Can it get any worse?

Just over a week ago, I said the Boston Red Sox would be the World Series Champions. Wow, what a difference a week makes. Boston is now 0-6 and along with the Rays are one of only two winless teams remaining in baseball. Where have they gone wrong?

That has an easy answer…EVERYWHERE. Their big offseason acquisitions (Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford) have gone a combined 11 for 46 (.239), with 1 homerun, 6 runs driven in and scored 4 runs, and the sad part is, Adrian Gonzalez is hitting better than anyone else on the team as he is the only player on the team batting over .240. In the preseason there was talk of this loaded lineup with former MVP Dustin Pedroia, five-tool superstar Carl Crawford, the aforementioned power bat of Gonzalez, speed-demon Jacob Ellsbury, and the rest of the group scoring 1000+ runs. They might have trouble getting to 500 runs at their current pace as they’ve plated only six in the last four games, and three of those against an Indians team that allowed 24 runs in a three game set against the White Sox. The offense is not just bad right now, they rank 28^th in all of baseball in runs scored (16), 29^th in team batting average (.181), 28^th in On base percentage (.269), 29^th in Slugging (.275), 29^th in Total Bases (53), 29^th in Extra Base Hits (10), and have no sacrifices, flys or bunts. To put it bluntly, the offense has yet to hit or manufacture runs.

Ok, you cannot hit right now, what about the pitching? They don’t have that either right now. Jon Lester has lived up to expectation (3.65 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 2.25:1 strikeout to walk ratio), it’s the rest of the staff that has performed below expectations. Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and John Lackey have been very bad, combining to give up 19 runs in 20 innings for a 8.55 ERA and have nearly as many walks as strikeouts 12:11. Thing do not get much better in the bullpen with a combined 7.88 ERA and two loss. In all, the Red Sox pitching staff is 30^th in ERA (7.13), 29^th in Quality Starts (1), 30^th in innings pitched (48, they’ve been so bad that no team has had to bat against them in the 9^th to lockup the game), 30^th in Slugging percentage against (.646, next worse is .519), and 30^th in Home Runs allowed (14).

To put this simple, Boston has been the worst team in baseball through the first week of the season. That is the beauty of baseball though, their 0-6 start accounts for 1/27^th of their season, it’s the equivalent of an NFL team getting beaten in their 1^st half of football in the first game of the season. It is a small sample size for a marathon of a season. Red Sox Nation is not happy, the Sox themselves are not happy, but the ship can be righted this weekend when they open Fenway for the season with the rival Yankees coming to down. I know that no team has started 0-6 and won the World Series, but keep in mind, no team had been down 0-3 in a playoff series and came back and won. Do not be surprised to see the Sox wake up and put a beating on the Yanks this weekend. I’m sticking with my guns, they are the most talented team in baseball, it is only a matter of time before we see it on the field.

Baseball is here, at last

The first pitch of the 2011 MLB Season will be thrown in a little over three hours; at least that is the plan. Rain and 40 degree weather are forecasted in Washington and New York and threaten to delay the start of the season and even further north Boston has the threat of a snow covered field, luckily they play in Texas on Friday. Opening Day is supposed to mark the beginning of spring with sun and enjoyable temperatures, not rain and winter-type highs.

But baseball does bring something more than the promise of better weather, it brings a renewed sense of hope for 30 clubs in 27 cities for millions of fans, but it also mimics the optimism for America as a whole. America has been at war, been through recessions and depressions, seen economic highs, and the free thinking of the sixties and the one constant has always been baseball (sorry if I’m “borrowing” from Field of Dreams, but it is true). Now, baseball is recovering from the black eye that is the steroid era and most of the players affiliated or under suspicion are at the back end of their careers or have already faded away and a new crop of young stars are making headlines for the right reason. The defending World Series Champion New York Giants were a rag tag group of overachievers led by the youthful pitching of Tim Lincecum (26), Brian Wilson (28), Matt Cain (26), and Jonathan Sanchez (28). This team of journeyman and inexperienced youth accomplished something that did not happen in the 15 years with Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.

With the changing of the guard, is there a team that could come out of nowhere to win the World Series? Look no further than 15 miles East where the Athletics have built a team with a good young rotation, a dominant closer, and an underestimated lineup with some power thanks to the additions of Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham. Or a little more obvious is in the Giants’ division, the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are coming off of back to back winning seasons and have been in the playoffs 2 or the last 4 seasons and have a scary good lineup and the kind of arms that can win you a series or two in October.

Enough of the questions, here is what I know, the Phillies scare me, too many injuries early, too many questions in the bullpen, and too many of their big hitters had down years last season, is this just an exception or is it due to age catching up with Rollins, Utley, and Howard? They are the team to beat in the NL on paper, but I just do not see it happening. In the American League, it’s the Red Sox, pure and simple. They have the best offense in baseball, a deep rotation, and while they do have some questions at the back end of the bullpen but I just think they can more than make up for that shortcoming. What is my World Series prediction? Boston taking on the aforementioned Rockies. For my full predictions, just look below.

MLB Playoffs

Divisional Series

Boston over Texas*

Oakland over Detroit

Colorado over Philadelphia*

Atlanta over Milwaukee

League Championship Series

Boston over Oakland

Colorado over Atlanta

World Series

Boston over Colorado

*-Wild Card Winner

2/9 Fantasy Football Rankings, Top 25

Once again, working from 25 to 1. Numbers in parenthesis are last month's ranking.

25(NR). Antonio Gates, TE, SD-When healthy last season put up numbers that equalled that of the top wide receivers in the NFL. In just 10 games in 2010 he put up 50 catches, over 750 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Averaged over a full season, the result would have been 80 catches, 1200 yards, and 16 touchdowns. Clearly the top tight end

24(24). Phillip Rivers, QB, SD-The man throwing to Gates stays at 24. Primed for a very big 2011.

23(NR). Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG-Overlooked in my previous ranking, set career highs in 2010 in carries (276), rushing yards (1275), and touchdowns (8). Fumbling could prove costly given Tom Coughlin's past.

22(NR). Ryan Matthews, RB, SD-Had a rocky rookie season, but showed life toward the end of the year, scoring five touchdowns in the final touchdowns in the final four weeks while rushing for a tad under 300 yards. Given his receiving ability could put up 1200-1500 total yards in 2011.

21(19). Tom Brady, QB, NE-Brady remains one of the top QB options and doesn't move much since last ranking.

20(21). Darren McFadden, RB, Oak-Stays steady as he should be the number one option in Oakland and if he can follow up his big 2010 season could eclipse his 2010 numbers

19(22). Greg Jennings, WR, GB-Top receiver for the league's top fantasy QB. With Driver's age Jennings could see a few more targets.

18(18). Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG-Remains in the same spot since January, huge redzone target and as long as healthy should be among top scoring receivers

17(17). Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC-Based off his huge 2010 he has become the focal point of the Chief's passing game

16(15). Calvin Johnson, WR, Det-Finished among the receiving leaders in 2010, if Stafford is healthy in 2011 he could be the top scoring fantasy receiver.

15(9). Reggie Wayne, WR, Ind-His drop from last season is due to more of an evaluation on my part than anything he has done. I expect Wayne's targets and touchdowns to drop with a healthy Dallas Clark, a matured Pierre Garcon, and possibly a healthy Austin Collie. Still a top receiver but falls short of the lofty numbers I expect from Andre Johnson and Roddy White.

14(12). Frank Gore, RB, SF-Dropped a little due to injury history. I can't spend a first round pick on someone I don't trust to stay healthy. I think Jim Harbaugh can get him more involved, but the injuries are definitely a concern.

13(14). Ray Rice, RB, Bal-Stays as a borderline first rounder, a little drop from last season but Rice isn't enough of a touchdown threat for my liking.

12(4). Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jax-Biggest drop for me due to the knee injury. Reports show that he has no cartilage in his injured knee. That screams to me that he may be nearing the end in terms of being an elite fantasy talent. He may be capable of huge numbers, but I don't trust him right now without seeing him in preseason.

11(16). Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB-Rodgers was good in the regular season, but what he did in the playoff with a running game was nothing short of astounding. Could be a 35 TD, 4000+ guy that also rushes for 300-400 yards and scores 5+ rushing touchdowns. Is now the elite fantasy QB.

10(13). Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pit-Has become the focal point of the Pittsburgh offense. No reason he can't put up 1200+ yards and double digit touchdowns year in, year out. Is a first rounder in all formats for me.

9(11). LeSean McCoy, RB, Phi-In the same boat as Mendy but is a slightly better receiving option. Depending on the quarterback situation in Philadelphia he is fully capable of being a top 5 fantasy running back.

8(10). Andre Johnson, WR, Hou-Has been one of the top receivers in football for 5 or so years now and remains a first rounder for me.

7(8). Roddy White, WR, Atl-Became the elite guy among fantasy receivers and will probably stay there for me throughout the entire offseason.

6(6). Steven Jackson, RB, STL-With Bradford at QB he is an elite fantasy back. Injuries are a slight concern but he has missed just one game last two seasons.

5(7). Michael Turner, RB, Atl-Had a great bounce back season in 2010 and should be a high draft pick in 2011.

4(2). Chris Johnson, RB, Ten-Dropped from the two spot for me. Coaching will be a question and as of now no QB does not spell a successful fantasy season. He has great talent but I expect his numbers to fall, I'm not sure how dramatic that fall will be.

3(5). Jamaal Charles, RB, KC-Keeps moving up my list. The man put up 6.3 YPC last season and over 1400 rushing yards in a time share. No one seems to recall how he tallied over 1400 total yards in 2009 and had 5.9 rushing yards. He could have a Chris Johnson 2009 type season. Possibly the top option in PPR leagues. Lack of touchdowns is a bit concerning.

2(3). Arian Foster, RB, Hou-I don't fully trust him and Ben Tate will probably get some carries but its hard to ignore 2220 total yards and 18 touchdowns although the man also had over 390 touches last season.

1(1). Adrian Peterson, RB, Min-Has proven it doesn't matter what his QB does or who the coach is he performs. The safest pick in the fantasy world.


There you go, the following guys dropped off my top 25

Peyton Manning (20)-The collection of top QBs makes grabbing one too early foolish
Vincent Jackson (23)-I feel I had him overvalued in the first ranking
Drew Brees (25)-See Peyton Manning, the interceptions scare me

Pass Aaron Pass

You’ve heard the old saying about how to win football games, “you have to run the ball and be able to stop the run”. By that logic, the wrong team lost the Super Bowl. Green Bay ran the ball a meager 13 times; two of those were kneel downs by Aaron Rodgers, in all, the Packers gained 50 yards on the ground. In contrast, the Steelers ran the ball 23 times for 126 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. If I were to tell you prior to the game that Pittsburgh will more than double the Packers rushing yards, nearly double their total carries, run one less passing play, and tally three times as many sacks, who would your money have been put on?

Football is an ever-evolving sport, it started with the inclusion of the forward pass, then the likes of Johnny Unitas further enforced the importance of a quarterback’s ability to pass. Dan Fouts took it to new heights and was quickly followed by Dan Marino lighting up the scoreboard and rewriting the record books. Quarterbacks were putting up bigger and bigger numbers, but the Lombardi trophies weren’t coming with them. Peyton Manning’s record breaking 2004 season didn’t end with a Super Bowl title and Tom Brady’s 50 touchdown 2007 season ended with a loss to the New York Giants and their two man running attack. With the last two Super Bowls, it appears that we are firmly entrenched in the “Year(s) of the quarterbacks”

The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV despite only running ball 18 times for 51 yards while allowing 99 yards on 19 carries. Super Bowl XLIII, the victorious Pittsburgh Steelers managed just 58 yards on 2.3 yard per carry average. That means over the last three Super Bowls, the winning team has had 159 rushing yards on 56 carries. In contrast, Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL rushed 33 times for 181 yards and Indianapolis in XLI rushed 42 times for 191 yards. Of the first 41 Super Bowls, the winning team rushed for 100+ yards in 37 of them, but it hasn’t happened since the Colts in 2007.

Change is definitely upon us and those old sayings are just that, old and outdated.

On a side note, I don’t see any way the owners and NFLPA do not come to an agreement for the CBA. The Super Bowl garnered more viewings worldwide than any event on television, ever. There is too much money at risk here for them not to come to an agreement. I sure hope they do, the last few Super Bowls have been great television, from Roethlisberger’s stalled two minute drill, Tracy Porter sealing the win for the Saints with the pick-6, Kurt Warner and Big Ben gun slinging into the closing seconds of XLIII, to David Tyree’s impossible catch and Eli’s game winner in the closing seconds, and Peyton Manning finally grabbing his Championship. Football has become the greatest spectacle in American sports and I can’t see someone no making a concession on order to maintain their loft atop the sports’ world.

Forget Lions and Bears, the Tigers are scary

National Signing Day has come and gone and the winners and losers have been labeled. One team in particular stood out to me, and while they were somewhat overlooked by many media outlets, the Clemson Tigers come out smelling like roses.

It was impressive enough that according to Rivals.com that they grabbed four five star players, but three of those youngsters came out of the state of Florida. Talent from Florida usually stays there, but more importantly, they stole these players from the Florida State Seminoles who in the coming years could be the biggest hurdle in Clemson's quest for ACC domination. With five schools in Florida that played in bowl games in 2010, these three, as well as another five star recruit, and six four star recruits decided to attend a school that went 6-6 before losing the Meineke Bowl to...........



South Florida.

Now Clemson has gone into their backyard, FIU's backyard, Miami's backyard, Florida's backyard, and Florida State's backyard and took some of their top talent. That's not to say that these teams didn't fare well, they did, but to go into a rival state and come out with three of their top players is phenomenal. It was not just Florida either, they grabbed the top linebacker and a four star offensive tackle out of the state of North Carolina and two four star recruits out of Hargrove Academy in Virginia. They dominated much of the east coast and got more bang for their buck than any other team in the nation.

Clemson struggled to a 4-4 ACC record last year in a conference that was possibly the weakest of all the BCS conferences, yet they brought in more top talent than nearly every other school in the country. Well done fellas.