Red Sox Announce Opening Day Lineup

The Red Sox have announced their opening day lineup to the media this morning and it looks like this:

1. CF Ellsbury

2. 2B Pedroia
3. LF Crawford
4. 3B Youkilis
5. 1B Gonzalez
6. DH Ortiz
7. RF Cameron
8. C Saltalamacchia
9. SS Scutaro

P Lester

Take a good look at it. Revel in it's glory. Remember this feeling and savor it. Expectations for that lineup are as high as an elephant's eye and pretty much everybody who's ever written anything about baseball has picked the Red Sox to win the East, the AL, the World Series, the World Baseball Classic, the Futures Game, and the MTV Rock N Jock Softball challenge.

That being said, amidst all of the otherworldly predictions and projections this team might not be as bulletproof as everyone thinks.

For all of the ballyhooed free agent signings and trades that took place this offseason, there were a couple of things that did not change. Their names are Josh Beckett, Jon Lackey, and Jonathan Papelbon. Those three arms are expected to equal a significant portion of Red Sox innings pitched this season and frankly there is no real reason to expect drastic improvements.

Baseball Prospectus disagrees with me, however, as they have both Beckett, Lackey, and Papelbon bouncing back this season. BP also is predicting a regression from Clay Bucchholz and an increase in both ERA and WHIP from Jon Lester, not to mention 7 less wins for Lester than last season.

I'm not too worried about the pitching, though, because I feel like even if the bottom of the rotation doesn't impress the top still makes them a top 5 rotation in the majors. There is not much to bellyache about in the lineup either, although I cannot quite wrap my head around Crawford in the 3 spot all season long.

In theory, he's a great #3 hitter because a.) he's a fine hitter in his own right and b.) he sets the table for the ensuing pitcher's nightmare of Youkilis, Gonzalez, and Ortiz but I don't know. I'm of the belief that Gonzalez is going to settle into the cleanup spot with relative ease and will likely have sewn it up by mid-May. There's just something about bringing in two new guys to hit in the Giant Glass sponsored GIANT part of the order that doesn't sit right with me. I also feel like there is more pressure on Crawford than there is on Gonzalez, because Gonzalez is being asked to do something he does every year, whereas Crawford will likely be expected to outperform his projections (BP has him at .290/.341/.444 with 44 SB). Not to mention there's a guy named Kevin Youkilis who is a much more patient hitter than Crawford (not to mention right-handed), lurking in the cleanup spot until Gonzalez takes it over.

Now, of course the Cleveland Indians would love to have a problem like "Who to hit 3rd in the lineup, Kevin Youkilis or Carl Crawford" and if this is a problem there really isn't a problem but there is going to be a lot of pressure on the Sox this year, like there is with any team that gets universally predicted to breeze through a grueling professional athletic season. There will be hiccups, there will be slumps. There will be poor pitching performances, there will be blown saves, and there will be costly errors.

That being said, here is my predicted final standings for the 2011 AL East:

Boston 151-11
Tampa 82-80
Toronto 75-87
Baltimore 66-96
New York 25-137



Play Ball.


-Judge

Statement Made

 

From Johnny Boychuk's heat-seeking wrister in the first minute to Tyler Seguin's roof shot just after time expired the Bruins had one message for the rest of the league last night as they routed the Habs:  B Afraid.

Zdeno Chara shined the brightest last night, securing the 1 star with his 3 assists and inspired play on defense.  After the game he simply said "The game on the ice, that was my first priority."  He was not alone.  The entire Bruins team was focused last night.  They were sharp, they were alert, they were crafty, and they were on target.   The game resembled a 60 minute Boston power play, and the Bruins now sit poised to bulldoze their way into the playoffs with a big old chip on their shoulder.


Tim Thomas had a fine game but was only challenged a few times, the Boston defense was physical, but not overly so.  They chipped passes, they timed their hits, they threw a wrench in Montreal's offense that the Habs were never able to remove.   On offense, the Bruins were just marvelous.   They peppered the overworked Carey Price with 18 shots in t he first period, netting 3.   In the second period they added 11 more shots but failed to score, however,  the Habs never got off the mat.  The  fifth minute of the third period opened with two more goals for Boston, a wrister from Horton, his second of the game, and a tip-in by Adam McQuaid at 4:03 and 4:29, respectively.   The McQuaid goal chased Price from the net and gave us a rare Alex Auld sighting.  He did not fair much better, as the Bruins managed to light him up twice and end the game with an even touchdown, 7-0.

 

With the victory, the B's have now moved to 5 points ahead of Montreal in the Northeast and barring a major meltdown have all but sewn up the division.   The warning flags were flying high and proud lately but after a tumultuous week the Bruins seem to be hitting their stride.   They won their last two games against two tough teams by a combined score of 11-1.  The Habs, meanwhile, are on a two game shutout, having lost to Buffalo and now Boston by a combined score of 9-0.

Last night, the Bruins did what few imagined they could do.  They routed the Montreal Canadiens while not even approaching goon status.   They were faster, stronger, and more confident, and they got the Habs out of their game early and never let them back in.  When Campbell broke away while the B's were two men short and fired one past Auld for lucky number 7, the statement had been made.

The Bruins told everyone in the building and watching around the league that when they're on, they can beat you any way they want.   With the playoffs right around the corner, I think everyone from Montreal to Miami heard them loud and clear.

 

-Christian Arcand

email: CArcand@bostonsportsradio.net

What's Wrong With The Celtics?

This post is perhaps a tad reactionary, however, my concern for the Celtics is at a very high level right now. They've lost three of their last four games to teams they should have beaten easily. We thought we were out of the woods when they laid a beating on Milwaukee Sunday, but as they are prone to doing on the second night of a back-to-back the C's laid an egg last night at the Prudential Center, falling to the new look, yet still 22-43, New Jersey Nets.

Are the Celtics feeling the effects of the Perkins trade? Well, yes and no.

Yes, with Kendrick Perkins in the middle, DeAndre Jordan probably would not have been dunking all over everyone like Wilt Chamberlain in high school last week in the Celtics 108-103 loss to the Clippers.

Although in fairness, Nenad Krstic has been a huge surprise thus far for Boston. It's been a while since we've seen an effective post game from the center position. The guy's not Robert Parish or anything but he has soft hands around the basket and can hit jumpers. His offensive rebounding alone has made up for what he lacks on defense in my opinion. The fact that he can score is an added bonus.

No, the loss of a hobbled Perkins and replacement with Krstic and the immortal Delbarton High alumnus Troy Murphy has not been what's ailing these guys. It's the loss of Nate Robinson.

Ok not really, but hear me out, here. Since Nate was traded on the 24th Rajon Rondo has been playing a lot. Maybe a bit too much. Not only are his minutes up he is on pace to score fewer points this year than he did in 07-08 and his free throw attempts are down dramatically. I have to believe that there's something wrong with Rondo, and thus, something very wrong with the Celtics.

We all know that scoring is not a huge part of Rondo's game, but driving to the basket certainly is, and even though his FT % is pretty bad he was still getting in the paint and getting to the line. This year his FT attempts are way down along with his scoring. For Rondo to be playing so often with a large piece of his offensive game absent is troubling. He is not sharp out there, he is not aggressive. He may be trying to play through an injury, in which case that is a different story but for god sake if he's hurt get him off the court.

I can deal with losing the one seed in the east but I cannot deal with having a hobbled Rajon Rondo come playoff time, and the Celtics can't either. Brrrrrr. The thought of it makes me shiver.

If you think the absence of Perk, or KG, or whomever was a real issue the past two postseasons just think about what this team will look like in a playoff series with Carlos Arroyo and Avery Bradley splitting point guard duties.

Carlos Arroyo hasn't been bad, either. But he's not a reasonable option at point if Rondo goes down. Nate wasn't either, really. But he could do things on the court that Rondo couldn't do, like shoot, for example. Arroyo does everything Rondo does, just not nearly as well. Avery Bradley doesn't really do anything yet, and Delonte West just can't stay healthy.

Whatever is bugging Rondo, I hope it clears up soon, and if he needs to sit, let him sit. There's still another month of basketball before the postseason gets here and this team is going to be relying heavily on Rondo this postseason just like they do every postseason, and every postseason Rondo shows why he's arguably the most valuable PG in the league. However, there's something wrong with him and all we can do is join hands and pray to the basketball gods that whatever it is its gone by April 13th. Otherwise this team is in a lot of trouble.

Then again, I think the Bulls are going to win it all this year anyway, no matter what happens with Rondo. I'm calling it now. Chicago is the most complete team in the league and I don't think it's close.

Also, I filled out my brackets today, I have St. John's winning in every pool I'm in for 2 reasons.

1.) They got to those three refs in the Big East tournament, they can get to everyone.

2.) My cousin picked them and my cousin is a freaking sports-picking rainman. He called the Texas/SF World Series, he called Green Bay winning the Super Bowl when the playoffs started and they barely squeaked in. I don't understand it. I think he's a wizard. Or an old version of himself came back in time and gave him the Gray's Sports Almanac. Or both.

Of course, now I probably jinxed him, but whatever, he was getting cocky.

-Judge