed lower-body injury, who do they think they are the Patriots. Draper, sidelined for all but four games during the postseason, should also return along with defenseman Jonathan Ericsson just a few days removed from surgery following an appendicitis. Datsyuk is still the biggest question mark, will be a game-time decision. The Red Wings clearly could have used more time off, but now face playing four games in six nights and five in eight, advantage Pittsburgh. My prediction for the series is Penguins will win the Cup at home in Game 6 dashing the hopes of another Detroit repeat.

Hockey Note: Red Wings forward Marian Hossa will be playing in second straight Cup Finals. Last year he was a late season acquisition by the Penguins and helped them to the Finals against Detroit. Hossa decided to turn down an offer from the Penguins in the off-season and sign with more experienced Wings team at a lower salary. Now he faces his old team. Karma?

Looks like the Yankees don't suck after all

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Here they come! Watch out Red Sox fans, the Yankees --yes, that team that apparently "sucks" -- are starting to play real consistent baseball and have overtaken first place in the AL East (by a half game) for the first time since 2006.

Will it last? Hard to tell because it's so early, but one thing is for sure: The Yankees should be considered a dangerous club and shouldn't be overlooked.

The Nation has gotten a little too big for its own britches --the Sox have some major issues with their club just like everyone does, but they're still content with taking the first five games against the Yanks this year (the next Sox-Yanks series is in Boston on June 9-11).

Big deal, move on. It's not like they play the Yanks 162 times during the regular season. After a series is over you move on. The players do it, but the Nation always likes living in the past.

But on the field, New York is pretty scary with a staff of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, but its weakness is the bullpen (except for closer Mariano Rivera).

Boston's got a great bullpen, but everyone should and is questioning its starters. Besides Josh Beckett, is there a guy that you're comfortable with every time he takes the mound? No.

Jon Lester has been real inconsistent (although I think he'll find last year's form soon), Dice-K is a mess, Tim Wakefield has come back down to earth with some real shaky starts and then there's Brad Penny. I know he hasn't completely imploded like I thought he would, but do you trust him? Oh, wait, John Smoltz is working his way back to health in the minors ... he'll be the Nation's savior in a month or so. 

Don't bank on it. He's not the 22-year-old Smoltz anymore with a power fastball, slider and nasty split.

With Alex Rodriguez back in the Yankee lineup, it's become a much more powerful and productive team. Mark Teixeira, who the Nation said couldn't handle the pressure of New York after his slow start (do you finally believe that Tex is a notoriously slow starter?) has been a monster with the stick lately. 

Can the Sox keep pace all season with David Ortiz hitting under .200? It's hard to believe that they can. Mr. Mango Salsa, who was all smiles when he could hit a few years back, is now his worst enemy. He's snapping bats in the dugout after striking out and he's even riding the pine at times? Is he washed up? It looks like it, but he can't be this bad all season, right?

Good thing Jason Bay is playing like an MVP candidate and Jason Varitek has delivered with his bat -- who would have predicted that in the offseason? 

The Sox can still hurt opposing pitchers with Jacoby Ellsbury -- he's not a superstar Nation so stop putting him in the elite category -- Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell (he's just a solid all-around player that you can't hate), but Ortiz is really killing that team.

It's still too early to crown the Yanks or the Sox -- I'm still not counting out the Tampa Bay Rays -- but did you really think the Yankees wouldn't compete in the division?

I know the Nation says the Yankees suck, so what does it say about its own team since the BoSox are trailing their hated rival?

To win the NL West, Dodgers don't need Manny

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Dodgers lost 4 out of their first 5 games after the suspension of Manny Ramirez. The team looked lost, and it looked as if the Mannyless Dodger's were going to go in the tank. Thanks in part to Joe Torre, and the resurgent Juan Pierre, this young Dodgers team was able to quickly turn things around and maintain the best record in the Major Leagues. Since that original 5 game stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 12-4 giving them a 13-8 overall record without Manny Ramirez.

You might think a 13-8 record is not great, but that 12-4 stretch is. How have they been doing it without Manny? Well, offense for one. They've outscored their opponents 90-62, and have averaged 5.6 runs per game. That is fantastic for a team that's been offensively challenged for a few years prior to the Manny trade. Most experts, and baseball fans in general, expected the Dodgers to struggle scoring runs during Manny's absence. That has not happened so far, but they are scoring those runs much differently. Instead of Manny's home runs, the rest of the team is chipping in. They're running more and putting pressure on the opposing teams' defense.

Juan Pierre is hitting .397 with a .463 OPB on the season, and has been a revelation at bat and on the base paths. He already has 10 stolen bases and 25 runs scored in only 121 at bats. Orlando Hudson, now entrenched in the 3rd spot in the lineup, has been tremendous all year hitting .333 and is 3rd on the team with 30 RBI. With the exception of Pierre, Casey Blake has taken advantage the most of Manny's 50 game suspension. He's 2nd on the team with 33 RBI. He's had 18 RBI in the 18 games without Manny Ramirez. Not bad huh? You want a young player who's stepped up? Let's talk about James Loney. He leads the team with 36 RBI, 15 of them since Manny's 50 game departure. He's now batting .298 which is 20 points higher since Manny's last game. All this and Matt Kemp has been struggling of late, and Russ Martin has struggled all year. Watch out if they get hot!

Enough offense, let's talk pitching. They still have depth problems in the starting rotation, but Chad Billingsley has taken the role of staff ace to heart. Bills was the tough luck loser today, and is now 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA and 76 strike outs in 74 innings pitched. Randy Wolf has been far better than most thought as well. He is only 3-1, with 7 no decisions, but has a 2.84 ERA. Clayton Kershaw has been somewhat inconsistent, but always shows flashes of brilliance. He is the staff ace of the future. He's only 3-3, but has won 3 of his last 4. They've had good contributions from Jeff Weaver, 2-1 3.63, Eric Stults, 4-1 4.29, and even Eric Milton "pitched" in with a great start last time out allowing only 1 run in 5 innings. What's helped the most is the dominant bullpen. Jonathon Broxton has been fantastic converting 11 of 13 save chances so far. He has a 1.50 ERA and 37 strike outs in only 24 innings. Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Bellesario have been great as the main set up men this year. Troncoso even has 3 saves. Personally, I think the Dodgers need to make a move for a better lefty specialist than Will Ohman and add another quality starting pitcher at the deadline, but have a pretty good staff for the National League.

To be a legitimate contender you need a combination of good pitching, good defense and timely hitting. That is what the Dodgers have been doing without Manny. They are solid defensively up the middle with Martin, Furcal Hudson and Kemp. They've had pitchers performing above and beyond and they've had timely hitting from Hudson, Pierre, Blake and Loney. They haven't hit a ton of home runs, but you don't need power to win in the National League. Now the playoffs and The World Series are another matter. I never said they don't need Manny to win it all!

Sorry I'm Late

By Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days - I've been on vacation from work and prepping for my daughter's second birthday party. I know it's no excuse, but hey, the women in my life like to run it. Anyhoo, some thoughts on the last couple of days:

• Holy crap, Dice-K. Throw another wild pitch in an awful situation, why don't you? It's hard enough to watch you pitch in the first place, you don't need to bring stuff like that into the equation. I honestly can't stand watching this guy throw for five innings (and God knows, that's all you're getting out of him). I'm sick and tired of all the three-ball counts, which half the time are full counts. This guy just doesn't get it. THROW STRIKES. I know he's won 33 games his first two years in the majors. He's not fooling anybody anymore. The Red Sox were crazy to invest $100M in this guy. He's not getting any better, his priorities are in the wrong place (opting for WBC over getting ready for the MLB season), and maybe - just maybe - the hype was just that. Hype.
• Jason Varitek took a lot of heat from a lot of people when he re-signed with Boston, myself included. I didn't think he had anything left in the tank. I was wrong. He's been tremendous during the first eight weeks of the season, capped off by a stunning two-homer game in Minnesota yesterday. His latest round-tripper was hit to a place that I'm guessing not too many fans expect a ball to land. That was a majestic shot, one that put the Sox ahead by a run, and showed off the awesome strength of the captain.
• Why can't Jonathan Papelbon just have a clean inning, like, once every five times out? I'm starting to worry about this. I understand that closers are going to give up runs and blow saves once in a while. But he's putting guys on and giving up home runs at an alarming rate. I want my closer to be lights out. Papelbon has been anything but this season, and it is going to come back to bite the Sox, mark my words. I used to have 100% confidence when he came into a game but not anymore. He still has the signature heat, but it seems like the league may have caught onto something. Hitters seem to be on his fastball more than they should be.
• This Red Sox team has a lot more holes than I originally thought. The starting pitching, quite honestly, has sucked. The offense has been OK, but not great. The defense hasn't exactly been stellar. The only constant has been the bullpen. If this team is going to have a shot at the division, not to mention the World Series, Theo needs to get going on some moves. This team, as currently constructed, doesn't have enough to win it all.

Blame compliance, not Cal

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Not surprisingly, things have metaphorically hit the fan with a John Calipari-coached team.

Yesterday, a forest fire was lit in the mid-South when it was revealed that the Memphis Tigers are under investigation for “known fraudulence or misconduct” on a player’s SAT exam and providing more than $2,000 worth of free travel of an associate of the player.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal released the official documentation here Wednesday night. The names have been redacted, but the language of the document indicates that Derrick Rose is the main culprit, that somebody took his SATs and got the minimum qualifying score.

Nobody who’s followed Calipari is shocked by this. He does whatever it takes to win, and get the most out of his players, and sometimes that includes pushing the envelope. Believe me, you should hear some of the recruiting trail stories about him floating around. He hasn’t made a lot of friends on the way, but like his counterpart Rick Pitino, he knows how to play the media and the public very well. Few know how to drum up the masses like Coach Cal.

The University of Kentucky has already come out and said that Cal will not be charged with anything (of course), but that he will need to be present at the June 6 hearing. But the wolfpack has already thrown its daggers in his direction.

After all, he “had nothing to do” with the UMass fracas back in the 90's either. Really, there was no way he could have known that three starters were playing with below a 2.0 GPA; or that Marcus Camby was walking around with $28,000 and a big platinum “21” chain around his neck; or that Calipari was giving tickets to agents. So much did he have nothing to do with the problem that he’s inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame, and has a room dedicated in his name at the library.

But I digress. These are two different beasts.

Amongst all this talk of accountability regarding Calipari, RC Johnson and the UK athletic department, here’s the question I want answered: where’s the compliance auditor in all this?

We can talk all we want about Cal’s cutthroat recruiting tactics, win-at-all-costs mentality or his constant modern-day Othello with the national media. But at the end of the day, this is a problem that demands the accountability of the athletic department’s compliance office. Just because there is no “lack of institutional control” charge does not mean these guys are off the hook. Let’s remember, people, that it is ultimately up to the compliance office to make sure these kids are eligible to participate in college athletics, and that their status as an amateur athlete is not in jeopardy. THEY have the final say.

Now, I’m not dismissing the fact that Cal could have used his clout to strong-arm the department. But let’s remember to see the forest through the trees when explosive stories like these hit the streets.

On a lighter note, the Memphis women’s golf team is SCREWED.

Lakers, Cavs not invincible...but their alpha dogs are

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Last night's playoff game was one of those "Where were you?" moments.

I was at my Boston apartment, relaxing big-time, even though there's like seven Irish pubs within a two-block radius. Incredibly lame, I realize that now.

Anyways...

Not since the Trail Blazers' 2000 playoffs meltdown have we seen such a polarizing string of events in professional basketball. LeBron James scored 32 straight points to carry the Cavaliers to a 10-point victory over Orlando and keep their season alive for at least another two days.

And not since the days of Jordan have we felt so compelled to write such passionate prose about a singular player. This, of course, can be a good AND bad thing.

By propping up LeBron as a damn near Deity, we've created this illusion that the man can win every game by himself. Don't get it twisted, Mo Williams and Boobie Gibson had tremendous nights as well, but this series has been all about LeBron, LeBron, LeBron.

I've always harped on the man through the years for what I see as a flawed game. Primarily, he lacks that defensive tenacity that complete Jordan, and his long-range shooting had been a few notches above abysmal. But I'm not going to diss the guy's game any more after this series -- at least, most of the time.

Sometimes, a win can be discouraging, and that's what I saw last night. You cannot go 1-on-5 the entire night, every night, and expect to come away victorious.

LeBron's freakish game masks what I see as two major flaws in the team:

1) The ol' "stand around and watch somebody" gameplan

This is the standard Cavs' offensive play: high screen for the ball carrier out of a 1-4 set, give the ball to LeBron somewhere on the wing and let him do something. That might work in college or high school, but at the NBA level it's vital that all five guys are moving around, creating space and calling for the ball. Sure, Varejao, Szcerbiak and Ilgauskas have been great, but in the crunch they are often setting picks.

2) Lack of toughness

Dwight Howard's sixth foul on a driving LeBron will be debated much over the next 24 hours. It's a tough call to make, but I wouldn't have blown the whistle on that one, and Dwight has reason to be somewhat outraged. I bring this us up because this is LeBron's style of play more often than not: take off from the wing, barrel into the lane, throw yourself at the basket and hope they call a foul. The Cavs, in my opinion, get more calls than they should, and they spend more time complaining about calls than any other team still playing right now.

The Lakers, in my opinion, have often gone through these two aforementioned phases this postseason (ahem, Houston). The difference between the Lakers and the Cavs is they don't stay still for long. Phil Jackson's gameplan is based on perpetual motion; he makes sure the ball gets distributed evenly around the court before letting Kobe run free out of the triangle for the final quarter.

That's the major difference between the Cavs and Lakers.

Magic in six. Lakers in seven.