A New Era In Beantown
By Al Milesky
Love of Sports Correspondent
We knew it would happen. We just didn’t think it would be this soon.
Manny Ramirez has left for the Dodgers, a team that continues to morph into the Red Sox West.
Tom Brady destroyed his entire knee, he won’t return this year and may never be the same.
In an era when New Englanders take dominance for granted, the area’s two brightest stars abruptly burnt out. In their place leaves a cocktail of one part doubt and one part anger, holding out with just a splash of hope.
If nothing else, this makes for interesting drama. Sox and Pats fans have been on autopilot since 2004, expecting not quality teams, but championship teams. And for the most part that’s what they got. Things became too comfortable to the point where it’s a shock more people didn’t see this coming.
The Sox can make do. Thanks to Theo Epstein the Sox have a young core with the ability and spirit to go deep into the playoffs. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon are the new faces of the franchise.
Pedroia’s playing inspired baseball, proving to be one of the toughest outs in the league. Youkilis is carving his legend as one of the most popular figures in New England sports, and with good reason. His fantastic production coupled with a fiery demeanor makes for the ultimate ballplayer, a throwback. A gamer fans in Boston can identify with. Someone who cares as much about the team as they do.
Papelbon pairs an unhittable fastball with his off-the-cuff antics, which have captured the hearts of Sox fans and gives them yet another reason to enjoy postgame celebrations.
This team can contend in the postseason. Even hampered by a struggling Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester make for a great one-two. The lineup, while not boasting the potency they enjoyed with Manny batting cleanup, can post plenty of runs with the core of Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz and Bay. The defense is above average. With a few lucky bounces of the baseball, they can make it to the World Series this year.
The Pats … well … they may not be so lucky this year.
Before the Miami debacle many believed the Patriots still had a shot at 12-13 wins. After all, the schedule is weak, the defense is sound and Matt Cassel managed two games well enough to win.
Well, it turns out the defense isn’t as sound as we thought, with the glaring absence of Asante Samuel and Father Time catching up with the linebackers. And Cassel may not be sturdy enough to maintain an NFL offense, regardless of the weapons he has at his disposal.
If the Pats do make the playoffs this year, it won’t be pretty. Belichick needs to reopen the playbook on both sides of the ball. Role players need to step up and play perfect football. Cassel needs to avoid happy feet and make crisp, decisive throws. The offensive line MUST protect at all costs.
Basically, they’ll need an effort much like 2001, when a fresh-faced kid took the reigns of a mediocre team and rode it all the way to a Lombardi Trophy.
And so a new chapter in Boston sports begins, one fraught with a new set of expectations, a new set of questions, new heroes, new goats and a new paranoia that Kevin Garnett may rupture his Achilles’.
After all, these things always come in threes, right?
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Comments
Wolfman on 09/26 at 07:21 PM
Whatsa matter Madlove, jealous? Just a little? You sound like a closet NY fan hiding behind a keyboard.
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