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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Arroyo Ready to Join Celtics Pursuit

After last night, I'm in no mood to talk about the Boston Bruins. Isn't that the great thing about Boston sports, though? There is always a promising front to discuss. Today, it's the new-look Celtics who may have finally constituted their roster completely for the pursuit of Banner 18.

Eight days ago, Carlos Arroyo was released by the Miami Heat to make room for Mike Bibby, the point guard they felt most confident with moving forward. Since Arroyo last stepped on the court for the South Beach Superstars, the team has lost 6 of its last 7 games and looks to be in complete free fall. Meanwhile, Danny Ainge picked up his phone and took a shot at the recently available Arroyo. For the point guard, it was a no-brainer to come to Boston.

He handled his interview like a true professional on Tuesday, showing no hostility toward the Heat and no desire for revenge. He expressed a desire for one thing and one thing only -- winning a championship. Didn't take him long to buy into the Celtic way, huh?

From the team's standpoint, the signing of Arroyo might be the last piece to the puzzle. Looking at Boston's newly constituted roster, 5 of the 15 players were recently acquired in the past few weeks. Of the remaining 10 players, virtually none of them seem to be on their way out of town. So this is the roster that Danny Ainge and the Celtics feel comfortable with moving forward. The question is -- is it championship caliber?

To me, I say yes. Everyone was ripping apart Danny Ainge for trading away Kendrick Perkins a few weeks ago, but here we are today with a Boston squad that looks more equipped than ever to win a title. Jeff Green has looked more and more like the player we thought we were getting, pouring in 21 points in a winning effort last week. Nenad Krstic has certainly held his own down low, and the return of Shaq and Jermaine will do great measures in further bolstering that post game. Troy Murphy will be called upon to make contributions -- not be the centerpiece. For a guy who was once a walking double-double, Murphy can definitely be a factor in building an all-around team. And with the acquisition of Carlos Arroyo, Boston has secured themselves a true back-up point guard. Arroyo is a guy who can run a team on his own, a guy who isn't any type of liability on the court. Nate Robinson was Boston's late-season acquisition last year, and he provided some great spark -- but he was a bit of a liability when it came to running an entire unit as the point guard. Doc Rivers and the rest of the staff expect that problem to be solved with the arrival of Arroyo in the backcourt.

The newcomers are all excited about this team. Guys like Jermaine O'Neal -- the first person Arroyo called once becoming a member of the Celtics -- have proclaimed that this is by far the best team they have ever played on. Players are buying into the system, and they're forming the Celtic family both on and off the court. You have to love the enthusiasm and the chemistry going on in that locker room, on the bench, and on the court. I cannot say whether this team is good enough to make another title run, but I can surely tell you that each and every guy in that room believes they are fully capable.
 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Blogging From My iPhone




Well, I am writing this blog from my iPhone. Just trying it out for future reference. I have no idea if this thing will look normal, if the picture will be aligned correctly, or what in the world will happen. But I do know that something will happen. And I also know that the Bruins are playing the Habs tonight. They will keep looking for the answer on the power play, which Tomas Kaberle was supposed to be the answer to. Since acquiring the touted puck-mover, the B's are a woeful 1-17 in the power play and are scoreless in their past 12 attempts. Granted, they have looked smooth and gotten some great chances, but the end results aren't there yet. Hopefully they will come quite shortly. Maybe even tonight, as the Bruins will look to extend their point streak to nine games.

It's the Bruins and the Habs. It doesn't get much better if you're a hockey fan. From my iPhone, DRob signing off... Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I'm still getting used to typing on this thing.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, March 7, 2011

Fantasy Baseball: Outfield

In fantasy baseball teams, outfield provides a unique position due to its obvious depth and the fact that you can find serviceable and helpful players even in the later rounds. After round 15 you can draft outfielders who will hit .300 or 30 home runs or steal 40 bases, which you can’t say about any other position. For the first time since our rankings started, Burga and I have had substantially different rankings, so take a closer look and see who we like this year.

Burga's Rankings:
Ryan Braun
Carlos Gonzalez
Carl Crawford
Josh Hamilton
Matt Holliday
Matt Kemp
Nelson Cruz
Justin Upton
Andre Ethier
Shin-Soo Choo
Jason Heyward
Jacoby Ellsbury
Jayson Werth
Jay Bruce
Andrew McCutcheon
Alex Rios
Hunter Pence
Ichiro Suzuki
Chris Young
BJ Upton

• Finally, a little bit of differentiation between our positional rankings. Plenty of people would prefer Carlos Gonzalez over Ryan Braun, and I’ve even seen mock drafts where CarGo went first overall, believe it or not. However, Braun is one of the sure things in fantasy and he’s been consistently one of the top players in baseball. Gonzalez had a surreal season last year, but I’ll need to see him do it again before taking him as the first outfielder off the board.
• The only thing that prevents Nelson Cruz from being as high as a 2nd round pick is injury concerns. Like his teammate, Josh Hamilton, when Cruz is healthy he can put up MVP numbers and he showed us that last year. If he stays off the DL he’ll reward owners kindly with good numbers minus SBs.
• There are many young outfielders that could reach elite status this year, headlined by Jason Heyward, who showed us a glimpse of the excellence that lies in his future. Don’t sleep on guys like Jay Bruce, Mike Stanton, Andrew McCutcheon, Colby Rasmus, and Drew Stubbs, especially in keeper leagues.
• Jacoby Ellsbury was a 2nd round pick in 2010 before falling to injuries. When he’s being drafted in the mid rounds this year, he could turn into one of this year’s draft bargains. However, with Crawford in Boston Ellsbury might shift to the 9 spot, which might limit numbers just a bit.

Average Joe's Rankings:
Carlos Gonzalez
Carl Crawford
Josh Hamilton
Ryan Braun
Matt Holliday
Shin-Soo Choo
Andre Ethier
Jacoby Ellsbury
Justin Upton
Nelson Cruz
Jayson Heyward
Ichiro Suzuki
Andrew McCutchen
Vernon Wells
Jayson Werth
Matt Kemp
Chris Young
Corey Hart
Alex Rios
Hunter Pence

• Braun drops on my list based on last year’s numbers. If he has a solid year, he can easily make a case to be the best OF in baseball again. But last year, Gonzalez was a triple crown/MVP candidate. He takes the top for me.
• Matt Kemp may seem quite low. However, he only had a .249 average last year, and was extremely unmotivated at times. He could bounce back; in fact you should probably expect him too. But choose wisely, because, as seen last year, if he’s not happy, you won’t be happy with his numbers.
• My Boston bias puts Jacoby Ellsbury fairly high. But do not forget that this guy is a year removed from a 70 steal season. If he’s healthy, he can easily do it again. Possible steal in some leagues (although most of you are Boston people, so I’m sure some of you will see him taken far too prematurely in the first round.
• I’ve got Vernon Wells and Corey Hart on my list, contrary to Burga’s (Jay Bruce and BJ Upton). Hart had his career year in 2010, after a terrible 2009 campaign. Wells saw his power numbers return to 2006 form, and a change of scenery to Anaheim may help him try to maintain.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Bruins' Win Streak Snapped at Seven

The Boston Bruins held the second place spot in the Eastern Conference heading into last night's clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they were in pursuit of their eighth straight victory. Unfortunately for Boston, the Penguins overcame a late Bruins' rally to stun the home squad, 3-2, in overtime.

Patrice Bergeron and Steven Kampfer were both out of action last night. Kampfer has a mild concussion that will keep him out a couple of weeks, while Bergeron was absent for "personal reasons." The loss of Bergy certainly showed in the team's play, which was lackluster for the majority of the game offensively.

Personally, I would have liked to see Claude Julien slide Tyler Seguin straight into Bergeron's spot between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi. That way, you give the kid a chance to play on a higher line, but additionally, you keep your other three lines intact. Those are the lines that have won you 7 straight games. But instead, Julien slid Seguin up to the third line wing beside Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly, and he moved Rich Peverley up to center with Recchi and Marchand. Why didn't I like this decision? Because now you've got two set of guys who have never played together as a unit. The alternative could have limited that to one minor difference.

Still, the Bruins were able to erase a 2-1 deficit in the final minute of the game with their goaltender pulled. Tomas Kaberle had a huge blocked shot on an empty net attempt, a last-ditch effort that would need some magic on the back end of it. A few seconds later, Boston had established possession below the goal line. Milan Lucic found David Krejci in the slot, and Krejci wasted no time ripping the goal over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder. A point a piece, and the two sides were headed for OT.

Pittsburgh tallied a goal on a bad Dennis Seidenberg turnover in the neutral zone, giving them the 3-2 win and snapping the Bruins win streak at 7 games. Still, the B's collected a point and remain 3 points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second spot in the East. They are 5 points ahead of Montreal in the Northeast Division with a game in hand.

The loss isn't any type of cause for panic, but it did open our eyes once again to reality -- Boston just doesn't seem to be able to endure the loss of a key centerman in their line-up. David Krejci's injury last season led to a full-on implosion, and the loss of Bergeron last night was clearly evident in the entire offensive system. So let's hope for good health and good fortune to go along with the good roster this Bruins team has to work with moving forward.
 
 

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