Red Sox fans have come to appreciate spring training as a time when the national baseball reporters swoop in on Fort Myers and heap praise on the organization for the championship contender that they have built in the offseason. That yearly buzz, while not welcome at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston, made it easier for Red Sox fans to suffer through endless accounts of split-squad games and the occassional puff piece on a veteran minor leaguer hoping to make the team to avoid going back to Palookaville and an insurance salesman job.
That buzz died last year as the Red Sox were showing signs of imploding following the offseason departures of manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein, which is exactly what they did in Bobby Valentine's only year as manager in Boston. The only silver lining in the season was the trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers for a handful of propsects and about a quarter of a billion dollars in salary savings.
However, it is those prospects - specifically pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa - that have made people pay attention to the Red Sox this spring and have given fans hope for the future.
Webster was the more dominant of the two this spring as the Sox are holding back De La Rosa as this is his first full season following Tommy John surgery. Webster, 23, has drawn high praise from manager John Farrell - "He's pretty damn good," was the skipper's assessment a few days ago - and is viewed as top of the rotation starter in the near future. De La Rosa has not been as impressive this spring but no less an expert on pitching than Pedro Martinez, himself once a Dodgers prospect, compared the 23-year-old righty to Roger Clemens and Juan Marichal based on his ability.
Both Webster and De La Rose will start the season in Pawtucket but it might not be long until they are pitching at Fenway Park.
This is an exciting time for Red Sox fans who are hoping for a future filled with homegrown talent that bring them back to World Series contention. Outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. has also created a lot of interest this spring with his bat, his legs, and his glove. Due to David Ortiz' heel injury, it is probable that Bradley could be the Red Sox openign day left fielder with Johnny Gomes being moved to designated hitter. Bradley is expected to be the regular center fielder a year from now if the team loses Jacoby Ellsbury to free agency.
Young stars like Bradley, Webster, and De La Rosa offer hope that the rest of the country will once again be focusing on the Red Sox in the near future.
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Now, for your daily dose of Patriots free agent notes and thoughts.
The Patriots added a much needed physical presence to their secondary yesterday, signing veteran safety Adrian Wilson away from the Cardinals. They also re-signed cornerback Kyle Arrington.
The 33-year-old Wilson is a 12-year veteran so this is not likely a long-term solution for the Patriots but his size (6-3, 225 pounds) and physical play are exactly what the defense needs at safety. He will also hopefully serve as a mentor for second year safeties Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner.
The team also had in veteran pass rushers John Abraham and Dwight Freeney for visits yesterday. There were rumors on Twitter that Abraham had signed yesterday afternoon but, in what is likely the first time the Twitterverse spit out false information, that was not the case. Signing one (or both) of these quarterback chasers would help improve the Patriots inconsistent pass rush and take pressure off the secondary to cover opposing receivers. They would also hopefully serve as a mentor for promising second yeat defensive end Chandler Jones.
At receiver, there were conflicting reports on the status of restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Patriots had signed the 25-year-old burner (he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds at the NFL Combine in 2010) to an offer sheet that would cost New England a third round draft pick but then multiple sources, including ESPN's Adam Schefter, there has been no deal agreed to as of this morning.
Sanders would join Danny Amendola and Donald Jones as free agent acquisitions for the Patriots as they try to replace Wes Welker, the Tom Brady favorite who signed with the Broncos. There are reports this morning that they are working to restructure the contract of Brandon Lloyd to save some money on the salary cap. That is possibly what is holding up the offer to Sanders.
While a quartet of Amendola, Lloyd, Sanders, and Jones won't necessarily strike fear into opposing secondaries the way that Welker did, you must factor in the presence of tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in to the passing game. Gronkowski and Hernandez are two of the premiere pass catching tight ends in the NFL and their presence will make the wide receivers get open a lot more easily.
The Patriots now figure to likely focus on their own two free agents, cornerback Aqib Talib and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Bringing back both of them will solidify those positions and keep the Patriots in the mix to compete for yet another Super Bowl championship in 2013.
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I can't believe that the final Big East basketball tournament championship game will be played tonight. Yes, I know that the "Catholic 7" - along with schools like Xavier, Butler, and Creighton - will become the Big East next year but, to me, if Syracuse and Connecticut, and Pittsburgh are playing elsewhere than it is not the Big East.
Syracuse will take on Louisville for the championship tonight. It's hard to fathom not watching Jim Boeheim and the Orange playing in March at Madison Square Garden for the Big East title but that is the sad reality of college athletics in the 21st Century.
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In a year of major upsets and lacking a dominant team, college basketball's "March Madness" is expected to be crazier than ever. The upset will be if the favorites march through the first two weekends and make it to Atlanta for the Final Four.
While my picks won't come out until early in the week after the brackets are finalized, my pick to win the championship is Indiana. They are the best team in college basketball and I'm sticking to that.
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Enjoy the Sawdoctors tonight.
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